2019 has been a great year for Backroads and BBQ! We visited so many interesting places and made so many new friends.

We started our journey in Georgetown Texas at 309 Coffee Company with cousin Jack Crouch. John shared his crazy caffeine order that he tests any new coffee place. There, we met Garrett Hill, chief barista at 309 Coffee and also owner of Apothecary Coffee Company, a local coffee roaster that supplies 309 Coffee. We got to visit Garrett’s roastery and learn about the exacting methods of roasting coffee to specific standards.

We got to skip the line and get a behind-the-scenes tour of Franklin’s BBQ. Having Aaron Franklin make our morning espresso shot was a huge honor and his turkey was the best smoked turkey we had during the tour.

One of the hugest highlights of the tour was giving flowers to the legendary pitmaster Ms. Tootsie Tomanetz of Snow’s BBQ in Lexington, Texas. Her pork steak is the thing dreams are made of and making her smile with flowers was a true highlight.

One of my favorite stops along our way was to visit the production facility of Bloody Buddy, the first vodka-based, ready-to-drink bloody mary in the world. Learning about their background, how they infuse their vodka with hot chiles, and signing their ceiling was what I hope will be the beginning of a long friendship.

Our 2-hour chance encounter with legendary pitmaster Roy Perez of Kreuz Market was truly a once in a lifetime experience. His wisdom and longevity is so impressive. I cannot wait to go back and visit him again someday soon.

Having a Shiner beer with Dustin Lauw, owner of Duck’s Heritage Boot Company, was a lesson in philosophy. Who knew there could be such an ethereal nature to making boots? But we were impressed with the care and precision that Dustin puts into every pair of handmade boots that he makes.

In Dallas, we went with Chef Tom Fleming to visit Slow Bone BBQ. Little did we know that Chef Tom could have a career in stand-up comedy! Slow Bone did not disappoint either. Not traditional barbecue-fare — their fried chicken was divine. And cleaning the ribs just wasn’t enough — I wanted to treat those bones like toothpicks. MMMMMmmmmmm!

Lastly, the Smoked BBQ Festival was in Dallas this Fall and we got to sample the best of the best of the barbecue available in all of Texas. You should really plan to go to next year’s festival.

We have so many more adventures in store for 2020. We get to see behind-the-scenes at the BBQ stand at Luckenbach, Texas. We meet the head of research and development for Deep Eddy’s Vodka. We had beer with the Dark Prince of Texas Barbecue, John Mueller, grandson of famed Louie Mueller BBQ of Taylor. Nate Funmaker fitted a cowboy hat just for my head. And Texana Foods gave us a tour of their production facility.

Did you know that the bloody mary cocktail is one of the most popular cocktails sold in America? It’s so popular that many barbecue competitions feature a side contest for the best bloody mary. You see quite elaborate decorations for bloody marys, from bacon served as a garnish to even a cheeseburger slider. The World Food Competition 2019 featured its own bloody mary competition.

Here we introduce you to James “Buddy” Jordan and Joey Kindred, the owners and creators of The Bloody Buddy, the first and only ready-to-drink bloody mary vodka cocktail. The key ingredient in the Bloody Buddy is the chili-pepper-infused vodka and homemade bloody mary mix combined in one convenient bottle. Everything is made at their distillery in Dripping Springs, Texas. The Bloody Buddy is  preservative free, non-GMO, and all natural. The Bloody Buddy is a spicy & fresh bloody mary for any occasion. Just shake and pour over ice.

Buddy and Joey created the homemade bloody mary with chili pepper infused vodka when they worked as bartenders at a high-end Austin steakhouse. The drink became so popular, the pair looked into ways to make it happen. With business prowess of Joey’s father Mike, the Bloody Buddy was born into reality. Mike’s fingerprint still appears on every bottle sold as a tribute to his memory and lasting imprint in making the business a reality.

The first episode of the Bloody Buddy series on Backroads and BBQ features Buddy and Joey telling the story of how they got started and what inspires them. The second episode features the behind-the-scenes tour. We got to try the pure vodka, then the vodka infused with the chili peppers. We saw their ingredients, just like you would have at home, except in much larger quantities. We saw their processing plant. And, we were invited to sign the ceiling as with other honored guests.

Did you know that Bloody Buddy is all-natural and gluten-free?! When the Worchestershire sauce became gluten-free, the Bloody Buddy also became gluten-free.

Bloody Buddy makes their own vodka from distillates. They infuse with a proprietary blend of chile peppers. And it’s amazing! They are talking about a special edition hatch green chile Bloody Buddy. What do you think of that? (We think, YES PLEASE!)

They consider themselves a complete day-drunk company! They are coming out with a Beach Buddy in the Spring. We cannot wait for that!

Shout out to cousin Jack Crouch for joining me for these episodes!

The Bloody Buddy is the real deal. Check out their website at www.thebloodybuddy.com and try it today.

This week we visit Snow’s BBQ in Lexington, Texas, the home of BBQ Hall of Famer, 84-year old female pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz. My sidekick-of-the-day is Belle Crouch, who may be Tootsie’s #1 fan, and her husband Jack.

Owner Kerry Bexley reopened Snow’s BBQ in March 2003 once he got Tootsie to agree to join him. Open only on Saturdays starting at 8:00 am, the line forms very early and they sell out quickly.

Undoubtedly, Snow’s is the most famous thing in the small town of about 1,000 residents. When Texas Monthly surprisingly named Snow’s as the #1 BBQ joint in Texas in 2017, it kicked things up a notch or two.

I won a package deal at Meat Fight, a charitable event created by Alice Laussade that supports the MS Society, that included lunch for two at Slowbone in Dallas. A friend of mine, Chef Tom Fleming of Crossroads Diner in Dallas, joined me for lunch. He and Chef Jeffrey Hobbs, owner of Slowbone, are friends from way back in the day.

Chef Tom started his career in France where he staged at Paul Bocuse and L’Auberge de l’Ille. Back in Chicago, he worked under the tutelage of his mentor chef Jean Joho at Everest. After five years at Everest, Fleming opened Brasserie Jo for Joho, which later won the James Beard Foundation Award for “Best New Restaurant.” Later Fleming moved to Dallas, cultivating his career as Executive Chef at Mediterraneo. Fleming’s position and contribution to other Dallas kitchens included Executive Chef of Riviera, Lombardi Mare, Pappas Brothers’ Steak House, Old Hickory Steakhouse at the Gaylord Texan, and Central 214. Chef Tom decided to dominate the breakfast industry with Crossroads Diner in Dallas so he could devote more time to his family. Crossroads has won every accolade available for the breakfast industry, recognized by D Magazine, Dallas Morning News, Dallas Observer, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine Magazine, and Zagat.

Chef Jeffrey Hobbs has quite the pedigree, having worked at well-known Dallas places such as Celebration, Riviera, Toscana, Il Sole, Suze, and Sissy’s Southern Kitchen. Then, he left fine-dining and turned to barbeque. Hobbs’ mantra is Barbecue is Beautiful. And, believe me, it really is at Slowbone. Arguments can be made that Slowbone is The Best BBQ in Dallas if not Texas. Certainly, it is the best fried chicken at a BBQ place. And the sides…. Oh man… you got to try the sides. Who am I kidding… everything is great. You just really have to go check it out.

The Smoked BBQ Fest held its 6^th event this Fall and has quickly become the go-to festival in the DFW area if not in the whole State of Texas. The festival features the absolute who’s who of BBQ across the state. I mean, where else can you get some Kreuz Sausage next door to a Louie Mueller dinosaur beef rib next door to a Zavalas bbq taco… no where but Smoked.

A 90 degree day in Downtown Dallas’ Main Street Garden Park provided the perfect setting for stuffing my body full of bbq like an overstuffed teddy bear. It was dumb and yum all at the same time. This year the event sold out, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to get in on this action when the festival rolls into town next year.

Pits featured in my video: Kreuz Market, Louis Mueller BBQ, Heim BBQ, Hutchins BBQ, Ferris Wheeler BBA, Micklethwait Craft Meats, Bodacious BBQ, Hurtado BBQ, Schmidt BBQ, Tejas Chocolate and BBQ, BBQ Mobberly, Meat Church,  Black’s BBQ Lockhart, Panther City BBQ, and Zavalas.

Also featured: Jimmy Ho, Shiner Beer, Pat Green.

Any barbecue tour would not be complete without a prayer at the alter of all that is holy in Texas barbecue — Franklin’s in Austin.

Meat Fight is a charitable event in Dallas, Texas started by James Beard award-winning food writer Alice Laussade to raise money to support national MS research. The event involves a barbecue competition featuring chefs that don’t cook barbecue.

They also have prizes and an auction for attendees. In 2018, I won the “boner package” which included lunch at Franklin’s BBQ in Austin at the back table with the KING OF TEXAS BBQ himself Aaron Franklin and skipping the famous line to get in that usually starts around 5 am on any given day. (Check out more about Meat Fight here www.meatfight.com) Only a few people in the universe have skipped the line at Franklin’s — President Obama being one of them. So, this prize was a coveted one indeed. And I won it! (I also get to be a judge at Meat Fight 2019 — stay tuned to my Instagram story @chef.john.oneil for that coming on November 10th.)

Badass Lady Chef Jeana Johnson, F&B director for Canvas Hotel in Dallas, won the brisket competition at Meat Fight 2018 and won the overall prize for the best chef. I decided my visit to Franklin’s in Austin had to include her.

Aaron Franklin doesn’t allow videotaping in his behind the scenes tour, so we were limited to still photos. Even so… the experience was amazing. The morning started with Aaron making us espresso. In typical Aaron fashion, he was extremely attentive to detail in pulling the espresso shot and it was fabulous.

Then, Aaron gave us his personal tour of the pits and his theories on barbecue — how to build the fire, what type of wood to use, what pits are best. He gave us his personal history and told of rebuilding after the fire caused by an ember caught in the wind of Hurricane Harvey.

The crowning moment of the behind-the-scenes tour of Franklin’s was eating at the back table outside of Aaron’s personal quarters on-site of the barbecue location. Other friends of Aaron’s from Mexico joined us for lunch. The setting was a small camper trailer (with air conditioning) and picnic tables. Aaron’s wife joined us too. To say that the food was phenomenal is an understatement. Aaron was friendly and personable. He was interested in the barbecue tour we were on and offered advice and insight to the places we would visit.

All of the meats were outstanding. But the real star, surprisingly, was the turkey breast. Aaron gets a special lot of turkeys from a heritage farm in Michigan and cooks them just right so they are the most moist turkey you have ever tasted in your life. He rubs the skinless turkey with butter, black pepper and salt. That’s it. (He shares his recipe here.)

Chef Jeana visited Aaron’s previously and she said the food was just a good on the day of our visit as it was the prior visit. The turkey was equally as moist. That kind of consistency is amazing. I was also impressed with how happy and busy his staff was. Aaron runs a precise ship but his team members all seemed to know exactly what needed doing and were busy doing it. No slackers. And they were all cheerful and friendly.

One afternoon early in our backroads and barbecue tour around central Texas, my cousin Jack Crouch said that we just had to stop by and see Dustin Lauw at Duck’s Heritage Boots. A fourth-generation leather maker, Dustin became inspired to make boots when he had a pair made by the man who became his mentor, Duck Menzies. Dustin was open and forthcoming about his craft, his workshop, and even his life philosophy. You’ll love Dustin and want to go hang out with him at his shop too! Check it out…

In the third episode from our visit to Kreuz Market in Lockhart, we get a behind-the-scenes tour of the shop from legendary pitmaster Roy Perez. Nothing was off-limits to us as we saw the pits, meat storage, and wood lot. We learned about how they age their post oak wood for a year to dry it out and harden it before throwing it on the fire. Come with me for the last part of our extended visit with Roy at Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas.

We first met Garrett Hill at 309 Coffee, the quaint local coffee shop that he manages in Georgetown, Texas. He told us about his small coffee roasting business and invited us to come visit. In this episode, we get to tour the roastery and talk to Garrett about the coffee business, how to roast coffee, and the technical aspects of getting the roast dialed in right. You get a behind the scenes tour to his coffee roasting operation. Check it out!

No barbeque tour would be complete without a visit to Lockhart, Texas. And, no visit to Lockhart, Texas would be complete without a trip to Kreuz Market.

When we were finished, I saw The Legend Himself — Roy Perez — walk in and go to the back. I just had to go shake his hand.

We went to Kreuz (prounounced like “critz” in the German way) on a Wednesday afternoon — not the best or busiest day in BBQ world. I didn’t make an appointment and didn’t expect to do much other than eat some meat and take some pictures. We didn’t make an appointment and didn’t call in advance.

As it turned out, Roy took time to give me a full tour and talk to me for a long time about Kreuz Market, barbeque, food philosophy, life, Whataburger, and even a lesson on how to slice brisket. He gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of the coolers and meat storage. Nothing was offlimits to us and our cameras. He was so welcoming and inviting — by far the best ambassador of Texas BBQ that we encountered. I’m sure he was busy and had other things to do that day, but he made time for us. Seemingly, nothing was more important.

From the Kreuz Market website:

In 1875 Jesse Swearingen opened Lockhart’s first meat market. The term “meat market” referred to what we would call today a grocery store with a butcher on hand offering fresh meat.

In 1900 Charles Kreuz Sr. borrowed $200 and bought the market from Jesse. $200 was a lot of money in rural Texas in 1900. Kreuz Market quickly became known as the best grocery store in the area. Shoppers flocked to what was described as a modern, “progressive” grocery store.

Charles came from a family of German immigrants that made their way to Central Texas in the 18th Century. The Kreuz clan smoked meats like they did in the old country—German meat-market style. He fused his German heritage with Texas raised cattle and pork smoked over native post oak wood.

Barbecue has humble beginnings. Butchers like Charles wanted to make use of an animal nose to tail with little waste. Smoking scrap cuttings and the less desirable parts was a way to monetize the whole animal. Plus, it tasted good.

BBQ meat was also a working man’s food. It was often eaten at lunch time by cowboys, rough necks, ranch hands, and farmers looking for a quick, high protein meal to fuel long days of hard work.

A 1930 newspaper article from the Lockhart Post Register that describes the early Kreuz experience:

“The Kreuz Market at any time of the day will serve smoking hot barbecue on a piece of oiled paper with a supply of crackers and the customer may in addition supply himself with onions, tomatoes, coffee, soda water, near beer or even pies and cakes. The meat and the cracker served on paper at the oven are taken by the purchaser to a table where a knife is chained and there the barbecue is cut and eaten. Table knives, forks or dishes are not furnished.” Lockhart Post Register, June 30, 1930

Charles’ sons sold Kreuz Market in 1948 to Edgar Schmidt. Edgar had been the Kreuz Market butcher since 1936. He knew how to smoke meat and he knew the grocery business.

Edgar made changes and transitioned the food market into a restaurant. He closed the grocery store section down entirely in the early 1960’s. From then on it functioned as a restaurant and was a market in name only. In 1984 Edgar retired and sold the business to his sons Rick and Don Schmidt.

In 1987 Roy Perez received a phone call that would change his life. The home builder from Lockhart, Texas took a call from his cousin who worked at Kreuz Market who said they needed workers. Roy immediately quit his home building gig and started smoking sausages for Kreuz owner Rick Schmidt. Roy fell in love with working the pits and was quickly promoted to manager within three months.

Edgar died in 1994 and left the Kreuz Market building to his daughter Nina Sells. His sons rented the building from their sister and continued to run the restaurant.

This division would set off a bitter family feud as the brothers argued with their sister about rent hikes and building improvements. After years of legal battles with his sister, the pair settled and Rick built a new, larger restaurant in 1999 on nearby Colorado Street in Lockhart. Rick’s sister Nina reopened in the old Kreuz building as “Smitty’s.”

This was a huge change in Lockhart. Kreuz had been open on Commerce Street for 99 years. It was a Lockhart landmark and tradition. Changing locations was a big risk.

Hundreds of Lockhart residents and dignitaries gathered in 1999 when Kreuz pit master Roy Perez dragged a metal bucket full of hot coals from the pits at the old location to the new one. This ceremonial event helped comfort customers that were unsure about such a radical change. The move proved successful. The newer building was able to serve more customers and the flavor of the meat stayed the same.

Rick retired in 2011 and sold the family business to his son Keith Schmidt, 5^th generation owner.

Today Roy Perez remains the Kreuz Pit Master, armed with mutton chops and a meat cleaver. Since he started smoking meat 32 years ago, Roy’s reputation for working with smoke has spread and he has become a celebrity in the world of barbecue. The mere mention of his name conjures up images of pit smokers, butcher blocks, and large, sharp knives.

Every morning Roy arrives at Kreuz, grabs some post oak logs to get the fires burning, then checks the journal he’s been keeping since 1987 to decide how much meat he’ll smoke that day.

Next comes a little seasoning rub, then it’s time for brisket and shoulder clod to smoking, followed shortly by ribs and pork chops.

Some know that their brisket is ready when the buzzer dings, or when their thermometer tells them so. Roy knows when his barbecue is ready by sight, smell and feel. No gauges and no room for mistakes.

When you care about barbecue rankings, your most important batch of brisket happens when a food critic comes to town. For Roy, every day is as important because people come in every day from across Texas and the world.

Roy’s been called the “King of Texas barbecue” more than once, a title for which he hasn’t campaigned, nor accepted.