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

By Andrew and Bryan

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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LAST EPISODE

Ep. 151 - Brisket and Main

04.05.2021

We recently were able to sit down with Joe and CJ from Zavala’s Barbecue and the Brisket and Main podcast for a fun and candid sit down about restaurant life and how they’ve navigated through the obstacles they face in ...

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

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, ...
03.18.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 98 - Rodney Scott's BBQ Rodney Scott grew up cooking whole hogs at his family’s general store in the small town of Hemingway, South Carolina. The tradition of hogs cooked under the direct heat of coals burned down from wood splits was the way Rodney ...
03.12.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 97 - Charleston Wine + Food There are so many amazing events that take place during the five day Charleston Wine + Food (CHSWFF) festival and we were fortunate to be granted media access to many of them. From whiskey-centric experiences to barbecue excursions, we did ...
03.04.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 96 - Pitmaster Pet Peeves The barbecue industry is full of kind, passionate folks. But like any profession, there are always going to be things that will annoy a person if they do it long enough. Tune in as we hear from Russell Roegels, John ...
02.25.2019 TFP BBQ History Ep. 95 - West Texas Barbecue West Texas "Cowboy Style" cooking may not be as known as Central Texas style, but it is an important part of Texas BBQ history. As cattle drives made their way west across Texas, pits would be dug in the ground ...
02.18.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 94 - Schulenberg City Market Before large scale meat packers and fast transport allowed for meat products to be cut offsite and sold by the case, towns were served by local meat markets and butchers who broke down entire animals and large cuts, called primal ...
02.11.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 93 - Smokin' Z's BBQ Smokin’ Z’s BBQ Smokin’ Z’s BBQ opened in Bayou Vista, TX less than a year ago, but young business owners Zaid and Mallory are already producing a menu of quality barbecue that is a welcome addition to the waterfront community ...
02.04.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 92 - Brett's Barbecue Shop Brett Jackson grew up in Katy, Texas eating at Nonmacher's BBQ, a long time institution in that community. After growing up and trying a few career paths, Brett went to culinary school in Austin and soon after answered a Craigslist ...
01.22.2019 TFP BBQ EP. 91 - Charleston Wine + Food announcement We recently received some exciting news we wanted to share. We do our best to bring exciting, unique, and wide ranging coverage of the barbecue world and have been so fortunate to have had some incredible experiences. We were just ...
01.15.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 90 - Black Board BBQ The road to opening Black Board Bar B Q was a winding one for chefs Jo Irizarry and Jake Gandolfo. Jo went to culinary school as a passion despite having a successful personal career. This eventually lead to being a ...
01.08.2019 TFP BBQ Ep. 89 - Direct Heat Resurgence Direct heat is one of the oldest forms of cooking known to man. While the offset style of BBQ cooking has taken the world by storm, we have recently seen a resurgence in the old ways of direct heat coal ...
12.31.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 88 - Our Year in BBQ 2018 2018 was an incredible year for BBQ, and we were fortunate to be able to attend some great events and had many memorable experiences in the world of smoked meat. We traveled far and wide to help share some amazing ...
12.24.2018 TFP Ep. 87 - BBQ Friends and 2019 Predictions We begin winding down 2018 with a fun talk with some of our friends in BBQ. Patrick Hernandez, Kristin Collins, and Joseph Quellar from JQ's TexMex BBQ join us to talk about some of their favorite barbecue experiences in 2018. ...
12.18.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 86 - Opie's Barbecue Todd and Kristin Ashmore started Opie's BBQ in 1999, a simpler time in the Texas barbecue world. The Ashmores had careers outside of the BBQ world, but decide to throw their hat in the ring after years of traveling around ...
12.14.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 85 - Houston Vs Austin BBQ Throwdown 2018 The second annual Houston vs Austin BBQ Throwdown presented by HOUBBQ was full of creativity and tough competition. A dozen competitors from both cities as well as two wild card entries battled it out for this year's BBQ bragging rights. ...
12.11.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 84 - Cook off chat and whole hog at Reveille As we continue to explore all aspects of the BBQ world, we once again took a crack at competition barbecue. We competed in a small, non-sanctioned cook-off recently and in this episode discussed our results and our thoughts on cook-offs. ...
12.04.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 83 - Brett's Backyard Barbeque Brett Mckenzie Boren was bitten by the BBQ bug at an early, starting with the competition barbecue world. After years of competing in cookoffs and winning multiple awards, Brett began to contemplate a retail business. After building up his profile ...
11.27.2018 TFP BBQ History Ep. 82 - Roland Lindsey We've had the privilege to talk to many great people in the BBQ world, but the opportunity to talk to true BBQ trailblazers is rare. Roland Lindsey is one of those pioneers of Texas barbecue. A few months prior to ...
11.20.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 81 - Holiday BBQ chat In the midst of another BBQ road trip we recorded an episode to help our fellow BBQ friends with a bit of a Texas BBQ holiday guide. In the episode we go over some great options to take out of ...
11.13.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 80 - Eric Sandler For Andrew's 100th recorded visit to Roegels we join Eric Sandler in a discussion of Houston Barbecue. CultureMap Houston Food Editor Eric Sandler has been plugged into the Houston dining scene for years, and his enthusiasm for barbecue rivals that ...
11.02.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 79 - Patrick Feges and Feges BBQ The husband and wife team of Patrick Feges (rhymes with Regis) and Erin Smith own and operate Feges BBQ in Houston, one of the city's excellent new barbecue establishments. Patrick sat down with us a few months ago to discuss ...
10.30.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 78 - John Brotherton's Pit Crew, Liberty Barbecue John Brotherton has worked tirelessly for years to make his BBQ dreams a reality. With Brotheron's Black Iron Barbecue in Pflugerville, Texas a big success, John has been able to hire a pit crew to help alleviate a lot of ...
10.23.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 77 - The Butcher's Ball We were fortunate to attend the third annual Butcher's Ball event in Brenham, Texas. This meat-centric, all encompassing event showcases responsibly raised high quality products prepared by talented chefs and pitmasters from all around Texas. The participants each prepare a ...
10.16.2018 TFP Ep. 76 - Zach Parker from B.E. Scott's Bar-B-Que The tradition of West Tennessee style whole hog cooking is an endangered species, with only three known business owners staying true to the method of hogs cooked under beds of wood coals. Pat Martin of Martin's Bar-B-Que (multiple locations in ...
10.09.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 75 - Wyatt McSpadden Texas BBQ Photographer Wyatt McSpadden's love of Texas barbecue stretches back even further in time than his celebrated photography career which spans five decades. Growing up in a meat market family in Amarillo some of Wyatt's earliest memories involve barbecue. As a young ...
10.02.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 74 - B's Cracklin - Bryan Furman Bryan Furman left a career as a welder with a goal in mind: to cook and serve whole hog barbecue. Whole hog cooking was a tradition Bryan grew up with, but when his father challenged him with the question of ...
09.25.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 73 - Wayne Baker of Baker Boys BBQ Wayne Baker grew up in Luling, Texas eating classic central style barbecue. His youth was also spent competing in BBQ cookoffs with his dad Phil. Both of these experiences helped shape what would eventually become Baker Boys BBQ, opened in ...
09.18.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 72 - Epic Hogtripping Road Trip Recap We drove almost 3,000 miles to visit nearly twenty restaurants for our #hogtripping adventure. We recap the trip with our traveling band of BBQ friends Chris Wood, Eric Ulery, Andrew Stowell, Terry Osborn, and Jimmy Ho. Having traveled from east ...
09.11.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 71 - Sam Jones and Michael Letchworth Pt2 Sam Jones is one heck of a storyteller and that skill is no more apparent than in part two of our interview with him and Michael Letchworth. This episode details some of the challenges Sam and Michael faced during the ...
09.10.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 70 - Sam Jones and Michael Letchworth Having grown up in a family whose history in barbecue could be traced back to the 1800's, whole hog cooking was something that had always been a part of Sam Jones' world. Despite being reluctant to make barbecue a career ...
09.04.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 69 - Cooking Classes and Catering with Dylan Taylor Dylan Taylor has built up quite the resume at a very young age. After working at highly acclaimed BBQ spots such as Terry Black's, La Barbecue, Truth Barbeque, and 2M Smokehouse (among others), Dylan decided the time was right to ...
08.28.2018 TFP BBQ History Ep. 68 - Classic BBQ Joints As we continue to highlight the history of Texas BBQ, we spend time in this episode discussing some of what we consider the classic Texas BBQ joints. While craft barbecue is all the rage and is a great experience, its ...
08.21.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 67 - Hays County Barbeque Interview Hays County Barbeque The BBQ flame was ignited in Michael Hernandez after a memorable trip to Lockhart. Shortly thereafter, armed with a steadfast belief in their dream, Michael and Asenette Hernandez pushed all of their chips to the middle of ...
08.13.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 66 - Tejas Market, Bakery, and Sausagewars The Tejas crew keep pushing the envelope on what great BBQ is and can be, and their latest projects are a showcase of their creativity. In the last couple months Scott, Greg, and the team have begun making their own ...
08.07.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 65 - Tejas Chocolate and BBQ Tejas Chocolate and Barbecue began as a curiosity on how to make bean to bar chocolate and has evolved into one of the best and most creative restaurant experiences in Texas. After a successful launch of their housemade chocolate business, ...
07.23.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 64 - Tom Micklethwait While it has become commonplace in today's Texas BBQ explosion to see carefully sourced proteins, inventive sides, scratch made desserts, craft bread, and housemade pickles, this was not always the case in barbecue. Smoked meats have been available for quite ...
07.16.2018 TFP BBQ History Ep. 63 - Bobby Mueller Texas BBQ History - Bobby Mueller As part of our continuing series on the history of Texas barbecue, we bring you a very special episode about the history of Louie Mueller Barbecue and the legacy of the late Bobby Mueller. ...
07.16.2018 TFP BBQ News Ep. 62 - BBQ News July 2018 In a news roundup for the month of July, we discuss some pitmaster changes, new BBQ restaurant announcements, BBQ closings, and more. Jason Tedford, longtime assistant pitmaster at Louie Mueller Barbecue, has left the restaurant and is now working in ...
07.16.2018 TFP BBQ History Ep, 63 - Bobby Mueller Texas BBQ History - Bobby Mueller As part of our continuing series on the history of Texas barbecue, we bring you a very special episode about the history of Louie Mueller Barbecue and the legacy of the late Bobby Mueller. ...
07.10.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 61 - The Evolution of Louie Mueller Barbecue The aura, history, and feeling one gets walking into the hallowed dining room at Louie Mueller Barbecue is unparalleled. The smoke lined walls, the brick pits, and many of the roots of modern day Central Texas style smoked meats can ...
07.03.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 60 - LeRoy and Lewis BBQ Evan LeRoy's BBQ journey began in the backyard with his dad, took him all the way to New York to cook Texas barbecue, then back to Austin where he made Freedmen's bar one of the premier BBQ destinations in Texas. ...
06.26.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 59 - Reveille BBQ Interview Reveille Barbecue Co. is a newcomer to the barbecue scene in Texas. Currently operating out of a trailer in Magnolia (a suburb north of Houston), Reveille was started by co-owners/pitmasters James McFarland and Michael Michna. James began chasing his BBQ ...
06.19.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 58 - Breaking BBQ News and upcoming openings This week we recap the biggest news and happenings around the world of barbecue, including a big pitmaster departures at Franklin Barbecue and La Barbecue. We also talk about the latest word on upcoming BBQ joints opening in the near ...
06.12.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 57 Flores Barbecue Interview Growing up close to Lockhart (the barbecue capitol of Texas) ignited the passion for smoking meat at an early age for Michael Wyont. Soon after attending culinary school, Michael decided to enter the barbecue world, working at Black's BBQ before ...
05.29.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 55 Helberg Barbecue Interview Pt 1 Phillip and Yvette Helberg met on a cruise ship where he was an employee and she was a guest. The love affair started soon after and Phillip, a native Texan who moved to California to be with Yvette, became interested ...
05.29.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 56 Helberg Barbecue Interview Part 2 After deciding to move to Texas, Phillip and Yvette Helberg began looking for a large spread of land where they could live and farm the land. They found a perfect spot outside of Waco to put down roots, and began ...
05.28.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 54 - One year show anniversary and an important fundraiser for Santa Fe We've reached the one year mark of the show, and could not be more excited for how the first year has gone and for all of the things lined up for year two. We reflect back on some of the ...
05.22.2018 TFP BBQ Ep. 53 - Corkscrew BBQ Interview part 2 Listen in to part two as Will and Nichole Buckman buy their first Oyler and discuss their move to their new location in Old Town Spring, Tx. We also talk about their consistency, selection of meat sources, and their obsession ...

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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:

TFP BBQ Ep. 101 - Swig & Swine

TFP BBQ Ep. 100 - Fox Bros BBQ

TFP BBQ Ep. 99 - John Lewis of Lewis Barbecue

TFP BBQ Ep. 98 - Rodney Scott's BBQ

TFP BBQ Ep. 97 - Charleston Wine + Food

TFP BBQ Ep. 96 - Pitmaster Pet Peeves

TFP BBQ History Ep. 95 - West Texas Barbecue

TFP BBQ Ep. 94 - Schulenberg City Market

TFP BBQ Ep. 93 - Smokin' Z's BBQ

TFP BBQ Ep. 92 - Brett's Barbecue Shop

TFP BBQ EP. 91 - Charleston Wine + Food announcement

TFP BBQ Ep. 90 - Black Board BBQ

TFP BBQ Ep. 89 - Direct Heat Resurgence

TFP BBQ Ep. 88 - Our Year in BBQ 2018

TFP Ep. 87 - BBQ Friends and 2019 Predictions

TFP BBQ Ep. 86 - Opie's Barbecue

TFP BBQ Ep. 85 - Houston Vs Austin BBQ Throwdown 2018

TFP BBQ Ep. 84 - Cook off chat and whole hog at Reveille

TFP BBQ Ep. 83 - Brett's Backyard Barbeque

TFP BBQ History Ep. 82 - Roland Lindsey

TFP BBQ Ep. 81 - Holiday BBQ chat

TFP BBQ Ep. 80 - Eric Sandler

TFP BBQ Ep. 79 - Patrick Feges and Feges BBQ

TFP BBQ Ep. 78 - John Brotherton's Pit Crew, Liberty Barbecue

TFP BBQ Ep. 77 - The Butcher's Ball

TFP Ep. 76 - Zach Parker from B.E. Scott's Bar-B-Que

TFP BBQ Ep. 75 - Wyatt McSpadden Texas BBQ Photographer

TFP BBQ Ep. 74 - B's Cracklin - Bryan Furman

TFP BBQ Ep. 73 - Wayne Baker of Baker Boys BBQ

TFP BBQ Ep. 72 - Epic Hogtripping Road Trip Recap

TFP BBQ Ep. 71 - Sam Jones and Michael Letchworth Pt2

TFP BBQ Ep. 70 - Sam Jones and Michael Letchworth

TFP BBQ Ep. 69 - Cooking Classes and Catering with Dylan Taylor

TFP BBQ History Ep. 68 - Classic BBQ Joints

TFP BBQ Ep. 67 - Hays County Barbeque Interview

TFP BBQ Ep. 66 - Tejas Market, Bakery, and Sausagewars

TFP BBQ Ep. 65 - Tejas Chocolate and BBQ

TFP BBQ Ep. 64 - Tom Micklethwait

TFP BBQ History Ep. 63 - Bobby Mueller

TFP BBQ News Ep. 62 - BBQ News July 2018

TFP BBQ History Ep, 63 - Bobby Mueller

TFP BBQ Ep. 61 - The Evolution of Louie Mueller Barbecue

TFP BBQ Ep. 60 - LeRoy and Lewis BBQ

TFP BBQ Ep. 59 - Reveille BBQ Interview

TFP BBQ Ep. 58 - Breaking BBQ News and upcoming openings

TFP BBQ Ep. 57 Flores Barbecue Interview

TFP BBQ Ep. 55 Helberg Barbecue Interview Pt 1

TFP BBQ Ep. 56 Helberg Barbecue Interview Part 2

TFP BBQ Ep. 54 - One year show anniversary and an important fundraiser for Santa Fe

TFP BBQ Ep. 53 - Corkscrew BBQ Interview part 2

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