Miller's Smokehouse in Belton is moving on up

Dirk Miller, owner & pitmaster of Miller's Smokehouse in Belton. (Photo ©Michael Ainsworth/ Texas BBQ Posse)

We got a chance to visit Saturday with one of our favorite pitmasters in the state, Dirk Miller of Miller's Smokehouse in Belton. Posse member Marshall Cooper & I first visited Miller's in early 2012, after Texas Monthly BBQ editor Daniel Vaughn tweeted about a promising little joint in Belton. It quickly became one of our favorite BBQ places in the state.

Our group of four caught up on all the BBQ news with Dirk, including their move down the street to a much larger space. On our first trip to Miller's four and a half years ago, you walked into a tiny dining room, which has expanded twice since then into a 1600 sq. ft. restaurant. Only 14 months after our first visit, Miller's was named to Texas Monthly's top 50 BBQ joints. Their growing reputation and success since then has been a credit to the Miller family's pursuit of BBQ and dining excellence.

The new restaurant, located a block and a half south on Penelope St., is 7000 sq. ft. and will feature five 1000-gallon indoor smokers. Dirk has the new smokers lined up outside the current building so they will be well-seasoned before the move, which is expected in December. Also, Miller's is now open seven days a week, a rarity in the barbecue business.

I often get the question from co-workers and friends, "I'm heading to Austin the weekend, where's the best BBQ there?" I tell them to pull off I-35 when they get to Belton, then drive a couple of minutes to Miller's Smokehouse. You won't find trendy two-hour lines there, just some of the best BBQ in the entire state. And if he's around, you'll probably get to talk barbecue with one of the top pitmasters in Texas.

Miller's Smokehouse, 208 N Penelope, Belton, 254-939-5500. Open Sun-Thurs 11am until the meat runs out, Fri-Sat 11am-9pm or until the meat runs out.

Work continues on Miller Smokehouse's new location at the corner of Penelope & Central in downtown Belton.
(Photo ©Michael Ainsworth/ Texas BBQ Posse)

Three of Miller Smokehouse's five new 1000-gallon smokers are seasoned beside the current restaurant. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/ Texas BBQ Posse)

Check out our Heart of Texas BBQ Tour story in today's Dallas Morning News

Here's the lede page from our Heart of Texas BBQ Tour story in Sunday's Dallas Morning News Travel section.

This was the Posse's 14th barbecue tour since we started following the smoke in November 2009. The Heart of Texas BBQ Tour covered 318 miles over ten hours on a recent Friday.

Chick here to see the online package from the tour on dallasnews.com, including Gary Jacobson's story, a slideshow featuring our four tour stops and a video by original Posse member David Guzman.

Heart of Texas BBQ Tour

• 9am:  Leave Dallas
• 10:30am:  Wright’s Bar-B-Q, 123 Martin Luther King Jr Hwy (Hwy 14), Mexia, 254-562-9042. Open Tue-Sat 10am-6pm.
• 11:30am:  Kirby's Barbeque, 4592 Hwy. 14 S, Mexia, 254-562-5076. Open: Wed-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-3pm. 
• 1:30pm:  Whup's Boomerang Bar-B-Q, 1203 Bennett St., Marlin, 254-883-5770. Open Thurs-Sat 10am-8pm.    
• 3 pm:  Miller's Smokehouse, 208 N Penelope, Belton, 254-939-5500. Open Tues-Thurs 10:30am-6:30pm, Fri and Sat 10:30am-9pm or until the meat runs out.  
• 7 pm:  Arrive back in Dallas

Video: The Posse's Heart of Texas BBQ Tour

Here's a video from our recent Heart of Texas BBQ Tour. This piece was shot and produced by David Guzman, Dallas Morning News video whiz and an original member of the Posse.

Gary Jacobson's tour story will be in Sunday's Dallas Morning News Travel section, so be sure and check that out.

Heart of Texas BBQ Tour

• 9am:  Leave Dallas
• 10:30am:  Wright’s Bar-B-Q, 123 Martin Luther King Jr Hwy (Hwy 14), Mexia, 254-562-9042. Open Tue-Sat 10am-6pm.
• 11:30am:  Kirby's Barbeque, 4592 Hwy. 14 S, Mexia, 254-562-5076. Open: Wed-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-3pm.  
• 1:30pm:  Whup's Boomerang Bar-B-Q, 1203 Bennett St., Marlin, 254-883-5770. Open Thurs-Sat 10am-8pm.      
• 3 pm:  Miller's Smokehouse, 208 N Penelope, Belton, 254-939-5500. Open Tues-Thurs 10:30am-6:30pm, Fri and Sat 10:30am-9pm or until the meat runs out.  
• 7 pm:  Arrive back in Dallas

Total trip: 10 hours, 318 miles

Here's a new installment of our "BBQ is" pitmasters portrait project

Ben Washington, Whup's Boomerang Bar-B-Que, Marlin.  (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves/Fotobia.com)

Posse member Daniel Goncalves is back with the next installment of his "BBQ is" pitmaster portrait series.

The Dallas-based editorial and commercial photographer has been photographing top pitmasters around the state with a Fuji Instax 210 instant film camera. Sixty seconds later the Polaroid is dry and Daniel has each pitmaster fill in the blank with a sharpie on their portrait, "BBQ is ________." With this project, Daniel continues to raise the creative bar for both the Posse and Texas BBQ photography.

Click here to see our first blog post featuring his portraits of Austin pitmasters.

At Miller's Smokehouse in Belton, expansion means same great barbecue and now a bar, too

Pitmaster and owner Dirk Miller stands outside Miller's Smokehouse in Belton. (Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

On the looks-like scale, Dirk Miller is closer to Kris Kringle than Tom Cruise.

But the owner of Miller’s Smokehouse in Belton was channeling Cruise from Risky Business when we visited last week during our Heart of Texas BBQ Tour.

For Miller, too, the dream is always the same:

He awakes and the sun is shining through his windows, meaning it’s 8 a.m., meaning he overslept, meaning he didn’t get the pits fired by the required 2 or 3 a.m., meaning disaster for his barbecue joint.

 “And I think, well, there won’t be ribs and brisket today,” Miller said.

The Posse has been high on Miller’s since co-founder Chris Wilkins and Marshall Cooper went there in early 2012. Wilkins declared the meats he tasted “nothing short of sensational.”

Other Posse members, on their own, have confirmed Wilkins’ view. But this was our first visit as a group.

Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ first timers - Miller's Smokehouse in Belton

Brisket sits on the pit at Miller's Smokehouse. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

You never forget your first time. That applies to visiting great barbecue joints as well.

Our first trip 14 months ago to Miller's Smokehouse in Belton was one of those unforgettable journeys.

The visit was so inspiring that I couldn't wait to get home and write about Miller's. The lede was as follows:

"Every now and then you hit the motherlode on the Texas BBQ trail. For every 20 mediocre BBQ joints, there's one good one. For every 50 good ones, there's one great one. You can add Miller's Smokehouse in Belton to the list of great ones."

Miller's Smokehouse in Belton, one of the best-kept secrets in Texas BBQ

Dirk Miller chats with a customer outside Miller's Smokehouse in downtown Belton. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins) 

One of the best-kept secrets in Texas BBQ is located just a stone's throw from Interstate 35 in downtown Belton.

The next time you're speeding down the freeway on your way to stand in line for two hours to get BBQ in Austin, you might want to take the Main Street exit in Belton to 208 N Penelope St., the home of Miller's Smokehouse.

I dropped in for a late lunch at Miller's on my way to Austin on Friday. This was my third visit there and it was quite good the first time Marshall Cooper and I visited a year ago. It was exceptional on Friday.