Tales from the pits, a Texas BBQ podcast featuring trendsetters, leaders, and icons from the barbecue industry

Andrew Castelan got bit by the BBQ bug while going to college, which started him down a path that is all too familiar to us fellow barbecue hounds. His interest in live fire cooking eventually lead to him building his own pit as well as purchasing a Mill Scale pit. But Andrew knew that if he was going to truly chase his dream, he would have to leave his desk job behind and try his hand at cooking...

We recently asked on Instagram which barbecue spot would you say is the best in Texas. It’s the age old debate amongst our fellow BBQ nerds and often spurs spirited back and forth. It’s the question Texas Monthly tries to answer every four years and with their new Texas Monthly list coming later in 2021, we felt it would be a good time to start the discussion as well. The submissions we received w...

The restaurant industry is never a smooth ride, and no one knows that better than Jim Buchanan. Jim’s tireless determination and no quit attitude has helped sustained him through a number of trials and tribulations in the hospitality industry.  After Jim’s brick and mortar location in Galveston didn’t work out as he’d hoped, he received a call from the owners of Dozier’s BBQ, a 64 year old establi...

Blue Broussard, a lifelong native of Southeast Texas, left the security of the family business to chase a dream and open up his own BBQ joint in Beaumont. This historic East Texas city has long been known for its distinct style of barbecue that varies greatly from the Central Texas flavor profiles that is prevalent throughout much of Texas these days. Taking a risk, Blue decided it was time to int...

When we first visited Smokin’ Z’s BBQ, Zaid and Mallory Al-Jazrawi were serving up quality barbecue in the Galveston area in 2018-2019 when they were faced with a problem many growing barbecue businesses face: the need for pit expansion to keep up with demand.    Unfortunately, following the arrival of their new 1,000 gallon pit, health department permitting issues threw a wrench into the plans fo...

Cade Mercer grew up in the Seguin and New Braunfels area with cooking always as a major part of his life. After working in restaurants during high school, Cade started his cooking career at Rudy’s BBQ shortly after trying college.  To grow his skills, Cade went to culinary school and then entered the fine dining world. Follow brief stints at restaurants near his hometown, a fateful call from Reid...

This year has seen more than its share of challenges for everyone, the barbecue world included.  In this episode we discuss some of the good things that have happened around barbecue this year that we’re thankful for. Tune in to hear about some of the new happenings in BBQ, some menu items and restaurants that continue to wow us, and more.  

After releasing an episode nearly every week for almost three years, we were ready for a bit of a break. But what 2020 had in store was not something we could have ever planned for or wanted. After a long period of staying mostly close to home, we're starting to venture out safely for one of our favorite activities, barbecue road trips.   As it's been such a delay, we thought we might as well act...

Having just completed our first BBQ road trip since the quarantine began, we discuss our experience going to four places, safety and social distancing measures we personally implemented as well as those we’ve seen at the places we’ve been to during the pandemic.  One positive to come from the coronavirus situation from a customer standpoint is it has provided opportunities to get food from places...

When we started this podcast three years ago we had no idea what the show would become or the places it would take us. We are incredibly grateful to all of the amazing people in the BBQ industry that have given us the gift of their time and their story.   From our first episode breaking down the 2017 Texas Monthly top ten list to interviews with some of the top BBQ cooks and pit fabricators and ev...

The world, and more recently the United States, has begun to deal with the effects of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As large events cancel, corporations and school districts suspend operations, and people begin to stay home in large numbers, the inevitable decline in sales that small businesses will experience is frightening for many Americans.   Barbecue restaurants operate on tight budgets and s...

In August of 2015 Leonard Botello and family opened up a tiny BBQ joint just outside of Brenham, Texas. There was no big grand opening, there was no meeting of the #BBQFam or podcasts, and no social media campaign. That is precisely how Leonard wanted to launch. Bryan noticed the name change from "J's BBQ" (not to be confused with LJ's which was to open later) to "Truth Barbeque" as he drove back...

On our way back from a recent road trip we came up with five of our favorite things happening in BBQ right now. We discussed the following topics: What's old is new again Breaking away from the brisket bubble Accessibility of great BBQ Expansion of quality BBQ joints The full meal experience Take a listen and if you like our show please make sure to tell others, and if you visit a BBQ joint or buy...

The DFW barbecue scene is blowing up, and popups, food trailers, and brick and mortars are opening around town.  Brandon Hurtado has progressed through popups and food trailer into a retail store front, bringing his spin on Hispanic influenced Texas Barbecue to the game.  The brick and mortar retail establishment is having the grand  opening Sat Feb 22, 2020 at 205 East Front Street, Arlington, TX...

Texas BBQ has seen massive growth in the last 10 years and many of us have been lucky to witness it firsthand. The epicenter has shifted and morphed from Central Texas; top tier BBQ is available in every major city and most towns. With the popularity, the supply and demand economics of the growing world of BBQ have altered the price of a BBQ meal from a modest blue collar staple to a luxury - but...

When Justin Earley and Steven Bailey began fine tuning their barbecue skills they did what many in the current generation of pitmasters did, they turned to books and videos. While knowledge requires both learning and practice, the wealth of information available today provides a great starting point. Their chimichurri, made by Justin's mother, helped them land a spot in Texas Monthly's Best Texas...

We answer listener submitted questions to kick off 2020 Our prediction of BBQ trends for the year Tips on cooking pork steaks BBQ Pit recommendations And more!   Mentioned in this episode: Butcher saw - Weston 47-1601 Butcher and Bone Saw with 16 Inch Stainless Steel Blade (47-1601), 16 Inch, Stainless Steel https://www.amazon.com/Weston-Butcher-Stainless-Steel-47-1601/dp/B001BQAQ88 Cut Resistant...

2019 was another whirlwind adventure for your hosts and we had an amazing time interviewing, eating, and cooking BBQ. In this episode we recap our year including some of our favorite bites and even our worst ones too. We hope 2020 will be as fun, rewarding, and challenging as 2019 was. Some of the events we had the pleasure to attend: Charleston Wine+Food Sausage Wars Red Dirt BBQ and Music Festiv...

Ben Lambert started cooking meat over fire at an early age, hunting and cooking animals with his dad. After a varied career that included everything from working as a tattoo artist to a slaughterhouse job to being a meat cutter at an old school joint, Ben eventually made his way to Austin where he’d meet his wife Sarah.  It was in Austin that his professional cooking career began to take shape. Be...

Shane Stiles' dream to open a quality barbecue restaurant came to fruition in 2011 when the craft barbecue scene was just emerging. Franklin Barbecue's brick and mortar had recently opened and the sides at the vast majority of BBQ restaurants were an afterthought. Shane reached out to Lance Kirkpatrick, a veteran pitmaster whose recent foray into fine dining had faltered, and the stage was set for...

Bryan Bingham turned his passion for barbecue into a job at a historic and highly touted restaurant in Longview, Texas. Bryan began working at Bodacious Bar-B-Q on Mobberly Avenue in the summer of 2017 and by fall of 2019 he was running the entire restaurant with a very small staff.   Bryan and Bodacious on Mobberly blend traditional barbecue with inventive, modern specials as well as anyone in th...

The legacy of BBQ is anchored in tradition and multi-generational families, passing methods down from a time when smoking meats with wood was a necessity rather than a luxury.  However in the last 10 years more has changed than likely at any time in history. It started with higher quality meat sourcing, not just in the grade of meat but including hormone free meat, small farms, and select breeds....

Pickles and barbecue have become a strong tradition. Pickling was invented for the same reason meats were salted and smoked; preservation. The acidic pickle also helps digestion of fatty meats. Most barbecue joints will offer free pickles along with bread and onions as standard condiments but these are off the shelf products, made with artificial dyes and other suspect ingredients. Even though fre...

Tejas Burger Joint A side project on a slow day was the genesis for what would become a standalone business. The second step was a glance at a store window while sitting at a stop light.  Listen in as Scott Moore discusses their signature burgers, launching a new business, and the details of what it takes to make a dream into a reality. This is the Wendy's Training Video, the music starts at 4:00...

Andrew Soto quietly launched his BBQ joint two years ago but the secret is out - he and family are cranking out great BBQ in the small town of Mathis, Texas. If an article by Daniel Vaughn and making the Texas Monthly Top 25 new BBQ joints wasn't enough to put him on our must-visit list, our buddy Abe Delgado of the I Crush BBQ Show told us to quit procrastinating and make the trip. After a recent...