Daniel Vaughn, the barbecue editor at Texas Monthly, recently spent the better part of a year and a half visiting 37 states and almost 150 joints in search of the best BBQ.
He joined Standard to share what he learned about the influence of Texas BBQ on the rest of the country.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: So what exactly were you looking for in this sweeping tour of barbecue across the U.S.?
Daniel Vaughn: Well, I was really looking for just how influential Texas barbecue had become across the country. You know, Texas barbecue is certainly beloved here in the state, but so many of the new barbecue joints out there opening up had brisket, sausage and really some of those Texas hallmarks on the menu.
So you kind of went out there with a presumption that Texas barbecue was something special and you were going to go look for it?
Well, what I wanted to see was just how special it was outside the state. You know, how well are these folks doing?
I think for good reasons, there’s a lot of Texans who probably look a little skeptically on how good barbecue can be in Buffalo, New York, or in San Diego. So I wanted to go out there and see for myself. I mean, firsthand opinions are the only ones that really matter in my business. So that was the goal.
» WHERE THERE’S SMOKE: The latest on Texas barbecue from Daniel Vaughn
You write that what’s been a front porch debate for many years appears, at least in your opinion, to have finally been settled: “Texas barbecue has become so influential, it is now the definitive barbecue style of America.”
And I’m thinking there may be more than a few listeners who may think you have a bit of bias here being from Texas and all. Defend yourself, sir.
I certainly do have a bit of bias being in Texas here. But, you know, the thing is, we’ve all been seeing those brisket prices raised, and a big reason is because brisket is just so dang popular all over the country.
And there’s only two briskets on every animal. So when you get thousands of barbecue joints opening up all over the country that all the customers are demanding brisket, right there is that Texas influence.
Those offset smokers that you see the brisket being cooked in, the butcher paper lined trays that it’s served on, those big meaty spare ribs and the beef sausages – I mean, it’s out there.
You know, you say Texas barbecue is the definitive barbecue. And yet, what about Georgia hot links or Carolina pork or Kansas City burnt ends or Memphis ribs?
Those are all out there. Those things are all still beloved, for sure. But I guess one of the most surprising things I found was just how great the Texas-style barbecue was in those places – in South Carolina, in North Carolina.
I mean, my trip to Raleigh, North Carolina, where I found Dampf Good BBQ in Cary, Lawrence Barbecue serving smoked brisket in Durham and headed out to Old Colony Smokehouse in Edenton North Carolina. I mean, these are like bastions of pork barbecue. But here you’re finding some of the best brisket being served in the country.
You know, when places like Hometown Bar-B-Que opened in New York and Jack’s BBQ in Seattle, those kind of made sense. Those are places that didn’t have much of a barbecue culture to begin with, so adopting Texas barbecue made sense.
But seeing like Bain Barbecue opening up in Memphis, Tennessee; you’ve got Shotgun Willie’s opening up in Nashville, Tennessee. I mean, these are places that barbecue is already well known for its individual style. And seeing Texas barbecue come in and make such a mark, I think, speaks volumes.
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I think a lot of us in Texas understand what true Texas barbecue means, and quite often that means brisket. But there are a lot of places that pose to be or just put “Texas barbecue” on the marquee in front. And I’m wondering, how do you know that this particular joint, if you happen to be a traveler, is real Texas barbecue? How do you define that?
Well, I don’t know if real is such an important thing as good. I went to plenty of places with Texas in the name or on the sign, and they were pretty awful. But then you walk into a place in the middle of Orlando, Florida, Smokemade Meats + Eats, and they’ve got a big sign out front that says Central Texas-style barbecue. Well, you know, let’s go find out.
So walking in there, I even started to see very specific signs of barbecue from Goldee’s Barbecue, our No. 1 barbecue joint in the Texas Monthly list. They had similar barbecue sauce. They had the same white bread that they’re baking in house, the same pork hash and rice on the menu and very similar sausages as well.
So, you know, sometimes the sign is sort of meaningless as far as the quality, but sometimes it’s spot-on.
