Best BBQ Show

Ben Siegel didn't start out wanting to host events. He just likes to have a good time. This story started 7 years ago and it's far from over. Ted Prater came in early on to cook and now is in charge of multiple hog cooks a week, a room full of pickles, aged hams and more. The sheer amount of food that Banger's creates is astounding. They just finished a huge addition and they're putting every square foot to good use every day of the week.

I sat down with Ben and Ted in Ben's spacious office on the top floor of their new building. Ben's team is huge and they now have an entire floor just dedicated to offices. I'd love to be there when they're deciding which of the 200 beers on tap they want to change around. Their food, their style and their parties are second to none. Enjoy this interview and don't forget to follow them on social media! Ted: @blinkychef Ben and Banger's: @bangersaustin.

A few weeks ago I spent a weekend with Joey Rubin and Joshua Luce from Gold Land BBQ. They had the full experience when they came into town. The moment they landed Friday night they were on their way to The Brewer’s Table where they would be cooking Sunday BBQ. Then on to Justine’s Brasserie where we spent the evening eating escargot and sharing a table full of delicious plates with friends and strangers. I love Justine’s because they have Kronenburg 1664 which is a French lager and goes well with anything. If you know me you know lagers are my favorite kind of beer.

I made Joey and Joshua wake up early Saturday to take the beautiful drive to Snow’s BBQ. I thought if two guys who love BBQ are coming to Texas, the full experience was required. They ate like kings and drove back inspired. I go to Snow’s often and see many of my friends there. Joey and Joshua were right at home.

On Sunday they cooked in the open fire hearth at The Brewer’s Table for a truly unique crowd. The names Joey Rubin and Joshua Luce were already known in Austin and they have a lot of friends here. One in particular was part of Greensbury who provided all the meat for the event. They’re similar to butchers box and I’ll be investigating them soon.

Even though they have a restaurant to run they decided to create Gold Land so they could cook Santa Maria style all over the world. Their passion is palpable and I was lucky to get them on the mic. They were in town for barely 48 hours. Enjoy this conversation with Joey Rubin and Joshua Luce of Gold Land BBQ.

Follow them on Instagram @goldxland, @joey.rubin, @joshualuce

In this episode we talk to Evan Leroy, Sawyer B. Lewis, Patrick Feges, Teddy's BBQ, Nick and Elliot Reese, Esaul Ramos and some of his crew. It's a great time when pitmasters come together. As true professionals they all chose a part of the menu and each cooked great food.

As always connect with us on social media @bestbarbecue. You can find all of our contact info and links through our Instagram! Thanks for listening!

Blood Bros. BBQ has a vibe all to itself. They bring a ton of energy and love to the food they cook and the events they attend. The owners and operators grew up together in a diverse Houston neighborhood called Alief. You can see a huge mural in honor of it right behind their bar. You can feel it the moment you talk to them. They love BBQ and as they have said, this life fell into their laps. Enjoy our conversation and check them out on social media or if you're in Houston I suggest having a lunch there very soon.

Follow Blood Bros. and their crew on instagram!

@bloodbrosbbq

@the_bbquy

@terryterr

@djseek01

@chef_vigo

Follow the show @bestbarbecue (twitter, insta, fb, tiktok, youtube) and tag us in your photos, cooks, videos, tiktoks, whatever you do to share yourself on the internet. I'd love to hear your feedback so write us an email [email protected]. What are you doing with meat and fire this week? What are you doing with fire and anything this week? Share your stories and your BBQ enthusiasm with us and the rest of the BBQ community!

If you haven't made friends with your local butcher you're doing yourself a disservice. Nothing makes me happier than talking to the person who has personally cut the steak or the piece of meat you're taking home for dinner. Bryan Butler is one of only six butchers in America to be part of the World Butcher Challenge. He breaks down whole, half and quarter animals every day to pack his case every day.

We sit down at Salt and Time to talk all about his life as a butcher and the information you don't get when you go to your big retail supermarket. His knowledge is endless and I promise he won't be a stranger to the show. I want more butchering information like this as I'm sure you do. Let me know if you liked the episode and who else might be a good candidate for the show.

Thanks for listening. As always, find us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter @bestbarbecue and you can follow Bryan @austin_bryan. Also, follow his restaurant and shop @saltandtime.

Until next week, go eat some meat!

Note: This episode is from my backup recorder. It's not terrible but not as clear as you're used to.

I spent the weekend hanging out with friends from all over the country. A lot of them were in town to attend an amazing smokeout hosted by Robert Jacob Lerma. I got a short clip of him speaking and reiterating the importance of working together in BBQ. I'm excited to share this clip with you.

In this episode,I sat and shared a big platter from Terry Black's BBQ with Aaron Ross. We talked about his history and how BBQ and BMX have similar families. He rides a bike every day, goes on adventures and drives a classic Porsche. You can follow him @theaaronross.

Follow me and tag your posts with @bestbarbecue!

I sat down with Mighty Joe Yim at Cali Sandwich and Seafood for some Pho and sticky rice. We were in Houston Texas to talking about his work in BBQ as a pit master. Joe has put an insane amount of work into the last two years. He currently smokes hundreds of briskets a week at Truth BBQ and if you ask him, he's still figuring out a few tricks.

Enjoy this conversation with Might Joe Yim and make sure to subscribe to hear more episodes!

Follow Joe: @mightjoeyim_22

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I wanted to check in on the BBQ scene a little bit. If you’re a cook, butcher, cutter, pit guy or have anything to do with BBQ send me a message or DM. The BBQ world is full of stories and I want to hear yours.

I love BBQ. I love the people who cook it, I love the smell of it cooking all over Texas. I love the meats that Texans cook and I love the way the alchemy of BBQ transforms a simple cut into soft and delicious wonderment.

If you listen to this show you know I travel all over. I’m the embedded journalist chasing the story of BBQ. Just recently I’ve jumped in cars, planes and even on my motorcycle to get good cue and a good story. A lot of my interviews were videotaped as well so don’t be a stranger to the youtube channel! If you want to know when they come out subscribe to my channel. It’s easy to remember, just type in Best B B Q Show. Also, click the little bell icon to get notifications every time I post an episode on the channel.

This being episode 114, I want to ask y’all a few questions. I want to know exactly what you’re looking for when you press play on the show. The reason I ask is because I don’t enjoy a lot of popular BBQ shows, especially these shows on TV that give you a glimpse of a popular spot but don’t truly tell their story. I’m creating something different. I’m creating something that goes deeper into the people who cook bbq and how they cook it.

I know I could get hundreds of thousands of followers if I just posted BBQ porn all the time. Slomo shots of meat cooking and getting cut. Epic drone passes of big events and the biggest names. Don’t worry, you’ll see that on my show, I just don’t want it to be the majority of what I’m sharing.

I’m excited to show you the nuances of BBQ. The things they can’t show in a 4 and a half minute segment between commercials on a TV food channel. I’m also on demand. You can watch my stories anytime you want or listen to a podcast at will. No need to worry about catching it at a certain time.

I’ve got over 100 guests from the past few years to follow up on and new ones to introduce to you as well. I’ll always be checking in with the OG’s like Wayne Mueller at The Cathedral of Smoke, The Snow’s BBQ crew and a few competitions teams like SS Pit Crew or The Shed BBQ.

A few weeks ago I jumped in a car with my friend Joey Garcia. A Houston BBQ enthusiast who’s good with a camera and loves a long drive. We left Friday morning around 10am. I loaded a cooler full of topo chicos. Lime of course. We had a long drive but we both knew with short stops we’d be there in no time.

If you driven through west Texas you know there isn’t much out there. I love the wind turbines, the abandoned buildings and all the overpriced gas stations. If you’ve driven I-10 in west Texas you’ve seen an abandoned gas station where the roof over the pumps has fallen and twisted in the wind. I’m amazed that it’s there every time I drive by. Things don’t change as fast out west.

In Austin things change every day. Between Google, Apple, Datical, Dell, Atlassian, TrendKite, Facebook, Accenture, the universities, 3M, Whole Foods  it seems every person I meet is in tech. Even the amount of BBQ joints keeps growing every year. So when you hear west Texas has a BBQ scene, you pay attention, because changes don’t happen often in the dessert.

Joey was determined to get to Convenience West BBQ shortly after they started serving BBQ. He mentioned the menu more than once and all the different offerings he was excited to try. The white Subaru we were rolling in was cruising comfortably a few miles over the speed limit. We flipped between podcasts and some easy listening.

By the time we got to Fort Stockton,which is still a few hours from Marfa, we had gone through at least 7 topo chicos. If you didn’t know, the secret to surviving a Texas summer, it’s topo chico. They’re not sponsoring me, but if you know someone there, I think we could talk about it… That cold glass bottle that seems to never run out of bubbles is a staple in my life.

To get to Marfa, you have to drive through a few towns, one of those is Alpine. Alpine is about 26 miles east of Marfa and consists of two one way streets. They call it the one way. I’d love to explore Alpine more, but not this trip, we had to get to Convenience West before they ran out of food!

The vibe in Marfa is quiet, calm and serene. There’s a few stop signs, some bars, food shark, dairy queen and on the west side of town is Convenience West BBQ. When we pulled up the dining room was full of the eclectic crowd you’d expect. Fashionable hats, coveralls, summer dresses and cool jackets littered the room.

Kaki was happy to greet us and I recognized the whole crew from their Instagram. Mark was slicing up a mouthwatering brisket. You can tell someone who knows how to cut brisket a few ways. One, is they take their time and let a sharp knife do the work. Two, their slices are even the whole way down. They’re not thicker on the bottom or the top.

After looking at the menu and seeing the unique items like the roasted carrot dip dip, I was sure we had made a good choice. There’s nothing like starting a weekend with a mad dash to BBQ. I’m sure if you’re listening, you’ve been on one of these. If not, you’re probably thinking about a BBQ excursion to one of your favorite places.

I tell this story because BBQ takes time. It takes patience and eating it takes a little time and patience too. How many other foods do people drive across states and countries to eat? How did BBQ become everyone's destination. Not only that but many people drive for hours and then get in a line that may be an hour or longer. Have you waited in a line lately? Are you planning to? Snap a photo and tag me. I’ve got a $20 credit to my merch store for one lucky listener.

I’m a BBQ guy.

If you scroll through the camera roll on my phone it is all meat. My lady likes to laugh and tell people this. If they don’t believe her she happily scrolls through my phone to show all the food and meats. With my years of meat pictures you could scroll through for days. I’m pretty sure my cloud is a vegetarian's nightmare.

Happiness is BBQ. The people I meat in BBQ are living a great life. They’re hard workers. They lose sleep, have burns and cuts on their hands. They slave away for days before the food is ready. If you’re eating good Texas BBQ it’s possible the process to make it started 24 plus hours ago.

How is something so old becoming so popular? This show is on its third year and I feel like I’ve barely covered all the happenings. Even though I’ve been on both coasts and all over Texas there’s still more story to tell. The quality of BBQ in America is on the rise. Texas BBQ can take a lot of credit for that. In Texas, we take our time. Even a chicken takes at least a couple of hours.

In the past two years a lot of ideas have come up for this show. Should it be interviews or reviews? Restaurants, competition or pop ups? Do we need some sort of focus. I don’t think it’s that easy. It’s hard to cover BBQ without expressing an opinion but I’ll tell you now that I won’t be criticizing or putting down any BBQ I eat. All of the positives will be shared and if I don’t like something, well, you won’t hear about it.

When I eat all the different cuts and creations people work so hard to cook, it’s astounding. There’s no way to compare all the ways people cook. Even some of the chains in Texas, like Rudy’s are putting out a good product and have a great vibe when you walk in. This is also why I won’t be making any lists. I don’t think anyone is qualified to rank the top places. How could you say one place is 1st, 3rd or 10th. I can guarantee you if you made a list of 50 places that it would be hard to find a top.

The truth is we’re all having too good of a time to start making lists. I’m eating the best BBQ in the world and sharing it with as many people as I can. I don’t have time to rank or complain. To nit pick little details. Honestly, if you eat BBQ, especially in Texas and you aren’t satisfied, let the people there know. I understand it’s difficult to send things back or convey you have a problem. None of us ever want to complain, but I’ll tell you from talking to countless owners that they want to know. They would rather know right away than read it on some review on google or yelp.

Google or Yelp aren’t going to give you a better slice of brisket or and they aren’t going to help you if something was wrong. You know who can help you? The people at the restaurant. We’ve all read the reviews that make no sense. “I called and no one answered...1star”, “The BBQ was cold because I took 20 minutes taking pictures, 1 star” Most people who review food aren’t truly qualified to do so. So stop listening to their reviews and go explore for yourself.

Follow all of these guys on Instagram to see what's next...

Robert Sierra: @sspitcrew

Bryan Gonzales: @brythebbqguy

Justin: @aggiebelz

Chris: @CMG512

Luise Rivas: @luisrivas87

Clay Cowgill: @claycowgill

ME: @bestbarbecue

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe and leave a 5 star review!

Marfa. A small town with a few thousand residents. It used to be an attraction for art or lights or sometimes pizza. Now the locals have a few more options for food. The BBQ options in Marfa have grown substantially. The people responsible? Mark, Kaki, and Katy Rose of Convenience West BBQ.

I got to hang out with the Convenience West crew on a quick trip I took to west Texas with @thegoodolboy Joey Garcia. We drove out there and hopped between Marfa and Marathon at least 3 times on the trip. If you’ve never been to west Texas it’s more spread out than most parts of texas. Everything is 30 minutes but most of the time if you’re leaving town it’s worth the drive. Marfa and Marathon are also just north of Big Bend National Park which is the only National Park in Texas. Tourist and travelers come through all these west Texas towns every day and if they stop at Convenience West BBQ they will enjoy a sweet surprise.

The diversity of locals and travelers paints a beautiful pictures at Convenience West. In the 3 hours I was there we saw a guy in a yellow jumpsuit, some hippy locals and families that look like they could be from any suburb. I’ve been to Marfa many times and you have to plan your days well. If you don’t know where you’re eating dinner, you might end up eating at the Stripes gas station.

There was a lot of thought that went into this restaurant. As locals, Mark, Kaki and Katie Rose wanted to make sure they put thought into their restaurant. They knew the eyes of the entire town would be on them. When a new restaurant opens in Marfa, everyone goes to eat there. The style of the building and the way they set it up is perfect for this sleepy west Texas town. They even have vintage American Airlines silverware that gives their place a unique look. They built a BBQ joint that even the locals can go to every day they’re open.

All I have to say is if you find yourself in Marfa on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday you’re making a good choice by going to Convenience West BBQ. Mark & Kaki Scott and Katie Rose Elsasser have a large menu with a ton of choices. They are a hard working trio and they all work the fires, the line and the kitchen. Of all the places I’ve eaten, there’s few I would put in a category with Convenience West BBQ. Their hard work and love of the cue shines. I am honored to meet them and looking forward to my next visit.

Enjoy this conversation and expect a lot more coverage of this growing west Texas BBQ scene.