Due to COVID-19, Texas Monthly is putting a virtual spin on its 11th annual BBQ Fest with a weeklong festival event, BBQ Fest: Backyard Edition, from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1. Attracting more than 35 of the state’s top pitmasters and 4,000 attendees to Austin last year, this is the first time the Texas Monthly staple event will be hosted virtually and statewide over a nine-day period.
As an entirely BBQ-oriented event, Texas Monthly’sBBQ Fest: Backyard Editionwill highlight60 joints across Texas that are featuring limited-time menu items and specialty offerings available for delivery or pickup or, if restrictions allow, on-site dining. To further encourage comfort and safety, the event has three ticket tiers for different ways to enjoy the festival, including an At-Home BBQ Box for the ultimate virtual experience.
The week of at-home festivities will conclude with Daniel Vaughn’s Backyard BBQ Show—a virtual livestream video finale—hosted by Texas Monthly BBQ editor Daniel Vaughn from his own backyard in Dallas, Texas. He’ll be cooking and tasting from his suite of smokers and grills, interviewing top pitmasters for tips, announcing giveaway winners and answering viewers’ questions. More information about how to RSVP and access the livestream can be found at the website texasmonthly.com/tmbbqfest.
A sample of specialty menu items:
- Micklethwait Craft Meats (Austin, TX): The Toro Bravo Frito Pie made with barbacoa, tomatillo salsa verde, crema, and fritos topped with cilantro, onion, and chiles toreados.
- Roegels Barbecue Co. (Houston, TX): Smoked Katsu Turkey Sandwich.
- Lockhart Smokehouse (Dallas, TX): Adobo Pulled Pork made with pork butt marinated with tomatoes and chipotles smoked and served in a sweet and spicy sauce.
- Pinkerton’s Barbecue (Houston, TX): The Man Bear Pig. A chopped beef and chopped pork sandwich topped with coleslaw and your choice of (3) original sauces on a jalapeno cheese bun.
- Rejino Barbeque (Olton, TX): Peach and Whiskey Ribs—St. Louis pork ribs with a peach, whiskey glaze.
- LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue (Austin, TX): Mac & Cheese Stuffed Quail.
Ticket tiers:
- At-Home BBQ Box experience $109 – $150 value (Sales end on Oct. 2 for delivery week of BBQ Fest)
- Snow’s Original BBQ Sauce
- Bodacious Bar-B-Que Spice
- Coffee (Cerrado Minero Brazilian) from Miller’s Smokehouse
- Mesquite Smoked Jerky from Valentina’s Tex-Mex BBQ
- Stanley’s Famous Sweet Hot Pickles
- Traditional BBQ Sauce from Fargo’s Pit BBQ
- ThermoWorks Infrared Pocket Thermometer
- Professional Steel Tongs
- Screen Printed BBQ Towel
- $20 to Goldbelly.com for BBQ Delivery
- Texas Monthly’s Ultimate Guide to BBQ
- Corkscrew
- An entry to our BBQ contest giveaway of incredible prizes
- An RSVP to the virtual event
- BBQ Boost $15:
- An entry to our BBQ contest giveaway of incredible prizes
- An RSVP to the virtual event
- $20 to Goldbelly.com for BBQ Delivery
- Free RSVP:
- An entry to our BBQ contest giveaway of incredible prizes
- An RSVP to the virtual event
For the duration of the virtual festival, Texas Monthly has committed to helping end hunger in Texas by encouraging donations to Feeding Texas and its network of food banks to help neighbors in need.
Go to texasmonthly.com/tmbbqfest for more information about the event, see which joints are participating in BBQ Week, and to purchase tickets or an At-Home BBQ Box. Mark yourself as “Going” on the Facebook Event Page and follow Texas Monthly on Facebook @texas.monthly.magazine, Twitter @TexasMonthly, and Instagram @texasmonthly.
