Smoked in Texas started in 2026 with a simple premise: Texas barbecue deserves better coverage. Not sponsored posts from smoker companies. Not listicles scraped from Yelp reviews. Real, firsthand writing from people who spend their weekends tending fires and their weekday lunches waiting in line at the best joints in the state.
We are a small team of barbecue obsessives based in Austin, Texas. Between us we have cooked in competitions, built custom smokers, and visited hundreds of barbecue restaurants across the Lone Star State. Some of us grew up learning from family pitmasters. Others caught the bug later in life and never looked back.
Our focus is Central Texas-style barbecue, but we write about all regional styles found across the state. East Texas with its saucy, falling-apart ribs. South Texas barbacoa cooked in underground pits. West Texas cowboy-style direct heat cooking. Every tradition has a story worth telling.
We publish reviews, technique guides, pitmaster profiles, equipment recommendations, and stories about the culture and history of Texas barbecue. Every restaurant review is based on an anonymous visit. We pay for our own meals. We do not accept free food or sponsored placement in our reviews.
We believe good barbecue writing requires the same patience as good barbecue cooking. We do not rush to publish first. We take the time to visit a restaurant multiple times before writing about it. We test equipment for weeks, not hours. We interview pitmasters in person, not over email.
Every piece of content on this site is original, researched, and written by people who care deeply about getting the details right. If we recommend a smoker, it is because we have cooked on it. If we recommend a technique, it is because we have used it ourselves.
Have a tip about a great barbecue joint? Want to suggest a pitmaster for a profile? Found an error in one of our articles? We want to hear from you.
Reach us at alienaut@proton.me
We read every message, though it may take us a few days to respond. We are usually busy tending a fire.