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

TFP BBQ Ep. 53 - Corkscrew BBQ Interview part 2

Listen in to part two as Will and Nichole Buckman buy their first Oyler and discuss their move to their new location in Old Town Spring, Tx.
We also talk about their consistency, selection of meat sources, and their obsession with order accuracy.

Be sure to check out Corkscrew BBQ, one of the Texas Monthly Top 10 BBQ Joints, and order the cobbler!

www.Corkscrewbbq.com

26608 Keith Street, 77373

Spring, Texas

Open Tuesday-Saturday 11am- Sold Out

Twitter @corkscrewbbq

Instagram corkscrewbbq

 

 

TFP BBQ Ep. 52 - Corkscrew BBQ Interview Pt 1

Corkscrew BBQ Interview Part 1

Will and Nichole Buckman had just started a family when they decided to transition
from running a small barbecue catering business out of their home to a full fledged
business. It was a big leap of faith with two young babies at home, but the risk paid
off. Corkscrew BBQ began operating their food trailer in 2011 in Spring, Texas (just
outside of Houston) and soon began receiving acclaim.

Though both had worked in barbecue restaurants as teenagers, Will and Nichole did not do
much market research before they began cooking and selling their barbecue, which helped
give Corkscrew its unique flavors and style that set it apart from other restaurants.
Alison Cook from the Houston Chronicle took notice of Corkscrew BBQ early on and wrote a
positive review which brought them an immediate rush of new customers.

Over the next several years the Buckmans continued to perfect their craft and in 2013
made the Texas Monthly's coveted Top 50 BBQ List. The accolades continued to roll in and
Corkscrew developed a loyal and large fan base, leading to stout lines and daily
sell-outs of their product. In the summer of 2015 a building became available in the Old
Town Spring area and the Buckmans were ready. Within a few short months they renovated
the building and opened Corkscrew BBQ as a brick and mortar in October 2015.

Having transitioned to an Oyler pit during the trailer days, Corkscrew added another
Oyler to increase capacity for the restaurant. Cooking on two Oyler pits gives Will
Buckman the opportunity to put out a stellar, consistent product while still getting a
little more sleep than an offset would allow.

In the spring of 2017 Corkscrew BBQ once again made the Texas Monthly Top 50 list, this
time being placed in the top tier of barbecue in the state as the no. 7 rated joint.
Business continues to boom these days for these two hard working, family oriented
business owners. Both Will and Nichole remain dedicated to running Corkscrew full time -
the restaurant has never been open without one of them there - while also making time for
their family.

With the Buckman's commitment to serving only high quality, premium meats and
ingredients, Corkscrew BBQ stands out with top notch prime all natural brisket, Duroc
ribs, homemade cobbler and sides, and non-traditional barbecue items like tacos with
homemade green chile ranch. Corkscrew BBQ is a shining example of how great barbecue can
be when quality and customer service are held to the highest standard.

 

www.Corkscrewbbq.com

26608 Keith Street, 77373

Spring, Texas

Open Tuesday-Saturday 11am- Sold Out

Twitter @corkscrewbbq

Instagram corkscrewbbq

 

TFP BBQ Ep. 51 - Franklin Fans round table

We love meeting up with fellow barbecue fans to eat and talk 'cue, and there's no better place for that than the tailgate atmosphere that is the Franklin Barbecue line. When we decided to make our yearly pilgrimage to Franklin, we asked if any friends and listeners to the show would like to join us.

 

A crew of nine of us arrived early on a Friday morning to wait our turn for some of the famed smoked meats from Franklin Barbecue. From Houston to San Antonio to Austin, we convened from different parts of the state to talk barbecue and decided to turn on the microphones!

 

Some of the topics we discuss include our first eye opening barbecue experiences, which one barbecue joint each of us would want to bring on a deserted island, and what joints we're looking forward to going to next. This episode includes tons of shoutouts including Feges BBQ, Zavala's Barbecue, LeRoy and Lewis, Louie Mueller BBQ, and many more.

 

Joined by our friends Justin Catrett, Taylor and Terry Osborn, Cory Gregg, Spencer Hoffman and others, we had a blast talking barbecue and then of course eating copious amounts of meat once we got to the ordering counter. Many of our group of course couldn't stop there and ended up at various places such as Terry Black's, LeRoy and Lewis, and Truth Barbeque.

 

From a semi serious discussion of great barbecue to building a life raft out of Truth cakes, listen in and join us out on the trail sometime!

 

Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review us on your preferred listening app. Tell a friend and help us grow!

Twitter: @bbqpodcast

Instagram: TalesFromthePits

TFP BBQ History Ep. 50 - BBQ History project introduction

The history of barbecue in the state of Texas cannot be confined to one story, one influence, or even one method of cooking. In a state this size with so much history, barbecue styles vary based on different influences throughout the regions of the state.

Low and slow or hot and fast? Pork or beef? sauced or dry? Oak or mesquite? We wanted to explore where the primary origins of Texas Barbecue came from and how Texas has not one, but multiple signature styles of barbecue

We are documenting Texas' barbecue history in a series of episodes where we will discuss our research and interview people from different regions to help provide a unique insight into what made Texas barbecue what it was and what it is today.

We will concentrate our efforts into four primary styles with unique traditions. Here's a quick overview:

• East Texas draws much of its barbecue roots from slavery in the 19th century which resulted in a heavy southern barbecue influence. Pork is prevalent in this region and saucing of meat is a common occurrence.
• South Texas to this day maintains a rich barbecue tradition of barbacoa due to its proximity to Mexico and large Mexican American population.
• Central Texas barbecue draws from its Czech and German immigration with sausages made from meat trimmings and simply seasoned meats. Meat Markets sold barbecue from the counter and patrons grabbed items like pickles and bread off the store shelves, leaving unused condiments to be shared.
• West Texas barbecue origins go back to cattle trails and live fire cooking. Mesquite is the prominent wood type and logs are burned to coals with meats cooked over direct heat to give a distinct grilled flavor.

Listen in to this episode as we get prepared to dive headfirst into this project!

Note that we will continue our more standard episodes in between as the interviews and locations will take some time to cover. These will be marked with BBQ History in the title.

Please remember to subscribe to us in your favorite podcast app!
Catch us on twitter @BBQPodcast and on instagram at TalesFromthePits

TFP BBQ Ep. 49 - Feges BBQ Pt 3

The conclusion of our interview with Patrick Feges of Feges BBQ

Leaving Killen's BBQ and joining the staff at Southern Goods afforded Patrick Feges the chance to continue composing smoked meat dishes in non-traditional ways, and also made it possible for Patrick to cook whole hogs more often. Whole hog cooking had become a passion for Patrick, and his reputation as a talented hog cooker was growing in Houston.

While Patrick was furthering his career in preparation for owning his own business, so was his wife and eventual business partner, Erin Feges. Erin's resume included stints at fine dining restaurants in New York as well as running the kitchens at Plonk Wine Bistro and Main Kitchen at the Marriott in Houston. Erin's experience developing menus for Blacksmith Coffee and Anvil Bar along with a position at Camerata Wine Bar made her one of Houston's most well-rounded and versatile chefs.

 

After years of searching for the right spot and right opportunity to utilize their diverse skill sets, Erin and Patrick were given an opportunity to open a Feges BBQ outpost in the food court at Greenway Plaza. With an expansive and creative menu of smoked meats and sides, Feges BBQ has been an immediate hit amongst its early diners. While plans are still in place for a more traditional restaurant brick-and-mortar, the Greenway Plaza set-up provides these two talented chefs with the opportunity to build an audience and make their mark on the barbecue scene.

 

Be sure to follow Tales From the Pits on Twitter @BBQPodcast and Instagram @ Talesfromthepits

 

 

Feges BBQ

WWW.fegesbbq.com

Twitter: fegesbbq

 

Location:

3 Greenway Plaza Ste C210
Concourse Level – The Hub
Houston, TX 77046

Monday-Friday, 11am-3pm

If you've never been to 3 Greenway plaza, here is a video on how to park: https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/984784762861744128

TFP BBQ Ep. 48 - Patrick Feges of Feges BBQ part 2

Join us for part two of our interview with Patrick Feges of Feges BBQ. 

 

After receiving his medical discharge from the Army and completing culinary school, Patrick Feges embarked on his cooking career. Following a brief stint manning a Mongolian grill, Patrick got an opportunity at one of Houston's longest established great restaurants, Brennan's. Working in a high volume fine dining restaurant was a vital step in Patrick's career, and when Underbelly opened Patrick saw another chance to become an even more versatile chef.

 

While at Underbelly, Patrick continued to hone his barbecue craft and began doing pop-ups at bars under the Feges BBQ name. The creative freedom given to the staff at Underbelly allowed Patrick to begin using non-traditional ingredients to start developing his own brand of barbecue. After a successful stint at Underbelly, Patrick was offered a position at acclaimed chef Ronnie Killen's new barbecue venture, Killen's BBQ.

 

Killen's BBQ was a high volume, high quality barbecue restaurant from the beginning and helped Patrick learn how to pace a line and process orders rapidly while cooking in large quantities daily. With one year running the block and managing the kitchen at Killen's BBQ under his belt, it was time for Patrick to take the next step in his career. An opportunity as a sous chef came about when fellow Underbelly alum Lyle Bento opened Southern Goods in The Heights. Patrick was given the chance to continue working towards opening his own barbecue restaurant while adding smoked elements to the Southern Goods menu.

 

 

TFP BBQ Ep. 47 - Feges BBQ Pt 1

We have told a lot of stories about people in the barbecue world and the different paths that have taken them to a career in smoked meats. While we have respected all of these stories, we are honored and very humbled to have Patrick Feges tell his story on our show.

 

After joining the Army after high school, Patrick was deployed to South Korea and later to Iraq right in the thick of the war in 2004. It was in Iraq that Patrick was struck by a mortar and gravely injured. Through a series of incredible circumstances Patrick survived his injuries. With his combat days over, Patrick continued to serve while awaiting medical discharge. During this time he was given a Brinkman pit from a fellow serviceman, which started him on his path to barbecue which included some incredible detours at some of the best restaurants in Houston such as Brennan's, Underbelly, Killen's Barbecue, and Southern Goods.

 

Tune in to this episode to hear Patrick's incredible story of survival and be sure to subscribe to the show as we will post additional episodes with Patrick that delve into his extensive career in the culinary world and the opening of Erin and Patrick Feges' first barbecue restaurant, Feges BBQ. Erin's incredible resume as a chef working for some of the top chefs in the country as well as running the kitchens for Plonk Bistro, Marriott's Main Kitchen and developing menus for the Clumsy Butcher Group paired with Patrick's smoked meat prowess and culinary background make Feges BBQ one of the most unique and creative barbecue menus around.

 

Feges BBQ

WWW.fegesbbq.com

Twitter: fegesbbq

 

Location:

3 Greenway Plaza Ste C210
Concourse Level – The Hub
Houston, TX 77046

Monday-Friday, 11am-3pm

If you've never been to 3 Greenway plaza, here is a video on how to park: https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/984784762861744128

 

 

 

TFP BBQ Ep. 46 - What's Going On - Loro, Feges, Banger's and more

Tales From the Pits has been traveling and eating barbecue.

We've been out on the BBQ trail quite a bit over the last couple of months, and
the foreseeable future looks just as busy. In this episode we reflect on new restaurant
openings including our extended thoughts on Loro, the new Asian smokehouse restaurant
from acclaimed chef Tyson Cole and Aaron Franklin of the world famous Franklin Barbecue.

We've also been to the newly opened Feges BBQ in Houston and provide some early
feedback on their newly launched venture.
Also included in the episode are some words on recent trips to Bodacious Bar-B-Q, LeRoy
and Lewis BBQ, Banger's in Austin on their recent whole hog cooking, and much more.

The near future looks bright on the BBQ front as we'll be going to both the Houston BBQ
Festival and the Red Dirt BBQ and Music Festival. We're getting deeper into research
and recording for our History of Texas BBQ Series and will be continuing on the road with
that in the coming months.

We also get into the early entries we've received in our Yeti cooler full of goodies giveway and some fan
shoutouts from some of the many great listeners that have contacted us.

Catch us out on the road and say hi and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review us on
your preferred listening app. Tell a friend and help us grow!

Twitter: @bbpodcast

Instagram: TalesFromthePits

 

TFP BBQ Ep. 45 - Red Dirt BBQ Fest - Chase Colston

For years Chase Colston dreamt about bringing a festival to downtown Tyler, Texas. His persistence paid off when after years of trying, Chase was able to convince his employers at Townsquare Media to help him launch the Red Dirt BBQ and Music Festival. Held every spring since 2014, the festival has grown every year into one of the best in Texas. 

 

The 2018 barbecue line up is incredible with joints like Black’s Barbecue, Bodacious Bar-B-Q, Evie Mae’s Pits Barbeque, LeRoy and Lewis BBQ, Louie Mueller Barbecue, Roegels Barbecue Co., Truth Barbeque and many more leading the way.

 

The music line up is equally strong with Read Southall Band, Josh Weathers, Koe Wetzel, Pat Green, and headliner Aaron Watson taking the main stage. 

 

Affordable beer prices, a relaxed atmosphere, great music, and some of the best barbecue from all over the state converging in one place make this a unique festival and highly sought after ticket. VIP tickets sold out in minutes and within 48 hours the entire festival sold out this year! But wait...we’ve got tickets to giveaway!

Not only was Chase kind enough to give us a pair of tickets to give away, but one lucky person is going to win a pair of VIP tickets to this year’s festival!

 

This our “spread the word” contest. We want as many people as possible hearing the stories of these great BBQ people that come on our show. If you want to try to win the Red Dirt VIP tickets, here’s how:

 

1. Post your favorite bbq picture on your Instagram page, tagging us (@talesfromthepits) and red dirt (@reddirtbbqfest). 

 

2. In the photo caption tell your followers to subscribe to our show on their favorite listening app and follow both us and Red Dirt on Instagram. 

 

3. Tell your followers to comment on your post letting you know they’ve followed us.

 

4. The comment portion of the contest will end at 11:59 pm central time on Saturday, April 7th. The five posts with the most comments will be entered into the drawing for the VIP tickets.

 

 

A huge thanks to Chase Colston for this great gift for our listeners. Lead by a stout roster of great BBQ joints serving up samples by day followed by a concert featuring top Red Dirt Music acts by night, Red Dirt BBQ and Music Festival is a must attend event for BBQ and music lovers alike. 

 

TFP BBQ Ep. 44 - Pioneer BBQ - Shawn and Amy Collins

Shawn and Amy Collins, from St. Louis and Houston respectively, met while working at a busy restaurant in Manhattan. While planning to marry Shawn was looking for barbecue wood on Craigslist when he saw a restaurant for sale. Before they knew it they were picking up and leaving the big city for the tiny town of Nixon, Texas where they would be the new owners of Pioneer BBQ.

 

Shawn and Amy would slowly tweak the menu, refining it to fit the food they wanted to make the way they wanted to make it. With unique items like spicy firecracker corn, spicy scorpion sauce, and some of the finest banana pudding in Texas, the Collins' have made a mark on their small town.

 

Our interview with Shawn and Amy touches on their beginnings, the challenges of adapting to the palates of the oil workers and small town folk that are their regular clientele as well as their burgeoning "Honey and Swine" Etsy store that sells both Pioneer BBQ's rubs as well as handmade and vintage home decor. The store also features Amy's handmade clothing projects as she is a skilled tailor who went to design school.

 

In this episode we also unveil the rules of our Yeti giveaway contest.

 

Here are the contest rules and details:

 

1. Our Tales from the Pits sticker is placed at all of the following BBQ joints.

 

2M Smokehouse

Bodacious BBQ on Mobberly Ave.

Brotherton's Black Iron Barbecue

Evie Mae's Barbeque

John Mueller Blackbox Barbecue

Opie's BBQ

Pioneer BBQ

Roegels Barbecue Co.

Snow's BBQ

Truth Barbeque

 

2.  Take a selfie in front of our sticker at any/all of these 10 BBQ Joints to be entered into our Yeti contest. Each selfie is worth ONE entry into the contest. Each picture must be posted on Instagram and @talesfromthepits must be tagged in each photo.

 

3. Take a selfie in front of our sticker at any/all of these 10 BBQ Joints while holding some BBQ from any/all of the joints. Every entry with you holding food is worth TWO entries into the contest. Each picture must be posted on Instagram and @talesfromthepits must be tagged in each photo.

 

4. A maximum of ONE entry per person per BBQ joint is permitted; a maximum of 20 entries per person is permitted.

 

5. The giveaway winner will be selected at random from all eligible entries.

 

6. Family of Tales from the Pits hosts are prohibited from winning this prize.

 

7. Contest ends at 11:59 PM July 4th, 2018 

 

 

The items won in the giveaway include a Yeti Tundra 45 Cooler filled with various merchandise including but not limited to shirts, hats, koozies, and stickers. Items in the cooler are subject to change. The entire giveaway prizes must be redeemed in person by the winner at a time and place mutually convenient for both the podcast hosts and the prize winner.