Texas BBQ Credentials - A new blog. But why?

July 07, 2019

Texas BBQ Credentials - A new blog. But why?

When taking on an endeavor such as this one it is often asked "why". "Why would you do something like this," or "What makes you think you're qualified to do something of this nature?" I often ask myself the same question but then I remember my upbringing and the countless miles I've spent traveling to and from Texas BBQ Joints from the Panhandle to south Texas. More than that though it is because of the deep seeded love that I've gained since I was a boy watching my Dad and great uncles cook over open fires starting sometimes before the sun even came up while shooting stars fell from the heavens. There were parties, reunions, Easter, Christmas, birthdays, funerals, and all kinds of reasons that we really didn't need to BBQ. There were times when I watched my uncle Bill or my uncle Richard load his BBQ smoker up with stacks upon stacks of meat while my aunts Rosa and Carmen made fresh tortillas, beans and rice. I'd seen my Grandma and my Daddy slaughter a goat that would be slow cooked for hours over hot coals until the meat was pull-apart tender. Watching the (mostly) men of my family load smokers and grills in the back of their pickups to go out to the park and have a big party for their children was always inspiring. It was in those times that I was most fulfilled as a person and when some of the best food I'd ever eaten was prepared.

To be completely honest I didn't have much exposure to anyone else's BBQ until I got on my own. I was living in San Antonio and my wife and I hadn't been married very long. Being a young guy with very few resources I wasn't going out to eat much nor did I have my own smoker back then. My father-in-law had come to visit from up north and he wanted to eat some grilled/smoked meats so he actually bought me a very small smoker/griller combo for my porch. This thing was the smallest smoker I've ever seen and it didn't really have a lid. It was just wide open like the pits of the old days except that it was miniature style. The very first thing we put on it was beef fajitas. Many people will say, "but you don't smoke fajitas!" Well, WE did! My pops let me watch a lot but really didn't let me mess with his smokers or grills at home - that was his stuff and his duty. My father-in-law was a little bit different though. He was all about hands-on training and he helped me set up the smoker and went out to the bush to gather some dry wood to cook with. We lived in an area full of trees and he came back with some small pieces of oak that he found in the forest. We got the fire going and when the coals and the wood were glowing red we started our cook. We ended up getting a good sear and some grill marks on the meat but as it cooked the meat took on the flavor of the wood and got a bit of a smoke ring on it that I'd not previously been privy to. After it took on all the great flavors we put slivers of that succulent beef into some fresh tortillas with some salsa and guacamole and I was even more hooked than I was before. This was the start of me wanting to continuously learn about all things BBQ and how to make them.

Fast forward to the 2000s and I'd moved back to my home town. I'd already purchased a couple of bigger grills and smokers and then I got a big catering rig that could hold about twenty 15 pound briskets. It was a thing of beauty: jet black paint with chrome wheels and smokestacks, a propane starter in the firebox and its own steam producer to keep the humidity in the main chamber up while cooking. You didn't have to really mop or spritz the meat because this thing kept everything moist while letting you produce a great bark. Due to some financial setbacks and wanting to do everything I could after a job layoff to help my family I sold just about every single piece of property that I owned so that I could try to save a house that was foreclosed on. It didn't work and I'd sold the one thing that had made me money and fed us during parties and was a source of a huge amount of joy for me. I learned the day that I sold it then sometimes plans don't always work out the way we want them to.

After that, I downsized and got a couple of small Dyna-Glo smokers so that I could keep practicing and keeping my chops up (no pun intended) and that way in the future I'd be ready. At many of my jobs, I was asked why I didn't have my own place when I cooked for folks. I always told them I'd be glad to have them as investors but none of them were really that financially sound to ever help with that. One day I decided that I'd take some BBQ in to some folks on my team and my boss called me to the desk. He leaned back in his chair, with a look of utter bliss on his face and said, "Mac, that brisket is as good or better than anything I've ever had. What did you do to make it so good?" I just told him the standard smoking time, a few spices, water pan, blah, blah, blah, etc. etc. etc. and he was hooked. Not long after that, he asked me if I wanted another smoker. Do bees buzz? Do dogs bark? Do Texans like to smoke meats? YEAH, I wanted another smoker. I spoke up for it sight unseen and I picked it up with my boys not knowing if it was any good. It was quite rusty with some holes in the firebox but I was like I can refurb this and last year I finally did so adding a new firebox, sealing it with a rope style gasket, high heat silicone, and dropping some old school high-heat silver paint on it in honor of my dad and my old uncles (all their smokers and grills were silver) I went to town. I drilled new holes for grill level thermometers and sealed every hole on it with more silicone. It was now ready to cook some great Q and although it was very small I smoked beef ribs, brisket, sausage, turkey, and all kinds of other meats on it. It was a thing of beauty.

Whilst all this was going on I made it a point to get a copy of the Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ joints every time I could so I'd know where to go to find and taste BBQ that was considered the gold standard. Over the last couple of years, I've been to places like Snow's, Franklin, Tyler's, Evie Mae's, Valentina's, Kreuz Market, Miller's Smokehouse, Stillwater, Baker Boy's, Hays Co. BBQ, Big Boys, Two Brothers, 2M Smokehouse, Cooper's, City Market, and even some Top 25 new places like Black Board BBQ. I've gone to lesser know places or chains as well like Grady's, Rudy's, Meat U Anywhere BBQ and Catering, RJ BBQ, Hampton's BBQ (closed) Zimmerhanzel's, South BBQ, and some I can't even remember at this point. I still have a long list of places I'd like to go and soon that will be a reality.

In January of this year, I finally got a bigger smoker with a little bit higher capacity and I've been cooking at least once a week in it and putting out all kinds of smoked goodies. As the title suggests, I've got some credentials because I've done the work, I've eaten the food and by the grace of the good Lord, I'm a Texan. If that doesn't qualify me I don't know what does. Watch my blog closely and take a look at the pics I post. I promise I'll do my best do thrill you as much as I am every time I get a taste of Texas Q.