Hot dogs are finding a home on Texas barbecue-joint menus
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 […]
Why the Caesar salad is a perfect match for Texas barbecue
Why the Caesar salad is a perfect match for Texas barbecue. Who goes to a barbecue joint to eat a salad? Apparently, quite a few people. Salads continue to make inroads on expanded barbecue joint menus, with one in particular taking a leading role: the Caesar salad. Why does a Caesar make the most sense? […]
Announcing the 2025 Houston Barbecue Festival
Get ready, barbecue lovers! On April 6th, the Houston Barbecue Festival is back, celebrating 12 years of smoky, mouthwatering tradition. This annual event showcases the passion, dedication, and craft of Houston’s top pitmasters, drawing fans from near and far for an unforgettable culinary experience. This year’s festival is literally star-studded. Seven participating barbecue joints recently received recognition from the Michelin Guide, including the rare and prestigious one-star award granted to CorkScrew BBQ in Spring. That’s not all – Houston’s barbecue scene continues to shine with numerous additional accolades, from Texas Monthly’s Top 50 list to the Houston Chronicle’s Top 100 rankings.
The evolution of the Texas barbecue beef rib
The evolution of the Texas barbecue beef rib. In the beginning, there were beef back ribs. In 2010, I was on a pilgrimage to the legendary Salt Lick BBQ near Austin and sat down at an expansive picnic table to order most of the menu. All the usual suspects were on offer: brisket, pork ribs, […]
BBQ shrimp isn’t really barbecue, but it is delicious and worth the try
BBQ shrimp isn’t really barbecue, but it is delicious and worth the try. The Gulf Coast has a long tradition of creatively naming dishes when it comes to using the term “barbecue,” especially when it comes to seafood. If we are sticklers for nomenclature (and Texans definitely are), “barbecue” is defined as cooking and flavoring […]
How Houston’s Frenchtown gave rise to the ‘Barbecue Ward’
How Houston’s Frenchtown gave rise to the ‘Barbecue Ward’. Driving through Fifth Ward — the area northeast of downtown that’s known by its residents as “The Nickel” — you can’t avoid the railroad tracks. Today, the Union Pacific tracks slash diagonally though the neighborhood exactly as they did in the 1862, when they were laid […]
Cornbread’s connection to barbecue
Cornbread’s connection to barbecue. On a recent visit to the Memorial-area location of The Brisket House, I found an unusual item on the menu: cornbread. Cornbread is surprisingly hard to find on Texas barbecue-joint menus. For anyone who grew up in Texas or the southern U.S., cornbread was a constant presence on the family dining […]
In Houston barbecue, there’s more than one way to make fried pork ribs
In Houston barbecue, there’s more than one way to make fried pork ribs. Fried pork chops are a staple of Southern cuisine and soul food. At its most basic, a rib cut (bone-in) pork chop is seasoned, dredged in all-purpose flour and deep fried until crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. There […]
How the two-meat plate became the workhorse of Texas barbecue
Ask any Texas barbecue joint owner what their most popular menu item is and they will probably say the two-meat plate. Those big, Instagram-friendly trays piled high with every type of smoked meat may get all the publicity, but a modest plate with two meats, two sides, pickles, onions and a slice of white bread […]
When it comes to cuts of beef in barbecue, there are winners and losers
Over the past two years, Texas barbecue joints have continued to evolve and innovate in response to changing market conditions. For example, pitmasters have experimented with different cuts of beef to supplement the old standbys of Texas barbecue: brisket and beef ribs. Texas barbecue is still very much a meritocracy, and consumers have voted with […]
