A Texas BBQ podcast highlighting the food, personalities, and traditions of the Lone Star State’s smoked meats.
Episodes
Monday Oct 10, 2022
Monday Oct 10, 2022
We are fans of the crafts of butchery and were pleased to spend time with some of the crew at Red Hog Artisan Meat in Louisville, Kentucky on a recent road trip.
Butchery, charcuterie, and dry aging are on full display at Red Hog. Their restaurant and butcher shop provides Louisville an outlet for the highest quality meats both for home cooking purposes or for top notch restaurant meal.
Aaron Sortman, James Andrews, and Dustin Olsen are three of the key members of this ambitious operation that breaks down whole animals, cures a variety of pork cuts, and dry ages beef for Red Hog’s restaurant and meat counter. Tune in to hear their story which includes a barbecue component as Dustin and crew are doing monthly BBQ services at Red Hog!
Red Hog: http://www.redhogartisanmeat.com/
Louisville, KY 40206
Monday Sep 26, 2022
Monday Sep 26, 2022
Brothers Jonathan and Justin Fox grew up in Texas, moved to Atlanta, and over time have built an amazing barbecue footprint in that area. From humble beginnings of backyard barbecue parties to eventually opening their first restaurant, the Fox brothers have continued to grow their business.
Now fifteen years into being restaurant owners, they opened a massive second location serving their signature menu of barbecue focused favorites with creative touches. As new opportunities have come about for them to grow their brand, they’ve seized them all while keeping a focus on quality. Never ones to settle, the Fox brothers have now turned their attention to a new counter service style spot they’re building in the Brookhaven area north of Atlanta that’s slated to open in 2023.
Monday Sep 12, 2022
Monday Sep 12, 2022
Monday Aug 29, 2022
Monday Aug 29, 2022
We asked our listeners what questions they’d like to ask pitmasters, and as always you came through with some good ones! We sent out questionnaires to several of the best in the barbecue world and many were kind enough to respond.
Want to know what Todd David, Lane Milne, Evan LeRoy, Leonard Botello, Arnis Robbins and Joe Zavala have to say about things like tallow, prime grade beef, reheating brisket, their favorite bites in BBQ and more? Tune in for this fun episode.
We're proud to partner with Pitts and Spitts for this episode. Please visit www.pittsandspitts.com/tales and use promo code tales for a special spice rub inclusion with your purchase of $500 or more from this trusted Houston pit builder.
Monday Aug 15, 2022
Monday Aug 15, 2022
Monday Aug 01, 2022
Monday Aug 01, 2022
One of the fastest growing barbecue scenes in Texas is taking place in the Rio Grande Valley where local pitmasters are showcasing both the popular modern craft style along with menu items and ingredients they grew up with. We had a chance to sit down with many of the great business owners in this area for a special roundtable episode. Check it out!
We're proud to partner with Pitts and Spitts for this episode. Please visit www.pittsandspitts.com/tales and use promo code tales for a special spice rub pack inclusion with your purchase of $500 or more from this trusted Houston pit builder.
Follow our roundtable participants on Instagram!
Monday Jul 18, 2022
Monday Jul 18, 2022
When Kris Manning took over Smokey Joe’s BBQ from his father Kenneth Manning and Joe Melton, the original owners, he had a delicate balance to strike: balancing the traditions of a restaurant serving the community since 1985 with the desire to improve the overall menu by modernizing the cooking process.
Kris along with longtime Smokey Joe’s pitmaster Earl Harris eventually swapped out their trusted but troublesome brick pit for well built custom offset smokers. Armed with newfound cooking knowledge provided by the tutelage of the Guess Family BBQ crew, Kris began making changes to some of the menu.
The sides on the menu are a great homage to Kris’ upbringing and the simply seasoned hickory smoked ribs are a Smokey Joe’s staple that will never change, but the brisket they serve today is definitely the more consistent modern style familiar to today's barbecue audience. It’s safe to say Kris has done a great job straddling the line between tradition and evolving with the times.
Smokey Joes BBQ
6403 South RL Thornton Freeway
Dallas, TX 75232.
Business Hours:
Sunday -- 11am-5pm
Monday -- Closed
Tuesday -- Closed
Wednesday -- 11am-8pm or til Sold Out
Thursday -- 11am-8pm or til Sold Out
Friday -- 11am-9pm or til Sold Out
Saturday -- 11am-9pm or til Sold Out
Friday Jul 01, 2022
Friday Jul 01, 2022
In 2015 Ryan Zboril bought the well known Houston based pit builder, Pitts and Spitts, and saw an opportunity to grow the brand of this longtime trusted company. Working alongside his National Sales Director, Coy Christoffel, Ryan and the Pitts and Spitts team have stayed true to the core of the business while smartly expanding its product line to appeal to everyone from backyard novices to competition cookers and seasoned pros.
Listen to our interview with Ryan and Coy and check out Pitts and Spitts website to see a full range of their product line. Contact them to order your pit or grill and let them know you heard about it on Tales from the Pits!
Monday Jun 20, 2022
Monday Jun 20, 2022
As much as we love Texas barbecue, both the traditional and the modern styles, we’ve developed a strong affinity and appreciation for the different whole hog preparations in many of the southern states.
A curiosity born from a few Houston area pit masters that had done some whole hog specials over the years, in 2018 we embarked on an ambitious tour through Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia to sample and learn more about wood coal fired whole pig cookery. We returned to Texas with a new perspective on the barbecue served in those different regions.
Coincidentally it was not long after this trip that whole hog cooking began gaining traction within Texas and it is fortunately much more readily available these days in the lone star state. That said, nothing compares to experiencing the history of some of the long time establishments. We highly encourage anyone who has an appreciation for BBQ culture or who wants to perhaps cook whole hog to visit as many of these places as possible.
We’re excited to share that we’ve planned yet another trip through the south to revisit many of these places as well as try some spots we haven’t previously been to. Labor day weekend 2022 we are headed out for round two of #hogtripping and this time we’re carving out some time to experience Kentucky’s regional BBQ and visit some of our favorite bourbon distilleries!
Be sure to follow along on our social media and if you’re interested in being a sponsor for this upcoming trip’s episodes, reach out to us.
Monday Jun 06, 2022
Monday Jun 06, 2022
Having been involved in competition barbecue and running pop ups for decades, Derrick Walker is not new to the barbecue world. After years of working his way through the kitchen ranks at a hospital and getting a culinary degree, Derrick and his family launched their passion project, Smoke-A-Holics BBQ.
After operating a food truck for a year, the Walkers opened their brick and mortar in Fort Worth just a short distance from where Derrick grew up. The community took an immediate liking to the food and the accolades would soon follow, including making the Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ List in 2021. With a menu that is a welcome combination of barbecue classics that also draws from Derrick’s childhood food memories and utilizes his culinary skills, Smoke-A-Holics BBQ has something on the menu to please all palates with their “Tex-Soul” barbecue.
Smoke-A-Holics BBQ
Tues: 11a-3p (Turkey Leg Tuesday)
Wed-Sat: 11a - sold out
Instagram: smokeaholicsbbq