Soft on gassers? Not so says Posse member Bruce Tomaso.....

Snow's BBQ pit boss Tootsie Tomanetz tends the pits as the sun rises over Lexington. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

By Bruce Tomaso/Texas BBQ Posse

Gary Jacobson is a friend of mine. He’s a gifted writer, an extraordinary journalist with a sharp wit and a sharper mind.

And he knows his barbecue. He’s been riding with the Posse longer than just about any of us.

So it pains me to say this:

On the subject of gas-fired smokers, Gary Jacobson is full of gas.

A few days ago, he wrote on this blog that “perhaps we have mellowed a bit” on the question of whether meat cooked with gas is worthy of consideration alongside true, wood-smoked Texas barbecue.

“We're just not as militant about using wood as we once were,” he said.

I still haven’t figured out how to leave a comment on this damned blog, even though I’ve been contributing to it, off and on, for a couple of years now.

If I had, Gary and his pro-propane pals would have read this comment from me:

“Speak for yourself, homes.”

I like my gas fireplace at home, because I don’t have to clean out ashes and I can turn it off when I leave.

I like my barbecue cooked with wood, because that’s the way you do it.

Gary’s flawed conclusion was based on Posse visits to a couple of joints that cook with gas and turn out good food. (He actually wrote “damn good” food, a difference that may not be worth quibbling over, even though he’s wrong. It was good.)

Here’s what I say: Scroll back to the top of this page and see what’s written there, plain as a hickory log. The mission of the Texas BBQ Posse, its very raison d’ être, is to travel the state “in search of the greatest smoked meats.”

It says nothing about “good.”

Is it possible to turn out decent barbecue using the same fuel that powers forklifts, Zambonis, and hot air balloons?

I guess it is.

Is it possible to turn out world-class barbecue on a gasser? Divinely inspired barbecue? Smoky, flavorful, perfectly crafted barbecue? The kind that conjures up daily lines at the doors of Franklin, La Barbecue, Pecan Lodge and Hutchins? The kind that devotees gladly drive hundreds of miles to enjoy at Snow’s in Lexington, or Louie Mueller in Taylor, or Miller’s Smokehouse in Belton?

If so, I’ve yet to find it. Until I do, I remain as militant as ever.

In the meantime, I’ll regard my friend Gary’s lapse in judgment as evidence that sometimes even brilliant people can be spectacularly wrong. (Want more evidence? Check out this video.)

Hutchins BBQ in McKinney can hang with Austin's best and it's open all day

(L-R) Jim Rossman, Kathy and Steve Hunt, Gary Jacobson, Michael Landauer, Bruce Tomaso and Gary Barber at Hutchins BBQ. (Photo by Tom Fox)

For quality, the barbecue benchmarks are clear for Tim Hutchins, owner of Hutchins BBQ in McKinney.

"We're shooting for those guys in Austin," Hutchins said during the Posse's recent visit to his joint. He said he and his crew regularly travel to the new BBQ Capital of Texas to sample the fare at places like Franklin BBQ, la Barbecue and John Mueller Meat Co. They also visit Pecan Lodge in Dallas.

But Hutchins is even more ambitious. Many of the top joints in the state are open only a few hours a day. They close when they run out of meat.

"We want to serve great barbecue10 hours a day instead of just 2," Hutchins said. His place, which made Texas Monthly's Top 50 list last year, opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Hutchins BBQ won The Dallas Morning News' recent barbecue poll of readers. The Posse went there with Steve and Kathy Hunt, who live in McKinney and are regulars at the place. Steve won a meal with the Posse. He was randomly selected from among those who Tweeted a link to the poll.

Kathy ordered brisket and chicken. The rest of us -- we totaled 8 -- ordered the all-you-can-eat $16.59 special, which may just be the best barbecue value anywhere.

Everything -- brisket, pork ribs, turkey, chicken, pulled pork, sausage -- was good. The ribs were tremendous.

"These ribs are meat candy," Posse member Tom Fox said.

"This is just too pretty to eat," Posse member Jim Rossman said.

"The rub they apply is ridiculously good," Steve Hunt said.

Rossman and Hunt said they were the best ribs they had eaten in a long time.

Just before cutting and serving, general manager Dustin Blackwell applied a glaze to the ribs. When he stopped by the table, we asked Blackwell the ingredients.

"A real simple sweet glaze," he said, without elaborating.

Trade secret?

Blackwell nodded, smiling.

When Hutchins stopped by our table, he said that his goal is constant improvement. That's why he and and his crew regularly make pilgrimages to other top joints.

"We're trying to be cool," Hutchins said. "We're trying to get into the fraternity."

Hunt, who works for Dell, told Hutchins that he was moving soon to Austin.

"If you ever get ready to open there, I think you can give them a run for their money," he said.

Hutchins laughed.

"I think we've got a little more training to do," he said.

The Posse agrees with Hunt. Hutchins can hang with Austin's best right now. Make room in the BBQ Fraternity.

Back for more: BBQ Signs of our Times

Marshall's BBQ, Garland, Texas. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves/Fotobia.com)

BBQ Signs of our Times is back once again,with more memorable signs from our last trip to Central Texas on the Heart of Texas BBQ Tour and other Posse stops over the past couple of months. This blog post number eight of classic BBQ signs. You can use the search box in the upper right of the Posse blog homepage if you'd like to see some other sign posts, just search "BBQ Signs of Our Times".

If you happen to see a great sign while you're out on the Texas BBQ Trail, please snap a photo and keep us in mind. If you're a fan of our Texas BBQ Posse Facebook page, you can upload a photo for us to include on a future BBQ signs blog post.

6 things the Posse learned from its DFW Top 7 BBQ Tour

Lockhart Smokehouse, Dallas, Texas. (Photo ©Daniel Gonclaves/Fotobia.com)

1. Pecan Lodge, without a doubt, is the best joint in DFW. We already knew this, but it was reinforced as we toured the 7 area places that made Texas Monthly's new Top 50 list. There isn't a weak spot in pitmaster Justin Fourton's smoked meat lineup.

2. Bartley's BBQ in Grapevine and Cousin's Barbecue in Fort Worth don't belong among the Top 50, for food or atmosphere.

3. Call ahead to Meshack's to make sure it's open. We didn't and we paid the price when the place was closed. We wound up eating bad barbecue at a place we wish we had never tried.

4. Tim Hutchins of Hutchins BBQ in McKinney is the state's next hot pitmaster. He regularly benchmarks his food against the best joints and wants to constantly improve. "I'm trying to bring the level up across the board," he told us during our visit.

Photo essay of Hutchins BBQ in McKinney, by the Posse's Daniel Goncalves

Hutchins BBQ in McKinney, newcomer on the Texas Monthly Top 50 list. (Photos ©Daniel Goncalves/Fotobia.com)

Here's another great set of images from Dallas-based editorial and commercial photographer Daniel Goncalves, who joined up with the Posse early this year after moving to Dallas with wife Magda in late 2012. Daniel is helping us document the current DFW 7 BBQ Tour, where we are hitting all seven area BBQ joints from the Texas Monthly Top 50 list, each during lunch time on consecutive days.

We've previously published several series of his classic pitmaster portraits, which is an ongoing project for Daniel. Click here and here to see these projects. You can see more of his work at www.fotobia.com.

Hutchins BBQ in McKinney sets the bar high for the Posse's DFW Top 7 Tour

Hutchins BBQ in McKinney has some of the best prices in the DFW area. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

We kicked off the Posse's "DFW Top 7 BBQ Tour" Monday at Hutchins BBQ in McKinney and we came away agreeing unanimously that the smoked meat bar had been set very high for the rest of the week.

"If I lived up here I'd probably eat here once a week," Posse co-founder Chris Wilkins said of Hutchins. "I can't believe how this place has stayed under the radar."

Posse visits Texas Monthly's "DFW 7" top BBQ joints this week

After Texas Monthly announced their Top 50 BBQ list in mid-May, we thought one of the biggest surprises was the inclusion of seven DFW-area barbecue restaurants on the list.

The last Texas Monthly list in 2008 had three places in DFW: Baker's Ribs in Dallas, Cousin's Barbecue in Ft. Worth and Big Daddy's Roadhouse BBQ in Lavon. Cousin's is the only holdover on the new list.

As a group, we have been numerous times to Pecan Lodge, Lockhart Smokehouse, Longoria's BBQ and Meshack's Bar-B-Que Shack. However, we've never visited Bartley's BBQ, Cousin's Barbecue or Hutchins BBQ on a BBQ tour.

Thus planning for a tour of the newly-named "DFW 7" was set in motion.