6th Stop, 10 Days of BBQ, Dayne's Craft BBQ, Aledo

 

https://daynescraftbarbecue.com/

sampled about 10:45 am

One of my go-to spots for visitors and my buddy Dave came up from Austin, specifically for Dayne's.  Then he got the burger!  He did get some Q to take back to Austin, though.  I got my usual Texas Trinity with a couple of slices of Pork Belly Brisket added to the mix.  All was well until I noticed that the Chocolate Lasagna was no longer on the menu!  Wah!  It has been replaced by a new peanut butter/banana/nutter butter thing.  Not my thing, but I did grab one for my wife.  The receipt still says Chocolate Lasagna, so they owe me one.  It says so on the receipt. :)  A staff member told us they are unhappy with the consistency of the Chocolate Lasagna so they are trying new stuff.  I do hope it returns.

There were only about 6 people in front of us when we arrived but by the time we left the line snaked out the door.  That's why we usually go on week days.  Making #7 on the latest Texas Monthly list has probably brought them many new customers.

5th Stop, 10 Days of BBQ, Green's Texas Bar-B-Que, Euless

 

https://www.facebook.com/greenstexasbbq/

Sampled 7/12/25 about 11 am

This is the only food truck BBQ we're sampling on this 10 day tour and is definitely one of my favorite local spots.  On the good side, it's only 2 miles from my house and the BBQ is excellent.  On the bad side he's only open on Saturday from 11 am til sell-out.

Scott, Dave, Bonnie and I cued up about 10:30 am and we were second in line.  By the time he opened at 11 there were only a few more behind us.  Usually there are 12-15. I opted for brisket, ribs, twinkies, pork belly bites, and brisket biscuits.  All were mighty fine, as always.  This will probably be our cheapest stop for brisket, "just" $30/lb.  He has a new sandwich called the "Sloppy Don".

He has new labels for his All N One seasoning as he now has some on shelves at a retail spot.  He will be closed a few days in August and September so make note of the sign below.

Fourth Stop, 10 Days of BBQ, Zavala's Barbecue, Grand Prairie

 

https://www.zavalasbarbecue.com/

sampled 7/11/25 about 11 am

Conveniently located between Brisket Lane and Sloppy Juan Way, Zavala's is always a great stop and this is my favorite meal, so far, out of the first 4 days.  Patti, Scott, and David, joined me to start the line.  Ribs and brisket were great but the sausage was outstanding.  Many, many places offer jalapeno cheese sausage, but few bring the real jalapeno flavor and heat like Zavala's.  They chop their jalapenos fresh for their sausage and that makes the difference.  The poppers were excellent, too.  They usually sell those as a soft taco, but I convinced them to just serve me the individual pieces.  Good eatin' either way.

Third Stop, 10 Days of BBQ, Panther City Barbecue, Fort Worth

https://www.panthercitybbq.com/

Sampled 7/10/25 about 11 am

Scott and I were first in line at Panther City today and even got to visit with El Jefe a bit while we waited.  Another day and another of my favorite DFW BBQ joints.  Sadly, their excellent twinkies are only available on weekends, but I made due with pork belly poppers.  

    

Second Stop, 10 days of BBQ, Hurtado Barbecue, Arlington

 

https://hurtadobbq.com/

Another great stop today with Scott and Patti.  It's a great thing when you can't decide what the best thing on your plate is, because it's all great.  It might have been the pork belly burnt ends, but maybe not.  My to-go box had a belt around it.

First stop, 10 days of BBQ, Meat U Anywhere BBQ, Grapevine

 

https://www.meatuanywhere.com/

First stop on our celebration was Meat U Anywhere in Grapevine.  We rolled up about 11 am and found no line inside.  Scott and Jack joined me.  I got the Texas Trinity and everything was excellent.  The brisket was moist, tender and had plenty of smoke flavor.  The ribs were so good I went back and got 3 more.  The sausage had lots of gooey cheese and a nice jalapeno bite.  

More  meat tomorrow!

20 years of BBQ!

Hard to believe, but it has almost been 20 years since I started this little BBQ blog.  This all started when my friend Scott, who was raised in New York City, said he always wanted to drive around Texas and try different BBQ joints.  That sounded fun to me, so we just started doing it.  We made our first stop on July 24, 2005 and there have been many, many plates of smoked meat since.

We had two inspirations for our BBQ mania.  The first was the Texas Monthly Top 50 list.  Scott originally wanted to hit all their top joints and he continues to seek them out.  I was more interested in discovery.  Checking out every little joint we came across while traveling between the top Texas Monthly spots.  

Our second inspiration was Tex Smith's original BBQ blog.  Tex was a volunteer at the same community radio station where Scott and I volunteered.  I think he had the original web address TexasBBQ.com, or something close to that.  Tex seemed to always be eating BBQ and he had some great suggestions of places and methods while running around trying to find the best spots.  I'm sure there were probably other BBQ bloggers around back then, but Tex was our main inspiration.  He had to give it up when his BBQ diet started to seriously affect his health.  Fortunately, we have avoided such complications.  At least, so far.

Originally, I started blogging our adventures on Yahoo 360.  I figured that would be the best way to not have to answer the same questions over and over, plus it would help us remember where we had been.  After a few years, Yahoo ended their blogging app and I moved everything over to Google.  At first we used a numbered grading system, following what Tex had been doing.  That quickly went away and we have just been winging it ever since.

We have eaten BBQ all over Texas and a few in other states.  We have attended all the major BBQ Festivals, some, many times.  I've even learned to smoke some pretty good meat in my own back yard.  We have met many nice people and had lots of adventures along the way.

When I realized we were so close to the 20 year mark, I figured we needed to celebrate.  Scott is travelling on the actual anniversary date, so we moved the celebration up a couple of weeks.  Starting today, we'll be visiting 10 of our favorite DFW BBQ joints in 10 days.  That alone shows how much the BBQ world has changed in 20 years.  Back in 2005, I doubt there was any true craft BBQ in north Texas.  Today there are at least a dozen quality joints that can compare with any of the top joints on the Texas Monthly list.  One of my favorite joints is just 2 miles from my house.  Scott's favorite is only about 3 miles from his house.  Life is good.

Three days, two briskets

 

sampled June 26 and 29.

My wife's nephew has an industrial sized freezer and is kind enough to keep the bargain briskets my Mrs. snaps up when they go on sale.  Once or twice a year, we will double up and smoke one brisket for us and one for him.  Since we only have a small barrel smoker, that means 2 separate smokes.  We cranked out the first one on June 26.  Even though this brisket has been sitting in the freezer for almost a year, it came out perfectly tender, juicy, and with nice smoke flavor.

We did the second one on June 26 and Russ came over to get a lesson on brisket trimming.  I just do what Aaron Franklin does on his videos, only not as well, as I have done a lot fewer than he has!  We trimmed the fat cap down to about 1/4 of an inch, cut off any sharp edges, and smoothed out the overall form to make it as aerodynamic as possible.  The only seasoning I use is Don Green's "All 'N 1".  We have an extra step of cutting our briskets in half to fit in our little smoker.

I put the fatty end on the top grate (more heat) and the flat on the lower grate above a water pan.  I smoke it hard for 6 hours, then into a big cooking bag in the oven to finish it off.  It cooks for about an hour a pound until the internal temperature reaches around 202 degrees.  Then it goes into a towel lined cooler for at least an hour, sometimes overnight (the Vencil Mares method).  The results are buttery smooth, tender, and juicy.

We sent the Thursday brisket home with Russ and kept the Saturday brisket for our fridge.  It warms up great in the microwave and makes our kitchen smell like smoke every time.

The Original Roy Hutchin's BBQ, Trophy Club, 6/5/25

 

https://www.royhutchinsbbq.com/

sampled 6/5/25 about 7:45 pm

Our buddy John was back in town this weekend and he had a hankering for some of Roy's ribs, so off we went.  When we arrived the line was just up to the door and it took us about 20 minutes to get our food.

Everything was excellent, as always, though there was not a hint of smoke flavor in anything.  The pork belly burnt ends were tender and juicy, the ribs were excellent, and the Texas twinkies were as good as ever.  This place did not even get an honorable mention in the new Texas Monthly Top 50, but that does not seem to be hurting their business at all.  The fact that they are open 7 days a week until 9 pm will mean we will be back often.  They are set to open their second location in Arlington later this year.

Blu's BBQ, Dallas 5/21/25

 

https://www.blusbarbeque.com/

sampled 5/21/25 about 11:30 am

After recent raves from one of my buddies at KNON, I asked Scott if he'd like to go check them out this week.  Scott said he had sampled them pre-pandemic and they were awful, but he was up for giving them a second chance.  

They open at 11 am and they do not have an indoor dining area.  However they do have a nice covered area with picnic tables by the parking lot.  We pre-ordered our meals online, picked them up at the window, and chowed down at the picnic tables.  Everything came wrapped in butcher paper.

I ordered the Texas trinity, plus half a pound of pork belly burnt ends.  The brisket was overcooked and cut very thick.  The fat was well rendered and the meat was hot and juicy.  Mine did not have a hint of smoke flavor, but Scott said he had plenty in his burnt end.  The fine grind beef sausage had a nice casing snap but none of the spicy heat I like in jalapeno sausage.  The ribs were excellent with a perfect bite mark and a nice sticky peppery glaze, just short of candy rib.

The pork belly burnt ends were large cuts, similar to Roy Hutchens, with good flavor and tenderness. They were better than most.

For whatever reason, their brisket stuffed jalapenos were not on their online menu.  Probably because they only offer them on Wednesday and Saturday.  I went back to order a couple and they only had one left.  I fixed that.  It was excellent and every bit as good as Roy Hutchens.  At just $5, they were a bargain by comparison.  If they'd had more, I would have ordered more to go.

Overall, a good joint that I would visit again.

It's that time again

 The Texas Monthly top 50 will be announced in May.  Will your favorite BBQ joint make the cut?  Will mine?  We shall see!

Oil Field BBQ in the 1930's

The Texas General Land office has all kinds of amazing artifacts from Texas' past.  I get a copy of their newsletter from time to time and the current one had a link to this pictorial map of the East Texas Field.  What immediately struck me was all the Bar-B-Q shacks dotted among the oil derricks.  I guess the oil fields ran on BBQ power!

Here's the link to the article and you can actually purchase a copy of this map from the Land Office.

https://medium.com/save-texas-history/map-of-east-texas-oil-field-16cffdfe8bd0

Here's a link to the map itself.  You can zoom in and out.

https://www.historictexasmaps.com/collection/search-results/93949-map-of-east-texas-oil-field-texana-foundation-collection

The Original Roy Hutchins BBQ, Trophy Club 4/16/25

 

https://www.royhutchinsbbq.com/

sampled 4/16/25 about 7:30 pm

Our buddy John was back in town so off we went to Roy's for some Q.  There was a line out the door when we arrived and we had to park in the overflow parking across the street behind the restaurant.  We weren't in a hurry.  

It took about 20 minutes to make it through the line to the three cutters they had working.  My Mrs got one twinkie and the broccoli salad (which she loves).  I grabbed some brisket, ribs, pork belly burnt ends, and another twinkie.  The downstairs seating was packed so we took the BBQ elevator up to the second floor where we found plenty of seating.  Everything was scrumptious but there was not a hint of smoke flavor in anything.  The pork belly burnt ends were awesome.  I'll be surprised if Roy's doesn't make the next Texas Monthly top 50, but I have been surprised before.  I think they already have all the business they can handle. We'll see!  John was happy.

Terry Black's, Dallas 3/31/25

 

https://terryblacksbbq.com/dallas/

Sampled around 2 pm

I had eaten at Terry's in Austin a couple of times and in Lockhart once, so I figured the Q would be good, but not great.  Yup.  I got a half pound fatty burnt end off a fresh brisket but there was not a hint of smoke flavor to be found.  It was tender and moist, the fat was well rendered, but none of the smoke flavor made it into the meat.  The ribs were well cooked and had a perfect bite mark and the sausage had lots of cheese, but not much jalapeno flavor.  I've got to say that the $21 two meat plate I had at the food truck on Saturday was better.  Our lunch was $101 for two of us.  Even the pudding cup (which looked a bit like Dayne's Chocolate Lasagna) was good, but not up to Dayne's quality.  They were doing a brisk business, even at 2 pm on a Monday.

They have a big dining room, a smaller room off to the side, and a rooftop patio.  They even have their own parking lot, which is a good thing to have in Deep Ellum.