Carnivore's Ball comes to Austin!

Our friend and favorite Aussie, Jess "Burger Mary" Pryles, is teaming up with some big Austin names to bring you Carnivore's Ball (which debuted in Jess' hometown of Melbourne). Sunday, September 15, 2013, at Ceres Ranch outside Austin. BBQ from John Mueller, drinks from St. Arnold & Moonshine Sweet Tea, desserts from Sugar Mama's, live music from the Trey Stapleton band, & more. Click here for all the details, and click here for ticket info!

Texas BBQ photo signed by top Texas pitmasters

I'm so excited to announce a very special door prize for this year's Gettin' Sauced! Our friend (and this year's official Gettin' Sauced! photographer) Robert J. Lerma is making the hard-earned donation, so I'll let him explain it. In his words:

The Project

Comprise signatures on an image of some of the best pitmasters, cooks and chefs in Texas BBQ.

The Image

Vintage steer Bar-B-Q sign in Corsicana, TX. Photographed December 22, 2012.

The Results

With nearly 1600 miles covered, I was able to capture 33 (likely to increase due to event being 2 months away) signatures, including the Top 4 BBQ places in Texas, according to Texas Monthly. Other notable signatures are of Monroe Schubert of Prause and Vencil Mares of Taylor Café, in addition to prior Texas Monthly top pitmaster, John Fullilove of Smitty’s Market.

The List

Aaron Franklin – Franklin Barbecue – Austin, TX

Bert Bunte – Zimmerhanzel’s – Smithville, TX

Dirk Miller – Miller’s Smokehouse – Belton, TX

Dustin Blackwell – Hutchin’s BBQ – McKinney, TX

Emilio “Emo” Soliz – Two Bros. BBQ Market – San Antonio, TX

Evan LeRoy – Freedmen’s Bar – Austin, TX

Gary Prause – Prause Meat Market – La Grange, TX

Gerald Birkelbach – City Meat Market – Giddings, TX

Harold “Buzzie” Hughes – Buzzie’s Bar-B-Que – Kerville, TX

Jack Perkins – The Slow Bone – Dallas, TX

Joe Capello – City Market – Luling, TX

John August Fullilove – Smitty’s Market – Lockhart, TX

John Lewis – La Barbecue – Austin, TX

John Mueller – John Mueller Meat Co. – Austin, TX

Jonathan Shaw – Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q – Tyler, TX

Justin Fourton – Pecan Lodge – Dallas, TX

Kerry Bexley – Snow’s BBQ – Lexington, TX

Lance Kirkpatrick – Stiles Switch BBQ – Austin, TX

Marco Oglesby – Opie’s BBQ – Spicewood, TX

Mark Prause – Prause Meat Market – La Grange, TX

Michael Hernandez – Hays Co. Bar-B-Que – San Marcos, TX

Monroe Schubert – Prause Meat Market – La Grange, TX

Nick Pencis – Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q – Tyler, TX

Robert Sierra – S&S Pit Crew – San Marcos, TX

Roy Perez – Kreuz Market – Lockhart, TX

Stephen Joseph – Joseph’s Riverport Barbecue – Jefferson, TX

Tim Hutchins – Hutchin’s BBQ – McKinney, TX

Tim Rattray – The Granary ‘Cue and Brew – San Antonio, TX

Tom Micklethwait – Micklethwait Craft Meats – Austin, TX

Tootsie Tomanetz – Snow’s BBQ – Lexington, TX

Vencil Mares – Taylor Café – Taylor, TX

Wayne Mueller – Louie Mueller Barbecue – Taylor, TX

Will Fleischman – Lockhart Smokehouse – Dallas, TX

The Objective

One print will be given away as a door prize at the Gettin’ Sauced event on September 28, 2013. Another will be auctioned/sold off by myself, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Warrior Dog Foundation. Please contact me for more information on how you can own a piece of Texas BBQ history and donate to a great cause at the same time.

Contact Information

Robert J. Lerma

Website – Ranchroadphotography.com

Twitter – @robertjlerma

Email – robertjlerma@gmail.com

Warrior Dog Foundation

Website – Warriordogfoundation.org

Twitter – @warriordogs 

As a teaser, here's the image before the signatures:

Texas BBQ Wannabe: 85

*Every so often, with my Texas BBQ Wannabe posts I remind readers that we are not actually calling these places "wannabes." This is just our catchy way of documenting Texas BBQ around the country & worldwide. We love seeing Texas-style BBQ joints outside of The Lone Star State; and if we find ourselves in any of these places, we're stopping in!

85. Wayne's Smoke Shack (Superior, Colorado) - True Texas BBQ

"After many years of experimenting with new recipes, Wayne moved to Colorado in 2009 where his local quest for BBQ began. In opening Wayne’s Smoke Shack, Wayne set out to bring his creative Texas style BBQ to his new home of Colorado. Wayne’s Smoke Shack began out of a love of good BBQ. Throughout his childhood, Wayne was fortunate to live in Central Texas where BBQ is plentiful and brisket is king. As his love of delicious smoked sausage and melt in your mouth brisket grew, Wayne began to BBQ regularly in the backyard."

Updated list:

1. Texas Smokehouse (Decatur, AL)
2. Hill Country Barbecue (Manhattan)
3. Dallas BBQ (Manhattan)
4. Tim's Texas Bar-B-Q (Beijing)
5. Capital Q (Washington, DC) - RIP
6. Little Texas (Iasi, Romania)
7. Back Forty Texas BBQ (CA)
8. West Texas Barbeque Co. (Jackson, MI)
9. Dr. Hogly Wogly’s Tyler Texas BBQ (Van Nuys, CA)
10. Barn Burner Texas Barbeque (Pasadena, CA)
11. JR’s Texas Bar-B-Que (Sacramento, CA)
12. Texas West BBQ (3 CA locations)
13. Tootie’s Texas Barbeque (Cathedral City, CA)
14. Armadillo Willy’s Real Texas BBQ (Los Altos, CA)
15. The Original Texas Barbecue King (Los Angeles)
16. Longhorn Barbecue (3 WA locations)
17. Bubb's Big Texas Style BBQ (Big Bend, WI)
18. The Texas BBQ Company (Northborough, MA)
19. DJ's Texas Style BBQ (Lewiston, ME)
20. Serious Texas BBQ (3 CO locations)
21. Abbey's Real Texas Bar-B-Q (San Diego, California)
22. Jake's Authentic Texan Bar B-Q (Rensselaer, NY)
23. Buster's Texas Style Barbecue (3 OR locations)
24. Howard's Texas Barbecue Service (Portland, OR)
25. Bennett's BBQ (CO, TN, & NC)
26. Kin Folks Texas Style BBQ (Altoona, IA)
27. Cecil's Texas Style Bar-B-Q (2 FL locations)
28. Shaw's Texas Style BBQ (Hercules, CA)
29. Backwoods BBQ (Corona, CA)
30. Cedar River Smoke House (Renton, WA)
31. Big Al's Texas BBQ (Lehi, UT)
32. East Texas BBQ, LLC (Huntsville, AL)
33. Bonehead's Texas BBQ (San Francisco, CA)
34. Texas Pride Barbecue (Huntsville, UT)
35. Bart's Texas Style BBQ (Traverse City, MI)
36. Roland's Bar-B-Que Company (Hot Springs, AR)
37. Ralphies Texas Style BBQ & Ribs (Fairmont, WV)
38. Taste of Texas Bar-B-Q (Spencerport, NY)
39. Danny's Little Taste of Texas (South Windsor, CT)
40. Taste of Texas BBQ (McCook, NE)
41. Lockhart's BBQ (Royal Oak, MI)
42. Big John's Texas BBQ (Flagstaff, AZ)
43. Big Star Texas Barbeque (Flagstaff, AZ)
44. Big Mouth BBQ (Great Falls, MT)
45. Bull Durham’s Texas BBQ and Steakhouse (West Chester, PA)
46. Texas Ribs and BBQ (Clinton, MD)
47. The Silver Spur Texas Smokehouse BBQ (Elm Grove, WI)
48. Elmer's Authentic Texas BBQ (Battle Lake, MN)
49. Doc's Texas BBQ & Burgers (Sonora, CA)
50. Dixie's Smokehouse Texas BBQ & Rotisserie (Kings Park, NY)
51. Bob's BBQ & Mexican Grill (Pattaya, Thailand)
52. Bob's Texas BBQ (Boise, ID)
53. Hickory River Smokehouse (6 locations in OH & IL)
54. Texas Tony's BBQ Shack (Naples, FL)
55. Roosters Texas Style BBQ & Steakhouse (Nashville, TN)
56. Lee's Texas Style Bar-B-Q (Detroit, MI)
57. Texas Smokehouse Bar-B-Q (Woodinville, WA) - RIP
58. Austin BBQ (Wheaton, IL)
59. Alamo BBQ (Richmond, VA)
60. Austin's BBQ (Mountain View, CA)
61. 4C BBQ (Ponce De Leon, FL)
62. Rotuno's Texas Style Barbeque (Elyria, OH)
63. Smoke City Market (Sherman Oaks, CA)
64. The Ranger Texas Barbecue (Manhattan)
65. 4Rivers Smokehouse (2 FL locations)
66. Podnah's Pit Barbecue (Portland, OR)
67. Taste of Texas BBQ (Keystone, NE)
68. Bubba's Barbecue (Jakarta, Indonesia)
69. Molly's Smokehouse Texas BBQ (Wahiawa, HI)
70. Smokin' J's BBQ - Real Texas Barbeque (Gulfport, FL)
71. Texas BBQ & Steaks (Nha Trang, Vietnam)
72. Texas BBQ (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
73. Lynyrd Skynyrd BBQ & Beer (Las Vegas, NV) - RIP
74. Red River BBQ (Melbourne, Australia)
75. Triple A Bar (Toronto, Canada)
76. Texas Bar-B-Q (Puebla, Mexico)
77. Bubba's Texas BBQ (Philadelphia)
78. Tex's World Famous Bar-B-Q (Nashville, TN)
79. Gilley's BBQ (Las Vegas)
80. Texas Pit BBQ (St. Thomas, VI)
81. Texas Best BBQ (Valley Village, CA)
82. Selma's Texas Barbeque (Moon Township, PA)

83. Texas BBQ House (Phoenix)

84: Bludso's BBQ (Compton, CA)

85. Wayne's BBQ Shack (Superior, CO)

Franklin Barbecue featured on Chase Sapphire commercial

Last night, I saw a Chase Sapphire commercial featuring Chef Nobu Matsuhisa on a visit to Austin's very own Franklin Barbecue. Aaron Franklin gets great air time, slicing brisket & showing Chef Matsuhisa the pit. Congrats, FB!

Via GAYOT.com: "Top 10 Barbecue Restaurants in the U.S."

Last week, Huffington Post posted GAYOT.com's list of the top 10 BBQ joints in the country. It's quite an interesting list. California snagged 2 spots. Only 1 Texas joint made the list: City Market in Luling. My home state of Alabama landed a spot in Full Moon, a favorite of mine. Check out the full list, & share your thoughts. As a teaser, here are the locations of the 10 spots:

Luling, TX
New York City
Kansas City, MO
Hoover, AL
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA (Apparently, this is an article misprint. Supposed to be listed as Cincinnati, OH)
Chicago, IL
Rockville, MD
San Francisco, CA
Montrose, CA

Gloria Corral to sell her book at Gettin' Sauced!

Yesterday, I announced that Daniel "BBQ Snob" Vaughn will sell his book, The Prophets of Smoked Meat, at this year's Gettin' Sauced! festival. But what's better than 1 BBQ book written by a friend? TWO BBQ books written by friends! Austin's very own Gloria Corral will have a table at the festival, selling her book, BBQ Lover's Guide to Austin. Stop by & snag a copy!

Daniel Vaughn to sell his book at Gettin' Sauced!

Our longtime friend & BBQ blogger turned Texas Monthly BBQ Editor Daniel "BBQ Snob" Vaughn will be at this year's Gettin' Sauced! festival. In addition to being an invited judge for the bottled BBQ sauce contest, Daniel will have a table full of his recent book The Prophets of Smoked Meat. If you don't already have one, stop by and purchase a copy! Here's a pic of me clowning around with Daniel (far right) and Chris "Houston Foodie" Reid (who is also an invited judge this year for the 4th year in a row) at Gettin' Sauced! 2011.

The Daily Meal: "The Ultimate BBQ Road Trip for 2013"

Our friends at The Daily Meal recently published a piece on BBQ road trips. They write, "With 60 spots over 5,120 miles, we're bringing you the barbecue joint essentials in 3 customizable road trip plans." Part 2 includes 11 stops in Texas. Click here for the piece's slideshow.

GoodPop is the official dessert sponsor of Gettin' Sauced!

We're excited to announce that Austin's very own GoodPop is this year's (and the first ever) official/exclusive Gettin' Sauced! dessert sponsor & vendor!  What is GoodPop? In their words:

"GoodPop All-Natural Frozen Pops are made with the best all-natural and organic ingredients.  Our delicious GoodPops are made in small batches with lots of fresh fruit, organic cane sugar (organic evaporated cane juice), and nothing artificial, ever.  The fruit-based GoodPops are gluten free, vegan and will never have any refined sugars."

These will be perfect for a late-September afternoon in Austin! Check out their flavors, their locations, their Facebook page, & their Twitter page!

Gettin' Sauced! BBQ wristbands & VIP tickets on sale!!!

It's time to get sauced! We're pleased to announce that BBQ wristbands & VIP tickets are now on sale for our 4th annual Gettin' Sauced! contest & festival (Sat, Sept 28, 2013), presented by Taste of the South magazine and hosted by Hops & Grain Brewing. Our charity partner is Goodwill Austin, which will be holding a donation drive at the festival, so bring donations!

Event entry is free, though sampling the BBQ and BBQ sauce will require a BBQ wristband. Wristbands are $8 online & $10 at the gate. VIP tickets, which include BBQ wristbands, are $25 online and at the gate. BUY WRISTBANDS & VIP TIX

VIP packages also include entry to the event 30 minutes before general admission, a Gettin’ Sauced! pint glass, a Gettin’ Sauced! koozie, The Q Card, a one-year subscription to Taste of the South magazine, a discount on a Texas Q Tours trip, a donation on all All-Star Sauces membership, & more. Visit the Gettin' Sauced! website for complete details.

WHEN: Saturday, September 28, 3-6 p.m. (2:30 entry for VIP-ticket holders) 

WHERE: Hops & Grain Brewing, 507 Calles Street, Austin, TX 78702

DETAILS: 

Official website: http://www.gettinsauced.com/

Direct link to BBQ-sampling wristbands & VIP passes: http://4thannualgettinsauced.eventbrite.com/

Twitter: @gettinsauced

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gettin-Sauced/139872462725933

Email: drew (at) gettinsauced (dot) com 

Red Dirt Rebellion to perform at Gettin' Sauced!

Last week, we announced that The Blackwells will perform at Gettin' Sauced! Today, we're pleased to announce that Red Dirt Rebellion will also perform! RDR played our 2nd annual festival and put on a great show. We're happy to have them back this year. Check them out on Facebook and ReverbNation!

Great day for a tour!

I'm hitting the road today for a private Texas Q Tours trip. With a van full of fun folks from the DFW area, I'll be making stops in Johnson City, Fredericksburg, & Spicewood. Follow along via Twitter, both @ManUpTexasBBQ & @TexasQTours. And, as always, if you want a customized, guided tour for yourself/family/friends/coworkers/etc., email me for availability & pricing.

Goodwill Austin is this year's Gettin' Sauced! charity partner!

We're pleased to announce that the charity partner for our Gettin' Sauced! festival this year is Goodwill Industries of Central Texas! We are honored to partner with a local charity whose daily mission is to help those in need. They help get people in the community back to work via their programs for the homeless, disabled, undereducated, and ex-offenders. We hope that this partnership will help them help others, and we hope that you will help us, too. At the festival, Goodwill will accept donations, and we encourage you to bring any of the items they accept. Each person who donates will receive a door-prize ticket. In the meantime, check them out online, on Facebook, & on Twitter!

The Blackwells to perform at Gettin' Sauced!

This just in: Austin's very own The Blackwells will perform at this year's Gettin' Sauced! Their brand of folk 'n roll should work well for our fall crowd of BBQ lovers. Make plans to stop by the festival and move your feet to their tunes! In the meantime, check them out on Facebook and Twitter!

Cuvee Coffee is official coffee sponsor of Gettin' Sauced!

One of our favorite local businesses is Cuvee Coffee. Aside from putting out a high-quality product, owner Mike McKim and the rest are great people. We've stopped at Cuvee on Texas Q Tours trips, and I cannot commend them enough for the way they operate and interact with us. We are fortunate to call them friends. That said, we are thrilled to announce that Cuvee Coffee is the official coffee sponsor of this year's Gettin' Sauced! festival! They will join us at the festival in their jeep and with their YETI jockey box, serving up their Black & Blue Cold Brew on tap! Be sure to stop by for a taste and chat. And be sure to check out Cuvee online, on Facebook, & on Twitter!

Google+ BBQ community

Just learned of "We Love BBQ," the official BBQ community of Google+. Great place to talk shop with fellow BBQ lovers, post and view pics, etc. I joined it. If it looks good to you, hop on board. And check out Man Up Texas BBQ on Google+!

Best BBQ in the Research Triangle?

Flew into Raleigh, North Carolina, yesterday afternoon and am waking today in Durham. Not able to stick around to enjoy any of it, but I'm curious what readers think is the best BBQ in the Research Triangle. So, of all the BBQ in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapell Hill area, what stands out? Also, flashback: Battle BBQ: Texas v. North Carolina

Update on Schmidt Family Barbecue opening

Getting closer to the opening of Schmidt Family Barbecue. Last June, I posted of their plans to open for business. Latest word from them is a mid-October opening. I will let you know the specific opening date when I learn of it. In the meantime, check out a pic of the man behind the joint, & follow SFB on Twitter!

Mad Jack's BBQ Shack (Lockhart, TX)

Earlier this month, Lockhart, TX, became home to another BBQ joint. Mad Jack's BBQ Shack, a BBQ trailer, is open for business at 1134 S. Colorado St. For now, they're open Friday/Saturday. Connect with them on Twitter and Facebook. Welcome, Mad Jack's!

Backyard BBQ: Pork Ribs, Sausage, Chicken, & Filet Mignon

Another July 4 "Backyard BBQ" submission. This one from our friend @maestrobw, who smoked up some pork ribs (St. Louis & baby back), chicken thighs, sasuage (beef and jalapeno-cheddar), and filet mignon. I guess our invitation was lost in the mail!

Backyard BBQ: Sausage

Another July 4 "Backyard BBQ" submission came from @MattxTexas. He sliced open a piece of sausage for our viewing pleasure...

Nutter Buster open in Manchaca

I'm a couple of months late finding out but better late than never. In mid-May, Nutter Buster BBQ & Comfort opened for business in Manchaca, just south of Austin. BBQ, fried chicken & waffles, macaroni & cheese, etc. Currently open on weekends only from 11a-7p. Also available for private events. Check them out on Facebook & Twitter. Welcome, Nutter Buster!

Casting call for BBQ cooks

Austin is one of the cities where casting/shooting is taking place for a new BBQ-cooking show. Don't have all the details, but what I know is that it's a show for BBQ-cooking enthusiasts that will air on a major cable network. Cash prize of $10,000.  Here's the info on the show's Facebook page:

NOW CASTING FOR A BARBECUE REALITY SHOW -- PRODUCTION BEGINS IMMEDIATELY -- $10,000 CASH PRIZE!!! EMAIL: bbqcasting@gmail.com CALL: 312-649-0091

Description

Award-winning television production company seeks candidates between the ages of 25-45 to appear in a reality cooking competition show for a major cable network.

Do you love to barbecue and consider yourself accomplished when it comes to all things grilling, smoking and meat in general? We want big personalities with a flair for the extreme and neighborhood pride. Rep your neighborhood by cooking a creative and distinctly unique dish on the grill that tastes and looks great…and you could win $10,000!!

If you are interested, please reply with your photo and a video displaying your dynamic competitive personality as well as your best barbecue to bbqcasting@gmail.com! Please also include the neighborhood you are from, description of why you qualify, your name/age/contact information. Subject line of email should be as follows: Area/Neighborhood AND City you are from, NAME, AGE.

You can also call David at 312-649-0091 for more info.

Blanco BBQ set to open in San Antonio

Yesterday, driving down Blanco Road in San Antonio, I passed Blanco BBQ, a soon-to-open BBQ joint. The sign said they are opening in mid-July, so if they're on schedule, should be a matter of days. You can stay up to date via their Facebook page. The address is 13259 Blanco Road. It's just south of Loop 1604. If you're traveling south from 1604, it's on the right. Phone #: (210) 251-2602.

Backyard BBQ: Brisket & Pork Ribs

Another July 4 submission to my "Backyard BBQ" feature was courtesy of Gabe Bunch (Denton, TX), who spent the holiday smoking his 1st brisket! Afterward, he threw 3 racks of pork ribs on the smoker.

Backyard BBQ: Brisket, Pork Ribs, Beef Ribs, & Sausage

From John Brotherton (Pflugerville, TX): brisket, pork spare ribs, beef short ribs, & Chappell Hill sausage

Backyard BBQ: Brisket & Beef Ribs

Big thanks to everyone who responded yesterday to my call for submissions to my "Backyard BBQ" feature. I appreciate all of you who took the time to send me pics from your holiday cookout. Lots of pics to post, but I shall begin with the first pics sent to me, courtesy of Dan Presley (Mount Pleasant, TX). Four briskets. Four racks of beef ribs. Atta boy, Dan!

The United States of Barbecue

July 4, as we all know, is not a bad day to form a country. So, let's do it. Let's ordain & establish The United States of Barbecue! I need to know two things: (1) Which of the 50 U.S. states make the cut for this new smoked-meat nation (Pick as few or as many states as you feel deserve it.)? (2) Which city will be the new nation's capital (No ties, people!)?

Gimme some Backyard BBQ pics!

It's been quite a while since anyone emailed me pics for my Backyard BBQ feature. Given that tomorrow is July 4, I figure this is prime time to reach out and request some shots of whatever you're smoking (Meat, people. Jeez!) in the backyard tomorrow and/or this weekend. Send me your brisket, pork butt, etc. pics, and I'll see what I can do about getting them some blog time. To see what folks have sent me thus far, click here. Thanks, in advance!

Friend's first Franklin fare

One of my great friends, @raeshort, sent me pics from her first visit to Franklin Barbecue (Austin, TX):

Taste of the South to present our 4th annual Gettin' Sauced!

For the third consecutive year, we are thrilled to announce that our dear friends at Taste of the South magazine are the Presenting Sponsor of this year's Gettin' Sauced! contest/festival. They have been the most wonderful partner each of the past two years, and we are so honored to have them present our festival again this year. If you're familiar with TOTS, then you know what a wonderful product they produce. If you're not familiar, then check then out online, on Facebook, & on Twitter!