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BBQ Fandom is the weekly Texas BBQ newsletter from ExploringBBQ.com.
Quick rundown: What turns a first visit into a place you keep returning to? This week, we look beyond rankings, viral posts, and opening-week attention to the food, consistency, hospitality, value, and sense of place that build loyalty. Around the Fire brings B4 Barbeque’s construction challenge, recognition for Red Wagon BBQ, and a look at The Pit Room’s handmade sausage. We also have two useful cooking videos, upcoming Texas BBQ events, and a refreshed BBQ Passport that now lets you share individual visits on Facebook.
Landing on a major barbecue ranking can bring a rush of first-time customers. A viral video can send thousands of people looking for the same tray. A new opening can become the place everyone suddenly needs to try.
But attention moves quickly.
On a recent episode of the Smoke(less) Podcast, Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller Barbecue reflected on how the traffic generated by major barbecue recognition may not last as long as it once did. His observation made me think less about whether the Texas BBQ boom is over and more about what happens after the first rush fades.
A ranking, recommendation, or social post can inspire the first visit. What turns that discovery into the second, fifth, or twentieth visit?
Great barbecue is the foundation, but returning can also depend on consistency, hospitality, value, atmosphere, and the connection customers develop with a place. The joints that become part of our lives usually give us more than one memorable tray. They give us a reason to keep coming back.
What Makes You Go Back After the Hype Is Gone?
A moment of attention can fill a line. A Texas BBQ joint earns its place in our lives by giving us a reason to return after that line gets shorter.
Now it’s your turn
Think about a Texas BBQ joint you first discovered through a list, recommendation, road trip, or social post. Some places earn one visit. Others become part of your regular BBQ map.
Which Texas BBQ joint first caught your attention, then became a place you kept returning to? More importantly, what brought you back?
Have a take on this? Share Issue #27 on Facebook and see which BBQ joints keep bringing your crowd back.
Until next week, keep chasing the smoke,
Mike
BBQ Fandom | ExploringBBQ.com
This week’s stories show three different sides of Texas BBQ: a celebrated joint confronting an unexpected business obstacle, a Waco-area restaurant earning statewide attention, and the craftsmanship behind one of Houston’s standout sausages.
Road Construction Leaves B4 Barbeque Fighting for Customers
Road construction in front of B4 Barbeque’s Mabank location disrupted access so severely that the restaurant reported serving only five customers by noon on September 11. Its Rhome location was also experiencing unusually slow traffic. The situation shows how quickly factors outside the pitroom can threaten a BBQ business, even after the food earns statewide recognition.
MySA | September 11, 2026 | Free
Red Wagon BBQ Earns Praise Beyond the Brisket
Red Wagon BBQ near Waco received a favorable review from Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn. The attention extended beyond its brisket to its poultry and sides, giving BBQ travelers another reason to consider adding the relatively young joint to a Central Texas road trip.
Waco Tribune-Herald | September 9, 2026 | Paywalled
Inside The Pit Room’s Handmade Jalapeño-Cheddar Sausage
The Pit Room’s jalapeño-cheddar pork sausage combines hand-cut pork, pickled jalapeño brine, dry spices, cheese, natural casings, and a carefully controlled smoking process. Tasting Table revisits how owner Michael Sambrooks builds the sausage that once earned an enthusiastic response from Guy Fieri.
Tasting Table | September 15, 2026 | Free
If this week’s question made you think of a BBQ joint that earned more than one visit, forward this issue to the friend who would understand why you keep going back. The best recommendations are not only about what caught our attention. They are about what made the place worth returning to.
This week, Original Black’s shares the details behind its smoked chicken while Jess Pryles demonstrates a simple flipping method for building a better crust and more even doneness on a steak.
Jess Pryles Says the Secret Is to Just Keep Flipping
Video | September 8, 2026 | YouTube, Jess Pryles
Jess Pryles demonstrates her “Just Keep Flipping” method by cooking thick ribeyes over the hot side of a two-zone charcoal grill. She flips the steaks every 30 to 45 seconds, watches for hot spots, and pulls them near 130°F before resting. Along the way, she explains how drying the meat, using intense heat, and changing which side faces the coals can help build a crust while limiting overcooking near the surface.
Original Black’s Breaks Down Its Smoked Chicken Method
Video | September 12, 2026 | YouTube, Original Black’s Barbecue
Original Black’s begins with a four-to-five-pound chicken, removes the backbone, and separates the bird into quarters for easier handling on a backyard grill. The chicken receives the restaurant’s traditional salt-and-pepper seasoning, including fine salt placed beneath the skin so it reaches the meat instead of remaining on the surface. The pieces are then cooked at 300°F, with the dark meat positioned in the hotter part of the rotisserie smoker and taken to a higher temperature for tenderness. A light coating of vegetable oil near the end helps produce soft, bite-through skin.
The video also introduces the restaurant’s new M&M rotisserie smokers and explains how they add capacity without replacing the brick pit built by the Black family in the late 1940s.
September and early October bring four different reasons to get on the road: a North Texas pitmaster homecoming, an East Texas competition, a Hill Country tailgate, and a South Texas festival built around barbecue and local tradition.
Texas Monthly BBQ Fest: BBQ Homecoming
September 19 | Grand Prairie, Texas
BBQ Homecoming brings Texas pitmasters, live-fire cooking, dinner, music, and dancing to EpicCentral for an evening celebrating the state’s barbecue community. The event is ticketed, and a portion of ticket proceeds will support Feeding Texas and its statewide network of food banks.
Big Axe BBQ Competition at the Texas State Forest Festival
September 19 | Lufkin, Texas
The IBCA-sanctioned Big Axe BBQ Competition brings chicken, pork spare ribs, brisket, and jackpot beans to the Texas State Forest Festival. Turn-ins run throughout Saturday, with awards scheduled around 4:30 p.m. It gives East Texas readers a traditional competition alongside the larger community festival.
53rd Annual Cuero Turkeyfest and BBQ Cook-Off
October 9 to 11 | Cuero, Texas
Cuero Turkeyfest combines its barbecue cook-off with three days of live music, a carnival, arts and crafts, family activities, the Turkeyfest Parade, and the Great Gobbler Gallop. It is far enough out for readers to plan a weekend while remaining inside a useful road-trip window.
Want the full September calendar?
Southern Living Hill Country Tailgate
September 26 | Fredericksburg, Texas
Southern Living’s inaugural Hill Country Tailgate brings award-winning pitmasters, Texas barbecue, live country music, handcrafted cocktails, and college football on big screens to Contigo Ranch. The ticketed evening also includes interactive experiences and access to a tour of the 2026 Southern Living Idea House, making it a full Hill Country destination event rather than a traditional cook-off.
Your BBQ Passport Has a Fresh Look
We have refreshed the BBQ Passport experience across visit stamps, bucket lists, activity, and badges. The new layout makes it easier to record a stop, add the details you want to remember, and see the progress of your Texas BBQ journey.
You can also now share an individual visit with your Facebook friends. Choose the photograph and details you want to feature, and the Passport creates a shareable page built around that visit. Your other visits remain private unless you choose to share them.
Whether you are documenting a first visit or returning to an old favorite, the BBQ Passport gives you a place to keep the story.
For the next BBQ run
Supporting Texas BBQ does not always mean ordering the biggest tray on the menu. Sometimes it means showing up, bringing someone with you, and keeping the places you care about in the rotation. Gear up for the next BBQ run.
Know about a BBQ event, new opening, road-trip stop, or story worth following? Send a note to [email protected].
We read every message and may feature reader tips in a future issue. BBQ Fandom follows the people, places, and moments that make barbecue worth following.
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