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

By Andrew and Bryan

Society & Culture Arts Food Places & Travel

What's Tales from the pits, a Texas BBQ podcast featuring trendsetters, leaders, and icons from the barbecue industry about?

listen as Andrew Martinez, BBQ Bryan, and special guests discuss Texas Barbecue

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Ep. 148 - Jim Buchanan and ...

02.23.2021

The restaurant industry is never a smooth ride, and no one knows that better than Jim Buchanan. Jim’s tireless determination and no quit attitude has helped sustained him through a number of trials and tribulations in the hospitality industry. After ...

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

02.23.2021 Ep. 148 - Jim Buchanan and Dozier's BBQ The restaurant industry is never a smooth ride, and no one knows that better than Jim Buchanan. Jim’s tireless determination and no quit attitude has helped sustained him through a number of trials and tribulations in the hospitality industry. After ...
02.08.2021 Ep. 147 -1701 Barbecue Blue Broussard, a lifelong native of Southeast Texas, left the security of the family business to chase a dream and open up his own BBQ joint in Beaumont. This historic East Texas city has long been known for its distinct ...
01.25.2021 Ep. 146 - The Return of Smokin' Z's When we first visited Smokin’ Z’s BBQ, Zaid and Mallory Al-Jazrawi were serving up quality barbecue in the Galveston area in 2018-2019 when they were faced with a problem many growing barbecue businesses face: the need for pit expansion to ...
01.10.2021 Ep. 145 - Cade Mercer CM Smokehouse Cade Mercer grew up in the Seguin and New Braunfels area with cooking always as a major part of his life. After working in restaurants during high school, Cade started his cooking career at Rudy’s BBQ shortly after trying college. ...
11.25.2020 Ep.144 - Things we are thankful for This year has seen more than its share of challenges for everyone, the barbecue world included. In this episode we discuss some of the good things that have happened around barbecue this year that we’re thankful for. Tune in to ...
11.17.2020 Ep. 143 - Season Two, back on the road After releasing an episode nearly every week for almost three years, we were ready for a bit of a break. But what 2020 had in store was not something we could have ever planned for or wanted. After a long ...
06.08.2020 Ep, 142 - A Socially Distanced BBQ Run Having just completed our first BBQ road trip since the quarantine began, we discuss our experience going to four places, safety and social distancing measures we personally implemented as well as those we’ve seen at the places we’ve been to ...
05.26.2020 Ep. 141 - Three years of Tales When we started this podcast three years ago we had no idea what the show would become or the places it would take us. We are incredibly grateful to all of the amazing people in the BBQ industry that have ...
03.14.2020 Ep. 140 - Supporting BBQ through tough times The world, and more recently the United States, has begun to deal with the effects of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As large events cancel, corporations and school districts suspend operations, and people begin to stay home in large numbers, the inevitable ...
03.09.2020 Ep. 139 - Truth Barbeque Houston , scaling a barbecue business In August of 2015 Leonard Botello and family opened up a tiny BBQ joint just outside of Brenham, Texas. There was no big grand opening, there was no meeting of the #BBQFam or podcasts, and no social media campaign. That ...
02.24.2020 Ep. 138 - Five of our favorite things in BBQ February 2020 On our way back from a recent road trip we came up with five of our favorite things happening in BBQ right now. We discussed the following topics: What's old is new again Breaking away from the brisket bubble Accessibility ...
02.17.2020 Ep. 137 - Hurtado Barbecue The DFW barbecue scene is blowing up, and popups, food trailers, and brick and mortars are opening around town. Brandon Hurtado has progressed through popups and food trailer into a retail store front, bringing his spin on Hispanic influenced Texas ...
02.10.2020 Ep. 136 - Texas BBQ: A look back and a look forward Texas BBQ has seen massive growth in the last 10 years and many of us have been lucky to witness it firsthand. The epicenter has shifted and morphed from Central Texas; top tier BBQ is available in every major city ...
01.20.2020 Ep, 135 - Bare Barbecue When Justin Earley and Steven Bailey began fine tuning their barbecue skills they did what many in the current generation of pitmasters did, they turned to books and videos. While knowledge requires both learning and practice, the wealth of information ...
01.13.2020 Ep. 134 - Q&A We answer listener submitted questions to kick off 2020 Our prediction of BBQ trends for the year Tips on cooking pork steaks BBQ Pit recommendations And more! Mentioned in this episode: Butcher saw - Weston 47-1601 Butcher and Bone Saw ...
12.30.2019 Ep. 133 - 2019 year in review 2019 was another whirlwind adventure for your hosts and we had an amazing time interviewing, eating, and cooking BBQ. In this episode we recap our year including some of our favorite bites and even our worst ones too. We hope ...
12.16.2019 Ep. 132 - JNL Barbecue - Ben and Sarah Lambert Ben Lambert started cooking meat over fire at an early age, hunting and cooking animals with his dad. After a varied career that included everything from working as a tattoo artist to a slaughterhouse job to being a meat cutter ...
12.09.2019 Ep. 131 - Shane Stiles and Lance Kirkpatrick of Stiles Switch Shane Stiles' dream to open a quality barbecue restaurant came to fruition in 2011 when the craft barbecue scene was just emerging. Franklin Barbecue's brick and mortar had recently opened and the sides at the vast majority of BBQ restaurants ...
11.25.2019 Ep. 130 - Bryan Bingham Bryan Bingham turned his passion for barbecue into a job at a historic and highly touted restaurant in Longview, Texas. Bryan began working at Bodacious Bar-B-Q on Mobberly Avenue in the summer of 2017 and by fall of 2019 he ...
11.11.2019 Ep. 129 - The Continuing Evolution of BBQ The legacy of BBQ is anchored in tradition and multi-generational families, passing methods down from a time when smoking meats with wood was a necessity rather than a luxury. However in the last 10 years more has changed than likely ...
11.04.2019 Ep. 128 - Texas Pickle Company Pickles and barbecue have become a strong tradition. Pickling was invented for the same reason meats were salted and smoked; preservation. The acidic pickle also helps digestion of fatty meats. Most barbecue joints will offer free pickles along with bread ...
10.29.2019 Ep. 127 - Tejas Burger Joint Tejas Burger Joint A side project on a slow day was the genesis for what would become a standalone business. The second step was a glance at a store window while sitting at a stop light. Listen in as Scott ...
10.21.2019 Ep. 126 - Butter's BBQ Andrew Soto quietly launched his BBQ joint two years ago but the secret is out - he and family are cranking out great BBQ in the small town of Mathis, Texas. If an article by Daniel Vaughn and making the ...
10.14.2019 Ep. 125 - The Growing South Texas BBQ Scene We take a long overdue road trip to the southern tip of Texas, where barbacoa is king but Central Texas BBQ has continued to take a foothold. We hit up Butter's, Teddy's, and 1848 BBQ. We even got to take ...
10.07.2019 Ep. 124 - Teddy's Barbecue Joel And Jesse Garcia grew in a barbecue cooking family, and Joel gravitated towards the world of craft barbecue as an adult working in Austin. Joel worked for several acclaimed BBQ joints in Austin while Jesse went to culinary school ...
09.23.2019 Ep, 123 - BBQ Openings and Closings Some recent openings, closings, and moves have occurred in the Texas BBQ world and we catch you up with a number of them. Also tune in for an announcement from Jim Lero of Lillian's BBQ. We had a great time ...
09.16.2019 Ep. 122 - Backline Smokers Ryan Newland's path to pit building started with fabrication. Building unique set designs for Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Pink his innovative work set the stage for custom one-off pits that he would build after moving to Texas. Probably currently ...
09.09.2019 Ep. 121 - Sausage 101 It's taken us three years of making sausage before we felt like we could truly speak on the art of craft sausage. A number of people have asked us to do an episode similar to our Ribs 101 and so ...
08.26.2019 Ep. 120 - Robert J Lerma After an enlightening visit to Lockhart and Taylor BBQ joints, Robert Lerma moved to Texas. While holding down a full time job his passion for capturing the essence of Texas barbecue in the people, restaurants, and food launched a photography ...
08.19.2019 Ep, 119 Bradley Robinson and Chud Pits Bradley “Chud” Robinson is one of the most talented people in barbecue. As one of the pitmasters at the great LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, he helps produce some of the best fire cooked meats in Texas. As if that full-time ...
08.12.2019 Ep. 118 - Pork Steak Run, upcoming BBQ Events, and Listener Questions In this episode: - Recap of a 9 stop BBQ run with 3 top 10 BBQ joints- Upcoming BBQ fests- Listener Questions In the heat of the summer it can be uncomfortable downing brisket at every stop of a barbecue ...
08.05.2019 Ep, 117 - Pustka Family Barbeque Dustin Pustka, a classically trained chef who'd worked in professional kitchens for years, had grown tired of that aspect of the food world and began gravitating towards a less fussy, more comfort style of cuisine. Having grown up cooking barbecue ...
07.29.2019 Ep. 116 - Austin Smoke Works Austin Smoke Works have been building some of the barbecue world’s most sought after smokers for years. With a pit design that includes an insulated firebox and efficient draw of smoke through the cook chamber, some of the best Texas ...
07.22.2019 Ep. 115 - Windy City Smokeout and Feges BBQ WOW One of the largest food events of the year is held every July in Chicago. Windy City Smokeout brings together some of the biggest names in BBQ and country music. We were fortunate to have had the opportunity to ...
07.08.2019 Ep. 114 - Helberg Barbecue one year later First year growth To say the first year in business for Helberg Barbecue was eventful would be a massive understatement. From the early beginnings in their small trailer to multiple accolades, personal and professional growth, and now a brick and ...
07.01.2019 Ep. 113 - BBQ Road Trips Part 2 Road Trips that maximize the stops within short timelines In the second installment of our BBQ road trip tips we provide sample itineraries for the hardcore BBQ fan trying to sample as many restaurants as possible in a short amount ...
06.24.2019 Ep. 112 - Panther City BBQ Chris Magallanes and Ernest Morales are longtime friends who grew up cooking backyard barbecue and eventually foraying into competition cooking. Trips to places like the former John Mueller Meat Co. inspired them to start cooking more Central Texas style retail ...
06.12.2019 Ep. 111 - Cattleack Barbeque part two Listen to part one of our episode with Todd David of Cattleack Barbeque to hear about his early days of cooking barbecue and starting the business. In part two of our talk with Todd, we discuss the effect being named ...
06.10.2019 Ep. 110 - Todd David of Cattleack Barbeque Todd David was a barbecue fan long before he owned a barbecue restaurant. He was grilling and smoking meats as a young man growing up in St. Louis, and that passion only grew once he moved to Dallas. It would ...
06.03.2019 Ep. 109 - Zavala's Barbecue A tradition of family cookouts in his youth was the inspiration for Joe Zavala to buy his first smoker when he and his wife Christan became homeowners. As Joe tinkered with his cooks and his brisket game grew stronger, he ...
05.27.2019 Ep. 108 - Dayne's Craft Barbecue Dayne's Craft Barbecue is another quality edition to the growing barbecue scene in Fort Worth, Texas. Early memories of his dad cooking ribs eventually lead to Dayne’s fiancée Ashley buying him his first smoker and learning the craft. Inspired by ...
05.20.2019 Ep. 107 - The Growing DFW BBQ Scene It had been too long since our last roadtrip up to DFW so we gassed up the BBQ wagon and set off to the metroplex. While we have a long list of locations we need to scout out we were ...
05.13.2019 TFP Ep. 106 - Women in BBQ The barbecue world has long been seen as a largely male dominated industry, with womens’ contributions to the profession often being overlooked. But the truth about many BBQ operations is that they would not be what they are without the ...
05.06.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 105 - Red Dirt pitmaster chat We were privileged to sit down with some great people in the BBQ world during the Red Dirt BBQ and Music Festival. The Red Dirt Festival takes place every May in Tyler, Texas and is widely considered the can't-miss BBQ ...
04.29.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 104 - BBQ Road Trip Tips Part 1 We've been traveling across Texas for years seeking out the best and most unique barbecue stops around the state. Through lots of research and plenty of trial and error we've had a lot of successful BBQ runs where we've been ...
04.22.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 103 - Tin Roof BBQ When Ronnie Webber was ready to retire from the Houston Police Department, he and his wife Nancy had their sites set on opening a barbecue restaurant. With no restaurant operation experience but a passion for cooking, the Webbers invested their ...
04.15.2019 TFP BBQ Ep, 102 - BBQ News and Q&A There’s quite a bit going on in the BBQ world these days with openings and closings and special events happening seemingly every week. We take some time in this episode to talk about what we’ve been up to in BBQ ...
04.08.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 101 - Swig & Swine Anthony DiBernardo had a long and distinguished culinary career that spanned cooking on submarines during his military service to working in fine dining in Charleston. Anthony eventually got to a point in his career where he wanted to make more ...
04.01.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 100 - Fox Bros BBQ Justin and Jonathan Fox grew up all over Texas and brought their love of Texas barbecue with them when they settled in Atlanta, Georgia. They began tinkering with cooking the familiar flavors of central Texas in their backyard near the ...
03.25.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 99 - John Lewis of Lewis Barbecue John Lewis is one of the pioneers of the modern methods that have become so widely used in Texas BBQ over the last decade. From his innovations in pit design to seasoning and trimming methods and careful sourcing of meat, ...

Older episodes

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

What's Tales from the pits, a Texas BBQ podcast featuring trendsetters, leaders, and icons from the barbecue industry about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

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

Ep. 148 - Jim Buchanan and Dozier's BBQ

Ep. 147 -1701 Barbecue

Ep. 146 - The Return of Smokin' Z's

Ep. 145 - Cade Mercer CM Smokehouse

Ep.144 - Things we are thankful for

Ep. 143 - Season Two, back on the road

Ep, 142 - A Socially Distanced BBQ Run

Ep. 141 - Three years of Tales

Ep. 140 - Supporting BBQ through tough times

Ep. 139 - Truth Barbeque Houston , scaling a barbecue business

Ep. 138 - Five of our favorite things in BBQ February 2020

Ep. 137 - Hurtado Barbecue

Ep. 136 - Texas BBQ: A look back and a look forward

Ep, 135 - Bare Barbecue

Ep. 134 - Q&A

Ep. 133 - 2019 year in review

Ep. 132 - JNL Barbecue - Ben and Sarah Lambert

Ep. 131 - Shane Stiles and Lance Kirkpatrick of Stiles Switch

Ep. 130 - Bryan Bingham

Ep. 129 - The Continuing Evolution of BBQ

Ep. 128 - Texas Pickle Company

Ep. 127 - Tejas Burger Joint

Ep. 126 - Butter's BBQ

Ep. 125 - The Growing South Texas BBQ Scene

Ep. 124 - Teddy's Barbecue

Ep, 123 - BBQ Openings and Closings

Ep. 122 - Backline Smokers

Ep. 121 - Sausage 101

Ep. 120 - Robert J Lerma

Ep, 119 Bradley Robinson and Chud Pits

Ep. 118 - Pork Steak Run, upcoming BBQ Events, and Listener Questions

Ep, 117 - Pustka Family Barbeque

Ep. 116 - Austin Smoke Works

Ep. 115 - Windy City Smokeout and Feges BBQ

Ep. 114 - Helberg Barbecue one year later

Ep. 113 - BBQ Road Trips Part 2

Ep. 112 - Panther City BBQ

Ep. 111 - Cattleack Barbeque part two

Ep. 110 - Todd David of Cattleack Barbeque

Ep. 109 - Zavala's Barbecue

Ep. 108 - Dayne's Craft Barbecue

Ep. 107 - The Growing DFW BBQ Scene

TFP Ep. 106 - Women in BBQ

TFP BBQ Ep. 105 - Red Dirt pitmaster chat

TFP BBQ Ep. 104 - BBQ Road Trip Tips Part 1

TFP BBQ Ep. 103 - Tin Roof BBQ

TFP BBQ Ep, 102 - BBQ News and Q&A

TFP BBQ Ep. 101 - Swig & Swine

TFP BBQ Ep. 100 - Fox Bros BBQ

TFP BBQ Ep. 99 - John Lewis of Lewis Barbecue

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