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

For years Chase Colston dreamt about bringing a festival to downtown Tyler, Texas. His persistence paid off when after years of trying, Chase was able to convince his employers at Townsquare Media to help him launch the Red Dirt BBQ and Music Festival. Held every spring since 2014, the festival has grown every year into one of the best in Texas.    The 2018 barbecue line up is incredible with joints like Black’s Barbecue, Bodacious Bar-B-Q, Evie Mae’s Pits Barbeque, LeRoy and Lewis BBQ, Louie Mueller Barbecue, Roegels Barbecue Co., Truth Barbeque and many more leading the way.   The music line up is equally strong with Read Southall Band, Josh Weathers, Koe Wetzel, Pat Green, and headliner Aaron Watson taking the main stage.    Affordable beer prices, a relaxed atmosphere, great music, and some of the best barbecue from all over the state converging in one place make this a unique festival and highly sought after ticket. VIP tickets sold out in minutes and within 48 hours the entire festival sold out this year! But wait...we’ve got tickets to giveaway! Not only was Chase kind enough to give us a pair of tickets to give away, but one lucky person is going to win a pair of VIP tickets to this year’s festival!   This our “spread the word” contest. We want as many people as possible hearing the stories of these great BBQ people that come on our show. If you want to try to win the Red Dirt VIP tickets, here’s how:   1. Post your favorite bbq picture on your Instagram page, tagging us (@talesfromthepits) and red dirt (@reddirtbbqfest).    2. In the photo caption tell your followers to subscribe to our show on their favorite listening app and follow both us and Red Dirt on Instagram.    3. Tell your followers to comment on your post letting you know they’ve followed us.   4. The comment portion of the contest will end at 11:59 pm central time on Saturday, April 7th. The five posts with the most comments will be entered into the drawing for the VIP tickets.     A huge thanks to Chase Colston for this great gift for our listeners. Lead by a stout roster of great BBQ joints serving up samples by day followed by a concert featuring top Red Dirt Music acts by night, Red Dirt BBQ and Music Festival is a must attend event for BBQ and music lovers alike.   

Shawn and Amy Collins, from St. Louis and Houston respectively, met while working at a busy restaurant in Manhattan. While planning to marry Shawn was looking for barbecue wood on Craigslist when he saw a restaurant for sale. Before they knew it they were picking up and leaving the big city for the tiny town of Nixon, Texas where they would be the new owners of Pioneer BBQ.   Shawn and Amy would slowly tweak the menu, refining it to fit the food they wanted to make the way they wanted to make it. With unique items like spicy firecracker corn, spicy scorpion sauce, and some of the finest banana pudding in Texas, the Collins' have made a mark on their small town.   Our interview with Shawn and Amy touches on their beginnings, the challenges of adapting to the palates of the oil workers and small town folk that are their regular clientele as well as their burgeoning "Honey and Swine" Etsy store that sells both Pioneer BBQ's rubs as well as handmade and vintage home decor. The store also features Amy's handmade clothing projects as she is a skilled tailor who went to design school.   In this episode we also unveil the rules of our Yeti giveaway contest.   Here are the contest rules and details:   1. Our Tales from the Pits sticker is placed at all of the following BBQ joints.   2M Smokehouse Bodacious BBQ on Mobberly Ave. Brotherton's Black Iron Barbecue Evie Mae's Barbeque John Mueller Blackbox Barbecue Opie's BBQ Pioneer BBQ Roegels Barbecue Co. Snow's BBQ Truth Barbeque   2.  Take a selfie in front of our sticker at any/all of these 10 BBQ Joints to be entered into our Yeti contest. Each selfie is worth ONE entry into the contest. Each picture must be posted on Instagram and @talesfromthepits must be tagged in each photo.   3. Take a selfie in front of our sticker at any/all of these 10 BBQ Joints while holding some BBQ from any/all of the joints. Every entry with you holding food is worth TWO entries into the contest. Each picture must be posted on Instagram and @talesfromthepits must be tagged in each photo.   4. A maximum of ONE entry per person per BBQ joint is permitted; a maximum of 20 entries per person is permitted.   5. The giveaway winner will be selected at random from all eligible entries.   6. Family of Tales from the Pits hosts are prohibited from winning this prize.   7. Contest ends at 11:59 PM July 4th, 2018      The items won in the giveaway include a Yeti Tundra 45 Cooler filled with various merchandise including but not limited to shirts, hats, koozies, and stickers. Items in the cooler are subject to change. The entire giveaway prizes must be redeemed in person by the winner at a time and place mutually convenient for both the podcast hosts and the prize winner.    

Over the last year the name Moberg has burst onto the barbecue scene, but what many don't know is that the man behind the incredibly popular smokers is no newcomer to the world of pit building. Sunny Moberg has been welding since he was a teenager, and his roots in Texas barbecue stretch back to his grandfather, the founder of Smokey Denmark sausage company.   Sunny's pits, made mostly from decommissioned propane tanks, have received much acclaim from barbecue enthusiasts to acclaimed BBQ joints for their expert craftsmanship, superior airflow, and cooking efficiency. Sunny also makes the trailers for his pits, a skill he learned early on when owning a previous trailer manufacturing business.     As you'll hear from barbecue up-and-comers Brett Boren (@brettsbbq) and Cody Avery (averybarbecue) as well as top pitmasters Scott Moore (@tejaschocolate) and Will Buckman (corkscrewbbq) in this episode, Moberg Smokers are built extremely well and priced fairly. Some of Sunny's clients include the aforementioned Corkscrew BBQ and Tejas Chocolate and Barbecue as well as Killen's Barbecue, Flores Barbecue, Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew, Terry Black's Barbecue, and many others including international buyers!     The demand for a Moberg Smoker has gotten so high, in fact, that the wait list for a pit built by Sunny has become almost as famous as the pits themselves, but you'll hear in our interview with Sunny that he has some help on the way to speed up his process.     Stay tuned to the end of the episode to hear our latest giveaway of some great Moberg Smoker merchandise! We are also only one episode away from the announcement of our epic Yeti Cooler giveaway, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast as well as follow us on social media (@talesfromthepits on Instagram, @bbqpodcast on twitter) to get all of the latest details on what we're up to.   Find Moberg Smokers onthe internet: @mobergsmokers twitter: https://twitter.com/mobergsmokers?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mobergsmokers/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Moberg-Smokers-157469770932197/   and at their website: https://mobergsmokers.com/    

We love eating barbecue, and eating with new friends is even more fun. After online banter with Chris Wood of Primacy Meat Co. we were able to meet up with him at Truth Barbecue and the next day at Valentina's Tex Mex Barbecue to share stories of the road. Chris was in the middle of an epic Texas barbecue road trip when we sat down next to the freeway and chatted. Listen in as he tells us about his travels. Keep an eye on him as he launches his business in Virginia, follow him on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/primacymeatco/  and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/primacymeatco/ Chris's entire trip included Tejas Chocolate, Corkscrew, Southern Q, Victorian's, Pinkerton's, Snow's, Truth, Louie Mueller, Taylor Cafe, Stiles Switch, Valentina's, La Barbecue, Kerlin's, Micklethwait, Texas Ranch, Black's, Smitty's, and Kreuz Market -- what a trip! We announce not one, but TWO winners of great prizes, Mandoesc09 who won an autographed photo of Tootsie Tomanetz, and Stephen Narron who is picking up a John Mueller Black Box Barbecue shirt. Hang on as we tell you about THREE more giveaways including some more details on the insane Yeti cooler stuffed to the brim with BBQ swag. The response from our friends in the BBQ industry has been overwhelming and we keep getting more but it's full and we're going to seal it up for the giveaway. But that's not enough, we will also have two prize packs! We've got some great interviews coming so be sure to subscribe to us on your favorite podcast app - it really helps promote our show. Here are a few of our favorites: iTunes Podcast Addict Castbox Podbean Follow us on Instagram at @TalesFromthePits and Twitter @bbqpodcast or reach out to us directly at talesfromthepits@gmail.com  

John Mueller is one of the most controversial men in the barbecue world and he's carved his niche in the industry doing things in own way. With a hot and fast method of cooking, house made sausage, tasty pork ribs, brisket stew, plus brisket and beef ribs rubbed with a heavy dose of pepper a good visit is rewarded with a unique and flavorful experience. Don't forget the cheesy squash loaded with ladles of cheese, a rich end to a memorable meal. John sat down with us for a fun and informative chat. In the episode we cover the time after he left Louie Mueller Barbecue to present day, including some big news from John! We announce a new giveaway and also give an update on our Yeti cooler filled with BBQ swag that includes some very cool merchandise.  The Texas Monthly article we discussed on the episode is here: https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/of-meat-and-men/ Catch John and his crew Thursday - Sunday from 10:30am-sold out 201 E. 9th Street Georgetown Texas 78626 Twitter @JSM_meat  

Roegels Barbecue Co. (pronounced ray-gulls) received a positive review from the Houston Chronicle's Alison Cook in April 2015 which increased their customer base overnight but the Roegels crew didn't take their foot off the gas pedal.  A continual evolution of their menu and launching weekly specialty meats such as smoked pastrami helped them earn a spot on the 2017 Texas Monthly Top 50 list and cemented Russell's place in the Texas barbecue scene. Subscribe and listen every week to our journey in and through Texas Barbecue, from road trips to pit builders to interviews with the greatest pitmasters in Texas. Follow us on twitter @bbqpodcast and Instagram @talesfromthepits to catch our latest giveaways including our biggest one yet, a Yeti Tundra cooler filled with great BBQ goodies!!! For more information on Roegels, check out their website http://www.roegelsbarbecue.com/ twitter: @RoegelsBarbecue or even better, visit them in person at 2223 S. Voss Houston, TX 77057 Open 7 days a week  

Russell Roegels has been cooking barbecue longer than some of our listeners have been alive. Russell worked with Bodacious in East Texas and decided to move down to Houston with little to his name after a decision made while fishing to head up a Bakers Ribs location. Russel and family put in long hours 7 days a week, eventually tweaking their product after experiencing other barbecue at the Houston Barbecue Festival and doing a Texas barbecue road trip. Without media fanfare he launched Roegels Barbecue Co in the middle of a lunch rush, changing the sign while patrons ate inside. In this episode you hear about the early days, that decision to open under his own name, and a pivotal visit by Houston Chronicle food critic Alison Cook  

Family backyard barbecue memories floated through Esaul's mind while working as a bus driver, calling him into the world of barbecue. He made the jump from bus driver head first into his first gig working at La Barbecue. After learning the art from John Lewis the dreams of his own business pulled him back to San Antonio where he launched 2M Smokehouse with Joe Melig. Chicharoni macaroni, serrano and Oaxaca cheese sausage, pickled nopales, barbacoa, and speciality cakes are just some of the unique items Esaul, wife Grecia, Joe, pithand Dusty, and team crank out with their unique flavor of barbecue for a growing fan base Listen as Esaul takes us through his background, his time at La Barbecue, the menu at 2M, and his plans for a second pit at his busy restaurant Find them online at https://www.2msmokehouse.com/Twitter: @2m_smokehouseInstagram: 2msmokehouse  

The one where we talk about ribs:Upon request, we've dedicated this episode to cooking pork ribs. Andrew has placed in IBCA sanctioned BBQ cookoffs with his ribs and over the years he's developed the Doubleback BBQ rib rub that has served well in retail too.  From purchase to trimming to cooking, we describe what has worked well for us, listen in and let us know any tips or tricks you use! Check out videos on our instagram page @talesfromthepits and follow us on twitter @bbqpodcast    

From family barbecues to nearly opening a brick and mortar before the building was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey, Jim Buchanan has persistently pursued his barbecue dream. Jim developed his taste for Texas barbecue living in Katy Texas beginning with backyard cookouts. The competition circuit was his next endeavor where he did well and met up with Wes Jurena, leading to his work at Pappa Charlies.Jim stepped out on his own and was set to open his own place before the hurricane sidelined him, but he recovered and is currently popping up at several locations. Listen to Jim's story and the time he almost gave his girlfriend a heart attack when he was experimenting with his espresso ribs! Twitter: @bucksbbqcowww.bucksbbqco.com Catch Buck's Barbeque Co. at:Wed, Thu, Fri 11am-3pm with specials often on Friday evenings Lucky's Lodge 2024 Rusk St Houston, TX 77003 Saturdays from 11am to sell out or 6pm 8th Wonder Brewery 2202 Dallas Street Houston Texas 77003 Sundays from 4pm-9pm Frio Hill Country Grill 16410 Mueschke Rd Cypress, TX 77433

Foodways Texas and the meat science department at Tezas A&M host multiple barbecue education events each year. Two of these are held in partnership with Foodways Texas; Barbecue Summer Camp and Camp Brisket. Creative Sausage Making and Beef 101 are options available directly through A&M. Recorded at The Hop Stop which is celebrating its 2 year anniversary on January 27th, Andrew and Bryan discuss our experience at Barbecue Summer Camp and Camp Brisket as well as provide some information on the other two courses. Learn more at https://bbq.tamu.edu  and http://www.foodwaystexas.com/  

Starting with family barbecue outings in east texas the passion of barbecue kept calling at Steve and Sharice Garner until they were able to put their unique touch on the barbecue world. Listen in as Steve Garner talks about his path to launching a brick and mortar after driving trucks and running a food trailer. Steve talks about his path to launching his restaurant, boudin, firecracker crackers, and visiting the bookity bookity boudain man. Steve also tells us some big news about the future of Southern Q! Trivia - A visit to Southern Q in February of 2015 was Andrew and Bryan's first BBQ visit together

Thank you for listening in 2017! First up on this episode, we announce the winner of the $50 gift card from Truth Barbecue Listen in as customer-turned-pitmaster Nathan Pier takes us on a pit tour at Evie Mae's. Arnis Robbins custom builds his own unique reverse flow pits that are like no others in the business. The first two pits, named Shadrach and Meshach started from 750 gallon propane tanks but the tops are boxed out to provide up to three racks of cooking surface. Their third pit is a large J&R Oyler 1300. Pits four and five were the most recent pits built for full time restaurant use. They retain Arnis' reverse flow design but leave the rounded tops from the original tanks intact and also benefit from an insulated firebox.  

Reid guess has worked hard to get to where he's at today including cleaning vent hoods, graduating from Le Cordon Bleu, working in the fine dining world, and launching his own trailer. It's been a family endeavor; he's built his own pits with the help of his father, including the 19 foot long behemoth he wrangles into cooking some great smoked meats, and his nephew Aaron grinds out some great and unique sausage. Sides are produced only with wood fueled heat - and don't skip the grits! Listen to this episode as he describes his ascent and tells us some major news for the business. Also in this episode we announce the winner of the Brotherton Black Iron Barbecue gift certificate and let you know about our latest giveaway, a gift certificate to Truth Barbecue!  

Hear as we annnounce our latest prize giveaway, a $50 gift card to Brotherton's Black Iron Barbecue We do a recap of the HOUBBQ Austin vs Houston BBQ Throwdown Andrew manned the pits for a Doubleback BBQ catering gigBoth Andrew and Bryan make separate trips to Truth BarbecueBryan made a run to Austin that included brisket stew from John Mueller Black Box Barbecue and a visit to a backyard popup held by Brett's BBQWe wound up the week with a stop at Southern Q BBQ in Houston