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

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 personal chef for a professional football player, while Jake's passion for cooking earned him a spot on the popular cooking show MasterChef. Jake and Jo began dating and through the perfect alignment of circumstances began to consider opening their own restaurant. After successful pop ups with former Sisterdale Smokehouse owners John and Lori Maywald, they were inspired to reopen that location as Black Board Bar B Q. Black Board showcases the chef's culinary creativity and commitment to high quality ingredients alongside traditional Texas meats. With creative dishes such as Lukenbach Lollipops - mostly deboned flash fried quail - and whimsical plays on dishes such as an acidic Asian themed slaw and a version of corn maque choux featuring poblano peppers and flash fried Brussels sprouts, Black Board offers the customer a tasty and unique menu experience not commonly found in BBQ restaurants. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/127751881117224 Twitter: https://twitter.com/blackboardbarbq Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackboardbarbq https://blackboardbbq.com/ Blackboard is located not far from Luckenbach Texas on some great roads, get out and explore Texas Barbecue 1123 Sisterdale Road, Boerne, TX 78006, US830-324-6858 HoursMonday - Wednesday : ClosedThursday, Friday and Saturday: 12 PM - 8 PMSunday: 12 PM to 6 PM

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 cooking. Top BBQ cooks like Evan LeRoy and his crew, John Brotherton, Brett Boren and others have begun utilizing direct heat pits to cook different proteins, while places like Cooper's BBQ and Snow's have been utilizing this method for years. Even high end restaurants have begun preparing different items utilizing direct heat and live fire preparations. In this episode we discuss our recent direct heat-heavy BBQ tour and are joined briefly by Evan LeRoy and Brad Robinson to talk about their direct heat cooking.

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 barbecue stories in 2018. We ate BBQ in over 60 cities across a dozen states in 2018, and we have big plans for more great BBQ travel in the new year. A huge thanks goes out to the wonderful people in the barbecue world who were generous with their time in coming on our show and to all of those that took the time to listen to our 2018 episodes.

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. After posing a list of question to our friends, we also take the time to look back at some of the more memorable moments of the year in BBQ for us and offer some predictions for what's to come in 2019. Have any plans for BBQ in 2019? Reach out to us on Twitter @BBQPodcast or Instagram TalesFromthePits and let us know! If you are a business and have an event scheduled, tell us the info so we can share it and/or come visit We don't have sponsors and are self funded, but want to do us a solid? You can send us a case of beer or give our podcast a review on whatever app you are listening to us on, we'd appreciate it!   

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 and eating at other places. They opened in Spicewood, Texas, a town 35 miles west of Austin. Opie's uses mesquite wood and takes some style hints from west Texas barbecue joints while bringing central Texas style cooking in as well as adding their own touches to provide an experience like no other.   Opie's started with a very humble roadside stand and over the years has expanded both in location size and menu options, and was one of the pioneers of the "full meal experience" we have come to love so much in Texas barbecue. With unique, high quality sides and desserts to complement their mesquite smoked meats, Opie's has long been a destination for BBQ lovers. Don't forget to budget for one or more of their great rock and roll themed shirts, too!   A family operation from day one, Todd and Kristin's daughter Courtney and her husband Seth also work in the restaurant as kitchen manager and pitmaster, respectively. With nearly 20 years under their built, Opie's is showing no signs of slowing down as they continue to provide a great experience for their customers seven days a week.   And don't forget, the butterbeans are dine-in only!

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. The People's Choice Champion for this year was Beaver's in Houston, and the Judge's Choice Champion was wild card entry Bodacious Bar-B-Q (original location on Mobberly Avenue in Longview, Texas).   In our episode recapping the event we discuss the different dishes as well as speak to Jordan Jackson and Bryan Bingham from Bodacious about their winning dish. If you haven't signed up for the HOUBBQ newsletter, go to www.HOUBBQ.com  today and get signed up to get the latest news on all of their upcoming events, the next event being the Houston Barbecue Festival taking place April 14, 2019 at the Humble Civic Center in Humble, Texas.   The event was held at Friends & Allies brewery in Austin Texas, Participating Austin-area barbecue joints included: Banger's Sausage House, LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue , Micklethwait Craft Meats, Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew, and Brotherton's Black Iron Barbecue Houston barbecue joints participating were : Beaver’s, Daddy Duncan's BBQ, El Burro & the Bull, Harlem Road Texas BBQ, and Victorian's Barbecue. Bodacious Bar-B-Q from Longview and Brett's Backyard Bar-B-Que from Rockdale participated as wildcard entries.   

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. We also recorded live from the overnight hog cook at Reveille Barbecue Co. as they and Wade Elkins cooked a red wattle hog over live coals. We were joined by Austin Moore with Tejas Chocolate and Barbecue and talked about his role at the restaurant. Nick Rama from Nick's Local Eats also came out for the festivities and joined us to talk about his BBQ exploration.

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 with a series of successful pop-ups and many large catering jobs, long-term plans for a permanent spot began to take shape.   After searching for the right spot for a while, Brett found a location in the small town of Rockdale, Texas that would allow him to put down roots. Brett began the build out of his spot and opened with a bang at the end of October, 2018 serving BBQ staples and specials cooked well on his custom made Moberg pits.   Brett's Backyard Bar-B-Que has been a welcome addition to the town of Rockdale and the Texas barbecue landscape as a whole, and the future is bright for Brett. Get out to his place and also check out Brett's food at the upcoming Houston vs Austin BBQ Throwdown taking place December 9th at Friends and Allies Brewing in Austin, Texas. Catch BBQ Brett and Brett's Backyard Barbeque at: 449 W. Cameron Ave. Rockdale, Texas   (512) 688-7889   Hours:  Thurs - Sat 10:30am - 7 (or sell out) Sun - 10:30am - 3 (or sell out) https://www.facebook.com/Brettsbackyardbarbque/ https://twitter.com/bbqbrett https://www.instagram.com/brettsbackyardbbq/  

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 his passing we were fortunate to be able to spend an afternoon with Roland at his original Bodacious Bar-B-Q location in Longview, opened in 1968. In this episode you'll hear about Roland's early days cooking at his dad's cafe in Duncanville, Texas as well as his cooking methods and the origins of the Bodacious Bar-B-Q restaurants. We also spoke with Roland about his relationship with Bewley pits and his understanding of pit technology which, like many things in Roland's career, was far ahead of its time. Roland was a true pioneer of so much and his influence in east and northeast Texas barbecue is undeniable. More important than his BBQ legacy is the impact Roland had on his friends, family, and community. His kindness and spirit was unmatched and his memory lives on in the countless lives he touched.  

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 town friends and family for the holidays, including different options based on your crowd. We've got some BBQ travel and cooking plans we also discuss. And be on the lookout for some Black Friday giveaways from us! We'll be putting together another listener questions episode in the near future, so get those questions in either via DM or email! Twitter: @bbqpodcast Instagram: @talesfromthepits Email: talesfromthepits@gmail.com

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 of many of the BBQ hounds that travel Texas in search of great smoked meat. Being a born and raised Houstonian, Eric has had a firsthand glimpse at the changes in both Houston and across Texas over the years. In our chat with Eric we talk about how he broke into the food writing scene, his childhood barbecue memories, and where he sees the Houston barbecue scene going over the next few years. Eric was kind enough to humor us with his patented lightning round questions that he asks his guests on his own podcast, "What's Eric Eating?" Give it a listen for Houston food news, including barbecue guests!   To stay in the know on breaking Houston restaurant (and BBQ) news, make sure you're following Eric's work on CultureMap and his social media profiles Eric's articles on CultureMap: http://houston.culturemap.com/author/eric-sandler/articles/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/esandler Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericsandler/ "What's Eric Eating?" Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/whats-eric-eating/id1231236807?mt=2      

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 his culinary career and new restaurant, but also chose to share with us a much more important story. Most people involved in the Houston dining scene are familiar with Patrick's history as a wounded war veteran, as were we prior to recording. But very few had heard the incredible details of Patrick's war history and harrowing story of survival. Patrick chose to share his story in depth with us, and you can hear the full story in Episode 47 of our podcast as well as the full versions of his culinary history and the opening of Feges BBQ in Episodes 48 and 49. All of these episodes were very well received, but we've since had numerous requests from listeners to produce a condensed version of our interviews with Patrick so as it could be consumed within the content of one episode. We appreciate the feedback and are happy to present you this special condensed episode with Patrick Feges of Feges BBQ. Please tune in for Patrick's amazing personal history as well as his long journey working in the Houston dining scene and finally, along with Chef Erin Smith, the opening of the much anticipated Feges BBQ.You can visit Patrick, Erin, and the crew at Feges BBQ Monday through Friday and at special events on some weekends 3 Greenway Plaza Ste C210Concourse Level – The HubHouston, TX 77046 BREAKFASTMonday-Friday, 7-930am LUNCHMonday-Friday, 11am-3pm https://www.fegesbbq.com/Twitter:@FegesBBQInstagram:@FegesBBQFacebook: FegesBBQ

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 his day to day cooking duties. On the heels of that success, John and his business partners have made plans to open Liberty Barbecue in downtown Round Rock. In our latest episode we talk with John and some of his pit crew including Dominic Colbert and Alanmykal Jackson to discuss the creative menus of both restaurants as well as their respective BBQ resumes. We also are joined by Joey Victorian of Victorian's Barbecue to discuss the upcoming Barbecue Throwdown taking in place in Austin on Sunday, December 9th presented by HOUBBQ. Catch Brotherton online at @PFTXBBQ Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram And www.pftxbbq.com  for more information on his restaurant PFLUGERVILLE LOCATION15608 Spring Hill Ln #105Pflugerville, TX 78660 HOURST-Sat 11a–8pSu-M closed Liberty Barbecue coming soon 103 E. Main StreetRound Rock, Tx

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 dish to serve and the attendees vote on their favorite dish. The participant whose dish receives the most votes wins the coveted Golden Cleaver award for the year. In addition to the award, the stakes were raised this year with the winner also receiving a thousand dollars. Second and third place awards were also given out.   The setting for this event, Rockin' Star Ranch in Brenham, is picturesque and the weather is great this time of year in Texas. All food and drinks (including beer, wine, and liquor) are included with the ticket price. With a wide array of meats, beverages, and desserts to sample along with butchery demonstrations, silent auctions, and live music, this event is a food lover's dream. We're already excited for next year's Butcher's Ball.   What makes this event even more special is that it helps to raise funds for the Urban Harvest Farmer's Market Program! (http://urbanharvest.org/farmersmarkets)   There are a lot of great barbecue events coming up during the fall and winter and we're going to cover as many of them as possible.   Tune in to this episode to hear all of the details on Butcher's Ball, upcoming special events at BBQ joints, and upcoming BBQ pop-ups from us!    

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 Tennessee and beyond), Ramey's BBQ in Parsons, Tennessee, and B.E. Scott's Bar-B-Que in Lexington, Tennessee are still carrying on this tradition.   We had the pleasure of dining at all three places on our recent whole hog road trip and were fortunate to be able to sit down with owner/operator Zach Parker of B.E. Scott's to talk about his life growing up in the business and how their restaurant operates. B.E. Scott's was opened in 1962 and owned by Early Scott until 1989 when Zach's father, Ricky, bought the business after working there for several years.   Zach grew up working in the restaurant at an early age, learning the laborious step by step method of cooking whole hog from his dad. Zach was going to school to be an EMT when his father passed away in 2013. Zach left school to run the restaurant and carry on both the family tradition and the tradition of West Tennessee style whole hog barbecue.   Southern Foodways Alliance produced a great video of the Parker family that we strongly encourage everyone to watch as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQfBqLK8vs4   Address: 10880 US-412, Lexington, TN 38351 Hours:  Monday Closed Tuesday 9AM–6PM Wednesday 9AM–6PM Thursday 9AM–6PM Friday 9AM–6PM Saturday 9AM–4PM Sunday Closed