Houston Barbecue Events

A brief history of brisket in Houston

April 24, 2025

A brief history of brisket in Houston. One of the few certainties of life in Texas is finding brisket on a barbecue menu. This was not always the case. Brisket only became a regular menu item in the 1960s, when Midwest meatpackers made them readily available by shipping them pre-butchered in boxes to restaurants across the country. “Boxed beef” helped brisket to overthrow beef shoulder (clod) as the quintessential Texas barbecue joint menu offering. But brisket as a cut of beef certainly existed before the 1960s. A history of commercially-available brisket in Houston, as documented in the pages of the Houston Chronicle, goes back to early 1900s, and often paralleled

Why Texas sheet cake is the unsung hero of barbecue desserts

April 9, 2025

Why Texas sheet cake is the unsung hero of barbecue desserts. Texas barbecue is, by and large, about tradition. One of its enduring and endearing characteristics is that it delivers comfort in both food and experience. Though many barbecue joints are branching out when it comes to new menu items, we’ll never get our Texas card revoked for ordering brisket, pork ribs, sausage, coleslaw and banana pudding. Still, lingering on the periphery of many menus are items that are either lesser-known or are a regional specialty. For instance, only in recent years have Central Texas joints acknowledged Southeast Texas as a legitimate barbecue region by accepting smoked boudin as a

Hot dogs are finding a home on Texas barbecue-joint menus

March 18, 2025

Hot dogs are finding a home on Texas barbecue-joint menus. Barbecue menus are expanding with new items, including tacos, burgers, fried chicken and enchiladas. More recently, another culinary staple is popping up: hot dogs. Of course, hot dogs are ubiquitous in any city’s restaurant landscape. Houstonians of all ages can recall their first visit to James Coney Island, or JCI Grill as it is now called. A visit to New York City isn’t complete without a trip to a hot dog stand, where the classic boiled hot dog covered in yellow mustard and sauerkraut will set you back about seven bucks when you throw in a can of soda. Heading