Barbecue Week Starts Right This Very Moment

The finest of all foods, Texas barbecue is the stuff of legends – literally. Immigrants from Germany and Czechoslovakia brought the tradition of smoking meats as they made their way to Texas, using the technique both to preserve meats and to make them more delicious.

As the years went on, barbecue spread throughout the state, with each region developing its own methods and flavor profiles. In Dallas, though, barbecue has been sort of hit or miss in recent decades.

The success of chains like Dickey’s Barbecue Pit and Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse aside, the city was long devoid of the killer smoked meats commonly found in the Hill Country and East Texas. There have always been places to find great smoked meats, but over the past few years, Dallas has come into its own barbecue identity.

Over the next week, Eater Dallas will celebrate all things barbecue, ranging from a look at how 18th & Vine prepares their succulent burnt ends to an unequivocal ranking of where to find the best sides, and a survey of the city’s best chefs and their favorite barbecue joints.

Strap yourselves in, Dallasites, and prepare the beta blockers – it’s going to be a massively meaty week.