Hou BBQ Festival 2016

Fresh off of the Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival and a BBQ tour of East Texas, I was a little "tired" of barbecue. Blasphemy. I know. I think it is more of me eating in excess than anything. There was only a week between Red Dirt and the 2016 Houston BBQ Festival. It was a quick turnaround. I tried to eat lighter and more salads between the two. I ate all 23 booths at last year's event. I had no intentions of repeating that this year. There were 26 BBQ joints participating this time.

BBQ Godfather - Brisket, turkey, sweet potato casserole, and brisket macaroni and cheese

Brisket, turkey, sweet potato casserole, and brisket macaroni and cheese

Blake’s BBQ - Brisket and homemade sausage

Brisket and homemade sausage

Blood Bros. BBQ - Gochujang 44 Farms beef belly, beef chuck ribs, and jalapeño creamed corn. I finally was able to try their beef belly. I love the Asian influences.



Gochujang 44 Farms beef belly



44 Farms beef chuck rib



Gochujang beef belly, beef chuck rib, and jalapeño creamed corn

The Brisket House - Brisket. We missed out on beef ribs.

The last little bit of brisket

Brooks’ Place BBQ - Smoked oxtail and onion bomb (basically meatloaf wrapped in bacon then and wrapped in onion and smoked)

Smoked oxtail and onion bomb

CorkScrew BBQ - Brisket, turkey, and sausage

Sausage

Brisket, turkey, and sausage

El Burro & the Bull - Smoked pork tamalito on a bed of roasted Sonoran style elote





Smoked pork tamalito on a bed of roasted Sonoran style elote

Fainmous BBQ - Brisket and pork ribs. So this was the 24th tent we visited. For whatever reason, I forgot to take a picture of the meats. I think the meat delirium was setting in.

Feges BBQ - 44 Farms smoked steamship beef round and whole hog

44 Farms smoked steamship beef round

Pig head

Whole hog

44 Farms smoked steamship beef round and whole hog

Gatlin’s BBQ - Brisket and baby back pork ribs

Brisket

Baby back pork rib

Gerardo’s - Brisket, barbacoa, pork carnitas tacos

Brisket, barbacoa, pork carnitas tacos

Harlem Road Texas BBQ - Seaweed pork belly and beef ribs

Seaweed pork belly and beef ribs

Jackson Street BBQ - Brisket on a jalapeño cheese biscuit and sausage

Brisket on a jalapeño cheese biscuit and sausage

Killen's Barbecue- Pork short ribs, brisket, and turkey jalapeño and cheese sausage. Ronnie Killen brought a special cut in- pork short ribs. His homemade turkey jalapeño and cheese sausage was new too.



Artist at work. Manny "painting" the pork short ribs.



Side profile of pork short rib

Pork short ribs, brisket, and turkey jalapeño and cheese sausage

Lenox Bar-B-Que - Brisket and jalapeño and cheese sausage

Brisket and jalapeño and cheese sausage

Louie Mueller Barbecue - Beef ribs and jalapeño sausage

Jalapeño sausage

Beef rib and jalapeño sausage

Pappa Charlies Barbeque - 44 Farms short rib burnt ends, brisket, sausage, and pulled pork sundae (coleslaw and mashed potatoes). We missed out on the smoked prime rib. I am a big fan of those burnt ends.

44 Farms short rib burnt ends

Pulled pork sundae (coleslaw and mashed potatoes)

44 Farms short rib burnt ends, brisket, and sausage

Pinkerton's Barbecue - Smoked alligator and brisket. We missed out on the fried boudin balls. What did the alligator taste like? Chicken...

Smoked alligator

Brisket

Smoked alligator and brisket

Pizzitola’s Bar-B-Cue - Chopped beef sandwich, pulled pork, and pork ribs

Chopped beef sandwich, pulled pork, and pork rib

Ray’s BBQ Shack - Brisket, pork ribs, boudin, and fried corn

Brisket, pork rib, boudin, and fried corn

Roegels Barbecue Co. - Ruben/pastrami, pork belly, and sausage

Ruben

Southside Market & Barbeque - Brisket, sausage, and sausage slammers

Brisket, sausage, and sausage slammers

Spring Creek Barbeque - Brisket, pork ribs, stuffed jalapeño popper

Brisket, pork ribs, stuffed jalapeño popper

Tejas Chocolate Craftory - Brisket, pastrami, carrot soufflé, and chocolate espresso panna cotta

Brisket, pastrami, carrot soufflé, and chocolate espresso panna cotta

Tin Roof BBQ - 44 Farms smoked sirloin, brisket, and baby back pork ribs. They also had brisket tacos.

44 Farms smoked sirloin

44 Farms smoked sirloin, brisket, and baby back pork rib

The Wooden Spoke - Pulled pork coleslaw sandwich and jalapeño cheese sausage

Pulled pork coleslaw sandwich and jalapeño cheese sausage

When Amber and I started the day, we were going to eat at a few of the tents. Try new or different items. We ended up eating at all of them. Bryan had eaten all of the bites within the first hour. I guess that got my competitive juices going. We somehow made it through the 26 booths. It was hot so we were drinking a lot of water. The salty meat made us even thirstier. We even stopped at Sonic on the way out of town during happy hour to further quench our thirst.

The Houston BBQ Festival is a great event to attend. It is well organized/planned, roomy, and has a ton of good eats. The event started a little early because a storm was supposed to roll through in the afternoon. The storm never came, and the skies opened up. It warmed up fast. I wish the event was held at a cooler time of the year. Not sure how logistically that is possible with so much going on in Houston though. That is my only complaint. The event is an excellent showcase to highlight the best that the Houston barbecue community has to offer. We always talk about moving to Houston. BBQ would not be the only reason, but it would definitely help Houston's case. 

Pit area

Until next time, happy smoking...