The 10th Annual Texas Monthly BBQ Fest took place this past weekend. Has it been 10 years already?! The first one I attended was in 2011 and have only missed 1 since then. 30 of the top BBQ joints all across Texas converged in Austin to serve some delicious bites. The weather was perfect. Sunny and not hot. A lot of people asked on Sunday what my favorite sample was. My response was something along the line that all the dishes started to run together. Now that I have time to process everything, the duck confit congee from Stiles Switch and the thịt nướng pork belly from Blood Bros really stood out to me. I grew up on less elevated and non-smoky versions. They were just comforting and tasty. The pumpkin sheet cake from Evie Mae’s really hit the spot. There were a lot of great samples including desserts to eat overall. Someone should have wheeled me out at the end of the day because I was so stuffed. Here are the shots from the festival:
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| Sheldon Mason of 2M Smokehouse |
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| Frito pie from 2M |
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| Turkey, sausage, and giblet rice from Baker Boys |
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| Brisket and slaw from BBQ on the Brazos |
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| Chorizo sausage with Oaxaca cheese from Bodacious Bar-B-Q Mobberly |
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| Bryan Bingham of Bodacious Bar-B-Q Mobberly |
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| Al pastor pork belly burnt ends from Bodacious Bar-B-Q Mobberly |
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| Al pastor pork belly burnt ends, chorizo/Oaxaca sausage, and Mexican hot chocolate brownies from Bodacious Bar-B-Q Mobberly |
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| Quy Hoang of Blood Bros. |
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| Thịt nướng pork belly burnt ends vermicelli, mac & sleaze sausage, and peanut brittle from Blood Bros. |
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| Pastrami burnt ends from CattleAck |
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| Brisket from Evie Mae’s |
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| Brisket from Evie Mae’s |
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| Pumpkin sheet cake with cream cheese icing |
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| Reid Guess of Guess Family Barbecue |
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| Wings from Guess |
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| Charles Deason of Guess |
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| Pimento cheese deviled eggs with brisket jam |
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| Beef & cheddar sausage from Guess |
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| Burn barrel from Guess |
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| Pork chop from Hays Co. Bar-B-Que |
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| Asenette and Michael Hernandez of Hays Co. |
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| Travis & Emma Heim of Heim Barbecue |
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| Bacon burnt ends from Heim |
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| Brisket from Hutchins |
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| Texas Twinkies in the Hutchis’ Oyler |
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| Killen’s new Moberg pit. It’s a beaut. |
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| Ronnie Killen |
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| Killen’s crew |
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| Cherry habanero pork belly burnt ends from Killen’s |
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| Fried chicken from Killen’s |
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| Fried chicken from Killen’s |
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| Beef ribs from Killen’s |
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| The line for the Killen’s fried chicken… |
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| Brisket from la Barbecue |
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| Strip loin from Micklethwait |
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| Brisket from Miller’s Smokehouse |
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| Mama Miller with ginger snap cookies |
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| Grant Pinkerton seasoning the steaks from Pinkerton’s Barbecue |
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| Banana caramel pudding from Pinkerton’s |
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| Grant with the Tomahawk from Pinkerton’s |
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| Dueling mesquite and pecan briskets from Pody’s BBQ |
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| Cross cut beef ribs from Pody’s |
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| Whole hog sundae from Roegels Barbecue Co. |
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| Snow’s BBQ crew |
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| Banana pudding from Snow’s |
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| Beef rib confit with smoked pumpkin polenta, ginger & basil pesto and smoked duck confit with rice congee, ginger, marinated egg, scallion & crispy duck cracklins from Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew |
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| Pork belly with mole from Tejas |
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| Chile relleno stuffed quail, pork belly, carrot soufflé, spiced chai panna cotta from Tejas |
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| Fatty brisket from Truth BBQ |
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| Lean brisket from Truth |
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| Delicious boat from Truth |
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| Tyler Frazer of Tyler’s Barbeque |
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| Beef ribs from Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ |
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| Marsala glazed beef rib with smoked mashed potatoes from Valentina’s |
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| Russell Roegels protesting among the animal rights protestor |
Until next time, happy smoking…
