Mueller ties run deep in BBQ joints on the Posse's Best of Austin Tour

A portrait of the late Bobby Mueller, shot by daughter LeAnn, watches over La Barbecue. (Photo by Tom Fox/DMN)

Follow the roots of most of the joints on our recent Best of Austin tour and they trace back, directly or indirectly, to Texas legend Louie Mueller and his place in Taylor.

LeAnn and John Mueller,  grand children of Louie and children of Bobby, are the most direct links. LeAnn owns La Barbecue. John is the pitmaster at John Mueller Meat Co. They used to work together but then there was that infamous blow up.

Aaron Franklin, owner of Franklin Barbecue, once worked for John Mueller.

Lance Kirkpatrick, pitmaster at Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew, once worked at Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor.

John Lewis, pitmaster at La Barbecue, worked with Aaron Franklin at Franklin's and worked briefly with John Mueller.

BBQ is..... A photo project by Posse member Daniel Goncalves

Lance Kirkpatrick, pitmaster at Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves)

Here's a sneak peek at the beginning of an extraordinary photo project by Dallas-based editorial and commercial photographer Daniel Goncalves. As most of you know by now, the Posse is a pretty creative group, made up of Dallas Morning News photojournalists, writers, editors and their friends. With this project, Daniel has raised the creative bar for the Posse.

Daniel writes about the concept:

I love people as much as I love food. The Posse has introduced me to great people and incredible BBQ. While on tour I've been working on a pitmaster portrait series. Photographers usually shoot with digital cameras. At times I get a bit nostalgic and miss the dark room days. A couple of months back I bought a Fuji Instax 210 instant film camera for a road trip to Galveston. It's a compromise between the instant gratification of digital while still shooting film (without the need for chemicals in a darkroom).

In very stout BBQ company, Stiles Switch takes the day in ribs during the Posse's Austin tour

Posse members enter Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew for our fourth tour stop. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)  

We had a few surprises on our lightning BBQ tour -- 400 miles in 13 hours -- to Austin and back Wednesday. Among them, the great pork ribs we had at Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew.

"That was the best rib I've had in a long time," Posse member Bryan Gooding said. He said the rub had a "wonderful" flavor and the meat was juicy, firm and cooked perfectly. Several other Posse members agreed.