Of Best Barbecue Joints in the South No. 1 is in Texas ‘Southern Living’ Says

15 of the 50 restaurants on the list are in Texas, an impressive number.

The barbecue in the South “just gets better each year,” writes Southern Living’s Robert Moss. If you ask a Texan, that’s easy to believe, as 15 of the top 50 barbecue joints named by the magazine are in the Lone Star State.

Most notably, their No. 1 is in Texas: the great Snow’s BBQ in Lexington. It’s become internationally famous since Netflix show Chef’s Table featured Snow’s fierce, female pitmaster Norma “Tootsie” Tomanetz, who is now 88 years old.

Snow’s was Southern Living’s No. 2 best barbecue joint last year, behind Scott’s Bar-B-Que in South Carolina, which moved to No. 5 in 2023.

Serious fans line up at Snow’s long before sunrise on Saturday mornings. That’s the only day each week Snow’s serves its famous brisket, sausage, smoked chicken and the like.

ADVERTISEMENT

Interestingly, the pork steak gets center stage in the Southern Living spread. It’s “a rare find in the heart of Texas beef country,” the magazine notes. Snow’s is worth the long journey.

Plenty of other barbecue joints in Texas are smokin’ hot, too, the magazine says. Taylor, Texas, treasure Louie Mueller Barbecue ranked No. 4. The old-school barbecue joint has a screen door that thwaps shut, hardly trapping in that delicious smell of smoke that’ll stick to your clothes. We especially love the beef ribs and sausage at Louie Mueller.

The first Dallas-Fort Worth barbecue joint on the list is Goldee’s Barbecue in Fort Worth, at No. 9. (Texas Monthly named it the best barbecue joint in the entire state in 2021, and we agreed.) Goldee’s was created by a band of best friends in their 20s who have worked at some of the best barbecue joints in Texas. It remains one of the biggest barbecue talkers in the state.

Next in Texas is No. 13 Cattleack Barbeque in Farmers Branch. Founder Todd David just sold the business to his pitmaster, Andrew Castelan. Southern Living lauds Cattleack for its brisket, as it should, but also points to the rare whole-hog program, which is more common in the Carolinas.

Tejas Chocolate & Barbecue in Tomball, at No. 15, is always an interesting addition because this shop combines the craftsmanship of making chocolate alongside the tedious craft of barbecue. Next comes No. 16, Franklin Barbecue in Austin, arguably Texas’ most famous smokehouse. No. 17 is Smitty’s Market in Lockhart, a restaurant that’s three-quarters of a century old. Southern Living is right: “There’s no experience quite like ordering barbecue at Smitty’s,” with its black walls and raging fire right when customers walk in.

Smitty’s isn’t Texas’ oldest barbecue joint, though. That accolade goes to No. 23 Kreuz Market, also in Lockhart. Kreuz dates back to 1900. Most Texas barbecue enthusiasts revere Kreuz for its history, but few would have ranked it as highly as Southern Living did.

Others on the list include:

• No. 26: LeRoy and Lewis in Austin, one of our favorite barbecue trucks in the state
• No. 31: Killen’s Texas Barbecue in Pearland, which was converted from the Pearland ISD cafeteria into a restaurant
• No. 34: Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ in Buda, which recently relocated and is still serving its lovable mix of Texas barbecue with Mexican ingredients
• No. 37: Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin, an out-of-the-way spot lauded by many
• No. 41: Blood Bros. BBQ in Bellaire, a lovely example of how nimble barbecue can be, with brisket fried rice, gochujang ribs and banh mi sandwiches on the menu
• No. 45: Hurtado Barbecue in Arlington, a “Mexicue” restaurant that is now serving Texas barbecue inside the Texas Rangers’ stadium
• No. 46: Truth BBQ in Houston, easily one of the best barbecue joints in the state

Of note, all 15 of these restaurants appeared on Southern Living’s top barbecue joints list in 2022, in slightly different rankings.

We have said that Fort Worth is the best barbecue city in Texas, but Southern Living’s list only names Cowtown’s most popular barbecue joint of the moment, Goldee’s. Come back to Fort Worth, ya hear? There’s lots more to eat.

Other Texas barbecue joints we were surprised didn’t make the list are Hutchins BBQ in McKinney or Frisco; Terry Black’s Barbecue, which is originally from Austin but expanding all over Texas; Interstellar in Austin; and Evie Mae’s in the Panhandle.

But, Texans should still feel proud of the Southern showing here. “The South” is a big place, with plenty of styles of barbecue that have been perfected for decades or more.

Read Southern Living’s full list.

Source : The Dallas Morning News