Houston BBQ Festival

The seventh annual Houston BBQ Festival featured some of the best-smoked creations Texas has to offer. Emerging spots such as Reveille and Daddy Duncan joined festival veterans Feges BBQ, Louie Mueller BBQ, Corkscrew BBQ, Tejas Chocolate, Blood Bros, and more serving over 2000 hungry attendees.

Tejas Chocolate

Hungry 2019 Crowd Heading In.

Whole Hog from Feges BBQ

The team from Feges BBQ babysat a whole hog, as well its newest 3-month-old crew member. While Patrick Feges and his whole hogs have a become a fixture in the Houston BBQ scene, the effort and craftsmanship needed to bring this to the public should never be overlooked. From start to finish, close to 24hrs were spent burning down coals, flipping pigs, chopping, shredding and serving. Truly a sight to see every time.

Links and Pork Chops from Tejas Chocolate

Heavyweights Tejas Chocolate & Louie Mueller gave the crowds what they wanted with some of their signature dishes. The Chile Relleno sausage was served grilled, along with ribs and pork chops. Wayne Mueller himself was at times speechless regarding his world-famous beef ribs. I was too, except for all the times I said I was going back for more.

Louie Mueller Beef Ribs

HouBBQ featured everything from deep fryers to top of the line smokers to whole hog pits. Each of the 30 featured tents showed up with everything from friends, supporters, or an army of employees to feed the hungry crowd. If you follow Texas BBQ, you know that lines for food are a given, but the teams worked non-stop to get festival goers fed and on to the next tent.

James - Reveille BBQ Co.

Roegels BBQ

Russell Roegel took time before hitting the block to chat with the gang from the BBQ program at Texas A&M. He also had a slew of friends helping from Brotherton's Black Iron BBQ and Blake's BBQ in Tennessee. Maintaining his reputation as one of Houston's most sought after BBQ consultants. 

Blood Bros BBQ

When you own a karaoke spot and a new brick & mortar, I guess you have to be able to talk over the music. The crew from Blood Bros could be heard from any part of the festival and have been bringing the same energy for years. Their egg & scallion pancake topped with togarashi smoked chuck, drunken onions, and pickled onions were on point.

Barbacoa Tacos from The Pit Room

In Texas, BBQ Tacos are almost a must. The Pit Room threw down with great smoked barbacoa on their famous tortillas. While there was no trophy on the line, the team from Beaver's reminded folks that when it comes to events, they will show out. Smoked beef birria braised, and grilled, before being tucked into a crisped mini tortilla. I would cast my vote for them as one of the day's best. 

Beef Birria Tacos - Beavers HTX

Pinkerton's BBQ



Grant Pinkerton had plenty to smile about on Sunday with good bbq, a new place on the horizon, and also haven't you heard Texas is back!

Chile Relleno Sausage

Tin Roof Desserts

Chef Ara of Harlem Road 

It wouldn't be a BBQ event without brisket. I got treated to this personal slice from Chef Ara from Harlem Road Texas BBQ. Chef's coffee will wake you up and his brisket will put you in a food coma. I was also lucky enough to grab a slice from the crew at Killen's BBQ and Reveille BBQ Co. Both were outstanding and have folks going North & South of Houston for awesome food.

Arash Karat - Beavers

Lenox BBQ

The Calm Before the Next Wave of BBQ Lovers

Killen's BBQ

2019 Houston BBQ Festival in Full Swing.

Daddy Duncan BBQ

Representing the Katy chapter of Houston BBQ, Chef Randy Duncan takes a minute to show off his brisket. Cooked on his shiny new Moberg 500 gallon smoker, "Nancy" sure was pretty in the bright Texas sun.

Chile Relleno Sausage from Tejas Chocolate

Brisket Bahn Mi & Ribs from True Texas BBQ



Good ribs were definitely in abundance. HEB's True Texas BBQ served a tasty rib that grabbed my attention. They have been getting some recent press and I'm hoping to check out their operation soon. As I was getting ready for the gates to open, I was able to get a quick shot of some beautiful beef ribs from Ray's Real Pit BBQ Shack. That bark was insane. 

Beef Ribs from Ray's Real Pit BBQ Shack

Whole Hog, Meatballs, and Mashers from Feges BBQ

Will Beckman, Corkscrew BBQ,  & Pastrami Beef Tongue

The one that got away. I've been a huge fan of Corkscrew BBQ for years, and I somehow missed trying their pastrami beef tongue despite being so close. Their collab with Chef Austin Simmons was one of the most talked about dishes in the crowd. 

Banana Pudding from Spring Creek BBQ

Hitting up close to 30 different BBQ tents, the dessert offerings are always treasured. The carrot soufflé from Tejas Chocolate is always a crowd favorite. I took more shots of the PB&J cake from Feges BBQ than I care to admit. The peanut butter cup brownie from Tin Room was absolutely perfect, and Texas BBQ staple banana pudding from Spring Creek was a savior on a warm day.

General Admission Storming the Gates

The largest festival to date had crowds lined up deep and still showing up hours into the festival. The biggest lineup was ready for them with multiple tents feeding repeat guests multiple times over from start to finish.

The Lineup

Wagyu Tri-Tip from Killen's BBQ

Southern Q BBQ

Wayne Mueller

It should be remembered that at its core, The Houston BBQ Festival is a community event.  BBQ lovers on all sides of the experience are given the opportunity to connect and fellowship. This being my fourth time attending, it's truly special to me realizing just how many folks I've met from my BBQ journey. Meeting up with friends from the BBQ trail, social media, and a handful of other states really put into perspective the reach of Texas BBQ. While days leading up the festival were long, the passion was certainly on display, and the hunger is already growing for next year.