These 25 trailblazing restaurants and smoked meat maestros are fusing classic ‘cue with global flavors

By Amanda Albee, Chris Hughes, Robert F. Moss, and Matthew Odam

Photographs by Daniela Loera | Illustrations by Mike Reddy

Barbecue is primitive. Elemental.

As soon as man discovered fire, there existed the rudimentary beginnings of a cooking style that would eventually sweep the modern world. The tradition can be traced back 10,000 years to the Caddo Nation, who would roast venison and other game over an open flame, according to Robb Walsh, author of Legends of Texas Barbecue. Before the U.S. was even a country, the colonies were turning livestock (mostly pigs) into smoked delicacies cooked low and slow—a method borrowed from Caribbean Taínos.

Here in Texas, the first commercially available cuts came from a Bastrop butcher in 1878. The motivation for this shift was shrewd capitalism—namely, exhausting old inventory and leftovers. But what really separated us from the rest of the porcine practitioners of the Deep South was space. With all that land at their disposal, German and Czech immigrants cultivated cattle and embarked on a true—if varied—Texas style of cooking post-Civil War.

The pioneers at places like Kreuz Market in Lockhart (circa 1900) and Southside Market in Elgin (dating to 1882) might get all the shine, but the Lone Star State has always been a vast plain with room to spare for diff ering perspectives. The African American barbecue of East Texas has far more in common with the mop-slathered swine of the Carolinas, whereas Rio Grande Valley iterations share a lineage with Mexican barbacoa. Even recent pitmaster luminaries like Tootsie Tomanetz (Snow’s BBQ in Lexington) and the late Edgar Clarence Black Jr. (The Original Black’s BBQ in Lockhart) were never staunch traditionalists stuck in amber.

See, what has truly separated Texas from other notable barbecue hotbeds like Memphis and Kansas City is its diversity and ability to evolve. This is fare that’s been in flux for hundreds of years. Yet no one has hit the accelerator button quite like Aaron Franklin.

When the gregarious pitmaster opened Austin’s Franklin Barbecue in 2009, he completely upended the craft. Never had there been such an emphasis on the quality and geographic origins of sourcing, pit building, fire management, and the careful trimming and seasoning of beef. His 2015 cookbook, Franklin Barbecue: A Meat Smoking Manifesto, became a bible for every aspiring pitmaster and backyard dilettante. Or as writer Veronica Meewes (Texas BBQ: The Art of Low and Slow) says, “The chronology [of Texas barbecue] could really be designated as B.F. (Before Franklin) and A.F. (After Franklin).”

Over the last 17 years, Franklin’s outsize influence has pushed barbecue into another stratosphere—one which merits serious culinary hardware across the globe. And it’s not just his obvious skill that serves as a lodestar for upcoming talent. His open-book approach to the craft (his YouTube tutorials have racked up tens of millions of views) have tapped into barbecue’s egalitarian roots and introduced a level of multiculturism and daring never seen before. Inspired by Franklin’s expertise and enthusiasm, acolytes have put their own stamp on the booming business of barbecue.

Now, Laotian, Cajun, Tex-Mex, Thai, and Egyptian flavors have found their way onto butcher paper across the state. So, while we salute stalwarts like Snow’s, we’re turning our attention to the A.F. epoch. Here are the contemporary barbecue joints that are changing the way Texans consume and consider its most treasured culinary tradition.

NORTH

Yearby’s Barbecue & Waterice

ALLEN

“We are young, Black, and Muslim,” C.J. Henley says of himself and his wife, Sabrina. “We are American.” The pitmaster is averse to generalizations, but his Muslim faith means his menu in Plano is halal (e.g. the menu is pork free). Instead, the Henleys’ output is focused on post oak-smoked dino ribs, cayenne-forward beef hot links, and thick-crusted brisket slices. The soulful cooking is buoyed by C.J.’s disposition for Southern hospitality, while Sabrina’s North Philadelphia upbringing insinuates itself in the restaurant’s garlicky brisket meatloaf, basted in barbecue sauce, and water ice, the snow cone-like frozen treat her mother once sold back in Pennsylvania. yearbysbbq.com

Photos (clockwise from left): Yearby’s halal menu features garlicky meatloaf, beef hot links, and exceptional brisket; co-owner C.J. Henley; The restaurant serves the Philly specialty: water ice.

CENTRAL

Mum Foods Smokehouse and Delicatessen

AUSTIN

Only in Texas will you find moist post oak-smoked brisket and ring-shaped jalapeño cheese sausage sharing space with a steaming bowl of matzo ball soup and egg salad fit for a Manhattan deli case. That’s because Austin native Geoff Ellis spent the summers of his youth visiting his Jewish grandparents in Queens, where he saw the parallels between New York deli fare and the barbecue of his home state. Now he mashes up the two in dishes like supple pastrami, brined for 10 days and rubbed with a buzzy mixture of coriander and black pepper, and served with house-ground mustard and sourdough rye. And that soup? It’s just as rich and satisfying as the Goodstock-sourced prime beef, with a three-day chicken stock and house-rendered schmaltz buttressing each plump matzo ball. mumfoodsatx.com

Photos (clockwise from top): At Mum Foods Delicatessen in Austin, owner Geoff Ellis piles tender pastrami on house-baked sourdough rye; the Grandpa’s Favorite sandwich with turkey and sauerkraut; Mum Foods owner Geoff Ellis.

EAKER BARBECUE
Fredericksburg

Boo Eaker immigrated to Texas from Seoul, South Korea, to study at University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio with an eye toward a career in clothing design. Around 15 years later, she found her true calling refashioning the cuisine of her youth within the culinary confines of her husband Lance’s Central Texas-style barbecue. Launched as a food truck in 2018, Eaker has since blossomed into a brick and mortar destination in the wine country with its gochujang pork ribs, bulgogi sausage, and a potato salad modeled after Korean banchan with the addition of chopped eggs, apple, and carrots. While the couple was initially hesitant to wander too far astray from its excellent wagyu brisket and house-ground Hill Country sausages, their Fredericksburg clientele has demanded otherwise. Its homemade kimchi has proven so popular, they’ve started selling to-go jars to sate their customers. eakerbarbecue.com

KG BBQ
Austin

Kareem El-Ghayesh’s path from financial analyst to “Egyptian Cowboy” began in 2012, when the Cairo native visited Austin and tried Rudy’s Bar-B-Q for the first time. An obsession took root, and El-Ghayesh was soon trading his blue button-down shirt for boots and a cowboy hat. Time spent training at Central Texas stalwarts like Rollin Smoke and InterStellar BBQ starting in 2015 aided in his quest to forge his own Middle East-meets-Texas approach to the craft. Now at his own venture, El-Ghayesh oversees his vision on repurposed propane tanks named after Egyptian kings, including his main pit, Tutankhamun. And the preferred protein on those grates? Lamb in countless guises: sumac-and-cinnamon-rubbed shoulder, bone-in belly (aka “lamb bacon ribs”), rosy medium-rare chops, and kofta—ground alongside beef and seasoned with fresh mint and nutmeg. In the Egyptian Cowboy’s zealous grip, even ho-hum potato salad and rice are elevated to the ethereal with additions like candied nuts, chunks of creamy feta, and an unsparing scattering of pomegranate seeds. kgbbq.com

LEROY AND LEWIS BARBECUE
Austin

Two years ago, LeRoy and Lewis upgraded from its original food truck to a sleek new building in South Austin, giving its innovative “new school” approach a more prominent stage. The standing lineup of meats—confit 44 Farms beef cheek, pulled whole hog, and barbecue flat iron—go far beyond the old Texas trinity. Pit-smoked veggies are front and center, too, in the form of miso-glazed carrots and cauliflower burnt ends, teaming up with other diverse sides like co-owner Evan LeRoy’s spicy housemade kimchi. With a serious dessert program helmed by pastry chef Yra Colado and a bar menu featuring frozen Big Red sangria, sake cocktails, and Texas-sourced natural wines, LeRoy and Lewis keeps pushing Lone Star barbecue far into the future. leroyandlewisbbq.com

MICKLETHWAIT BARBECUE
Austin

In January 2025, Tom Micklethwait moved his East Austin barbecue operation from a collection of trailers and tents into a former Baptist church with a large dining area out back. It’s a heavenly place to experience Austin’s contemporary barbecue style, which gives old-school classics just enough iconoclastic twists to keep things properly weird. Tallow-braised pulled lamb appears next to brisket, ribs, and turkey on the big menu board, while the regular “Tex-Czech” sausages are joined by a rotating roster of special links in far-flung flavors like Thai chile, poblano ranch, and fragrant spiced lamb. A former baker at the dearly departed Italian restaurant Vespaio on South Congress, Micklethwait’s homemade white bread and tortillas are a must, as are his cheffier sides like a vibrant lemon-poppy seed slaw and creamy green chile cheese grits. craftmeatsaustin.com

PARISH BARBECUE
Austin

A veteran of celebrated InterStellar Barbecue in Austin, Holden Fulco taps his Louisiana heritage in offerings like a brisket étouffée boudin and crawfish cornbread dressing. But nothing quite captures Fulco’s Shreveport roots like his take on smokehouse ham—here, coppa cured with brown sugar and fennel seed then glazed with vinegar, Creole mustard, orange juice, pepper jelly, and Steen’s cane syrup. It’s a far cry from the generic examples he used to indulge in back in the Bayou State, where the chef grew up hunting ducks. Incidentally, at the Parish trailer, those birds get smoked and cooked confit before being shredded for a bright, orange-suffused alternative to pulled pork. parishbarbecue.com

SOUTH

Burnt Bean Co.

SEGUIN

In Seguin, the early bird catches the hefty bone-in pork chop and King Ranch mac and cheese. Because with its many national accolades, a line now forms before sunrise on South Austin Street to get a taste of Ernest Servantes and Dave Kirkland’s heralded barbecue these days. Try even earlier if you want to partake in the duo’s Sunday brunch offerings like menudo and brisket huevos rancheros. Or maybe you’re feeling more adventurous in the morning? Recuperate from standing sentry with a parade of globetrotting specials, such as Moroccan spiced lamb ribs finished with brightly herbed chermoula or a Texas riff on classic steak frites, with a smoked beef rib and tallow-cooked fries. And, no, they don’t burn the beans. Like everything under Servantes’ care, these tender frijoles, submerged in a smoky, beef-studded broth, are among the best in Texas. burntbeanco.com

Photos (clockwise from left): One of Burnt Bean’s Sunday-only brunch offerings is a hearty menudo; Burnt Bean owners Dave Kirkland and Ernest Servantes; a barbacoa taco.

BUCÁN RODEO
San Antonio

If you hear the distinctive “ko-kee” call of Puerto Rico’s famous tree frog, the coqui, you’re not imagining things. Chefs Michael Berrera-Pacheco and R.J. Baker pipe in the tropical soundtrack outside their food truck to better set the mood for the experience ahead. It’s not a stretch to feel like you’re in the West Indies with Berrera-Pacheco’s family recipes, like habichuelas guisadas, the stewed kidney bean staple from Puerto Rico, and a double-fried orb of mofongo. But the carnivorous side of the menu is where things get particularly thrilling, with chicken quarters drippings in a house-made guava barbecue sauce, brisket rubbed down with garlic salt and paprika-forward Sazón seasoning, and pernil (typically pork butt) that’s smoked instead of oven-roasted. The duo even provides complimentary tostones—a deliciously starchy vehicle to deliver all that juicy pulled pork. instagram.com/bucan_rodeo

BUTTER’S BBQ
Sinton

Owner Andrew Soto’s “Small Town, Big BBQ” motto is something he takes very seriously, as he has transplanted a solid version of the Central Texas style to the small South Texas town of Sinton. The slim menu generally sticks to the standards—prime-grade USDA brisket, pork ribs, moist turkey, and jalapeño-cheddar sausage—though Soto does offer Sunday-only beef cheek barbacoa paired with fresh flour tortillas prepared by his mother, Frances. The proficiency demonstrated on Soto’s mains are equally on display in the Mexican-inflected sides, particulary the Tajín-and-cilantro-topped elotes, orange-hued Mexican rice, and charro beans bobbing in a savory brisket-enhanced broth. facebook.com/buttersbbq

GW’s may be way down at the southern tip of Texas, but the Watts family’s Central Texas-style meats can hold their own against even the most famous Hill Country joints. A permanent fixture east of McAllen since 2021, GW’s delivers top-notch brisket and juicy turkey alongside unique local touches like grilled pollo asado drumsticks slathered in Peruvian aji verde sauce and vaquero sausages laden with masa, jalapeños, and Oaxaca cheese. Fresh Rio Grande Valley citrus and roasted beets team up in a phenomenal side salad, and the hominy stew tinged with brisket and green chile is a hearty delight. George Watts Jr. and his son, George “G” III, routinely go off script, too, with genre-bending specials like smoked lamb ramen in birria broth, Cantonese char siu duck, and crispy chicken-fried brisket. gwsbbq.com

Photos (from left): Co-owner George Watts III of GW’s BBQ Catering has helped make the RGV a must-try barbecue destination; alongside juicy turkey and ribs, GW’s excels at sides like its citrus beet salad and hominy stew with brisket.

EL SANCHO TEX MEX BBQ
Mission

The rare breakfast-focused spot, Danny Sanchez’s new air-conditioned trailer dishes out eye-opening breakfast tacos and biscuit sandwiches that marry smoky meats with vibrant Tex-Mex flavors. In keeping with their morning mission, the team operates in the back parking lot of Jitterz Coffee. First, grab a Campfire latte with Abuelita hot chocolate before digging into the Sanchez’s Milagroso taco, which miraculously melds a thick slab of mesquite-smoked brisket, beans, melted cheese, a fried egg, crispy bacon, and tomato-and-pepper-laced papas a la Mexicana on a fresh-griddled flour tortilla. More compact but equally tasty is the barbacoa con todo, with long slices of green avocado draped over chopped beef and sprinkled with queso fresco and cilantro. Add a finishing kick with one of their bright, fresh jalapeño or chile de árbol salsas. There’s no better way to jump-start a day in the Rio Grande Valley. facebook.com/elsanchobbq

TEDDY’S BARBECUE
Weslaco

Texas is dominated by offset smokers these days, but Teddy’s brings other styles into the mix. The brisket and ribs are cooked low and slow on big offsets, but the half chickens and thick pork steaks are cooked over post oak coals on a direct-heat Chud Box, which imparts a tremendously salty, smoky bark to the pork. The standout tri-tip gets the best of both worlds—slow-smoked on the offset and finished fast on a wood-fired grill. Throw in a few more distinctive wrinkles, like chile pequin sausages oozing cheddar amid a stiff but mellow heat, and you have a must-visit South Texas barbecue joint. teddysrgv.com

2M SMOKEHOUSE
San Antonio

Pitmaster Esaul Ramos’ unique brand of barbecue con ganas (“barbecue with passion”) is a convergence of the skills he honed at Austin’s La Barbecue compounded with the foods he grew up eating in San Antonio. That means exceptional prime Angus brisket joining pork belly finished with a citrusy orange sauce and splendidly chewy pork links laced with green serranos and dense Oaxaca cheese. Sweet cabbage slaw might be a familiar sights to ’cue congregants, but at 2M, it’s accompanied by house-pickled nopales; street corn blanketed in chile powder and crumbled Oaxaca cheese; Maria’s savory beans singing with bits of onion, tomato, and cilantro; and “chicharoni”—creamy mac and cheese finished with powdered chicharrones. instagram.com/2msmokehouse

EAST

Khói Barbecue

HOUSTON

Staring at a cooler full of food and a new Kamado Joe ceramic grill in 2017, Don Nguyen went to work. Many of his friends had lost power during Hurricane Harvey that week, so Nguyen invited everyone over and attempted to take their minds off the destruction outside with smoked brisket and other barbecue. The reception was so positive that the full-time energy trader created a pop-up around the concept—much of it donated to relief efforts in the early aftermath of the storm. Now situated in an open-air space off Houston’s Hardy Toll Road, Nguyen and his brother, Theo, more fully explore their family heritage, or what they call “Viet-Tex” barbecue. Smoked brisket pho became an early launching pad for even more daring fusion foods, such as sausage modeled after bò lá lt, a traditional Vietnamese beef dish wrapped in medicinal piper sarmentosum leaves. For the Nguyens’ tubular version, they grill and grind the leaves and fold them in with brisket trim, lemongrass, honey, and fish sauce. Pork is an integral protein in Vietnamese cuisine, so the duo also has a dedicated whole hog component, which they incorporate into garlic rice and bánh xèo, a savory crepe stuffed with bean sprouts and herbs. “Our menu is just a reflection of our life experiences going between Da Nang and Texas,” Don says. “That combination of southern smoke and traditional Vietnamese recipes has proven a match made in heaven.” khoibarbecue.com

Photos (from left): Customers enjoy the Nguyen brothers’ Vietnamese braised rib tips, bò lá lôt sausage, and more; at Khói Barbecue, brisket pho became a jumping off point for dozens of innovative fusion dishes. 

1701 BARBECUE
Beaumont

James “Blue” Broussard’s family goes back seven generations in Beaumont, an area in Southeast Texas’ Golden Triangle imbued with a deep Cajun culture. While his initial focus at 1701 was Central Texas-style brisket and ribs, Broussard has since leaned into his Louisiana roots with dishes like dirty rice, maque choux, and cracklins, a Thursday-only special made from crispy pork belly tossed in copious amounts of smoked paprika, cayenne, and brown sugar. Other intermittent offerings include a turkey muffaletta stacked with house-cured bacon, mozzarella, and a piquant olive spread, as well as a juicy pork steak doused in a butter-heavy mop sauce. He compares the latter’s periodic, highly anticipated arrival to a certain fast-food icon: “Our pork steak is like the McRib,” he says. “It only shows up randomly for a short time. I think that scarcity has helped make it a hit.” 1701barbecue.com

BRISKET & RICE
Houston

It’s fair to say there might not be another barbecue restaurant in the country with a dedicated “rice guy”—someone single-mindedly toiling away over pots of jasmine rice in the wee hours between 1 and 5 a.m. But that’s a necessity at this Cypress-area spot where a wok is so integral to its signature dish. Armed with eight commercial rice cookers, they can just about make enough of the in-demand aromatic grain to be seasoned and sautéed with Chinese sausage, egg, onion, and house-made barbecue sauce. The pièce de résistance? Two tender slices of co-owner Hong Tran’s peppery brisket draped over the top. Fair warning: Prepare to fully carbo-load, as diners can’t decamp without trying Tran’s Poor Man’s Macaroni, a take on Vietnamese nui xào bò with elbow pasta wok-fried with bacon and a sweet tomato-based sauce.
brisketnrice.com

CHARM TAPHOUSE & BBQ
Conroe

After meeting his future wife, Wannalee “Nan” Gorelick, in a Houston mall in 2008, Adam Gorelick’s life changed forever. A high school math teacher at the time, he became fascinated by her native Thailand, traveling there often to visit Nan’s family and experience Bangkok’s bustling street food culture. After dipping their toes into the restaurant world with a boba tea shop in 2019, they eventually branched out to this fully realized Thai barbecue spot in Conroe last year. Adam’s commitment to “living like a local” while overseas paid dividends in offerings like ribs that are both smoked and fried then tossed in tangy, tamarind-fueled nam jim jaew sauce. The house sausage program is a serious draw, with options like the beef and basil link—modeled after pad kra pao, the classic stir-fry dish with plenty of chiles, garlic, and holy basil. Even the typical white bread is swapped out in favor of sticky rice to better cradle each pork belly burnt end. charmtaphouseandbbq.com

LAVACA BBQ
Port Lavaca

In just a few short years, pitmaster Kelli Nevarez has made a splash on the Texas scene in the coastal town of Port Lavaca. Her brisket and Big Red-glazed ribs—which she cooks on an offset pit welded by her father—are as good as any in Texas. But where her menu really shines is in the array of less familiar barbecue treats. Savory gumbo brims with smoked turkey, pork belly, and sausage, while a juicy pork rib eye is sliced like brisket and served with a sweet peach glaze.  Thick corn tamales, made fresh by Kelli’s mother, Christine, are loaded with chopped pork and brisket under a blanket of tangy salsa verde and queso fresco. Guests even get a complimentary cup of Blue Bell ice cream to cap off the meal. lavacabbq.com

REDBIRD BBQ
Port Neches

Amir Jalali makes remarkable brisket, all wobble and jiggle beneath an onyx bark. Same for his roasted garlic-tinged boudin. Just don’t ask him to wed the two. The Port Neches native grew up surrounded by the latter, and he doesn’t abide the trend of folks combining the Central and Southeast Texas staples. It’s fine, he reckons—just don’t call it “boudin.” The veteran of Goldee’s Bar-B-Q in Fort Worth stuffs his casings with jasmine rice and pork shoulder and rib meat rubbed with a house-made Cajun spice blend. That link pays homage to his childhood in the Golden Triangle while his smoked koobideh, a beef blend fragrant with turmeric and saffron, nods to his father’s home country of Iran. A family doctor in Mauriceville, Jalali’s dad even makes the restaurant’s fresh pitas, which receive a dollop of whipped feta to complete the Persian play on Texas barbecue. theredbirdbbq.com