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Posted 9:24 am  Wednesday, August 18, 2010


‘Prophet' Of Barbecue Blogs On Texas' Best Smokehouses
RELATED LINKS
Full Custom Gospel BBQ blog

Website Reviews Several East Texas Barbecue Joints
By LEIGH VICKERY
Food Editor

Daniel Vaughn is a Dallas architect by day, but is better known throughout the Texas food scene as the state's own Barbecue Snob. He is a self-proclaimed "cue geek," traveling extensively to find the best of the best along Texas' famous barbecue trail.

Vaughn has built an informative and hunger-inducing website, Full Custom Gospel BBQ, where he blogs about his barbecue adventures and offers his take on what makes good barbecue.

It's only fair I tell you up front he is from Ohio. But after spending some time with Vaughn, I feel confident he knows what he's talking about and never shies away from a heated discussion on bark, smoke lines, sides and sauce.

"I was immediately interested in barbecue when I moved to Dallas and a friend of mine named Jessica Patti took me to Peggy Sue BBQ," Vaughn said. "I quickly learned that brisket isn't always corned, and I was hooked. I'm originally from Ohio, where barbecue meant boiled ribs basted in sauce and finished on a grill. I didn't know what a smoker was until I moved here."

Vaughn's blog lists Texas barbecue joints by name, city and ranking, and he gives anywhere from one star up to six. One star means "Don't bother." The coveted six-star ranking is best described as "Reconsider your honeymoon destination." So far, Vaughn hasn't given anyone this high ranking, but 17 places have earned five stars with him.

"I'll continue to eat my way through Texas, and with at least 500 joints still on my list, I don't see that ending soon," Vaughn said. "With the popularity of BBQ around Dallas, I can barely keep up with all of the ones that keep opening around here. I do have plans to make a trip through the Carolinas, and to make a trek back to Memphis to get a good cross section of their offerings."

Check out the Full Custom Gospel BBQ blog at fcg-bbq.blogspot.com to see how East Texas has fared in Vaughn's barbecue rankings. He has reviewed 15 places, including Bodacious, Country Tavern, Pat Gee's and Stanley's.


The Full-Custom Gospel BBQ Glossary
  • Crust: Layer of black goodness around the edges of brisket or ribs that holds excellent flavor.

  • Meat Caramel: After gratuitous amounts of smoke are applied, and liquid rendered fat has come to the surface of the meat to mix with the applied rub, a chemical rendering takes place that creates a sweet sticky layer on the surface of the meat that clings to the tip of your finger when pulled away from the meat. This is affectionately known as meat snot.

  • Parboiled: A process in which ribs are boiled before being grilled or smoked. This is what makes meat fall off the bone, and it also leaves good, flavorful fat in the water. It's cheating.

  • Rendered: The process of cooking fat until it literally melts into the meat. Cook it too fast and the fat is absent from the meat creating dryness. If it's not cooked long enough, the fat remains gelatinous and unsavory. There's no need to put well rendered fat aside.

  • Roast-Beefy: Brisket that hasn't been bathed in smoke, but rather tastes as if it was thrown in an oven like any hunk of roast beef. It might be good food, but it's not BBQ.

  • Sauced: Unsolicited BBQ sauce slathered over top of your meat, usually to add what was non-existent flavor in the meat.

  • Smoke Line: Red line around the outside edge of sliced brisket just below the crust that signifies an adequate amount of time in the smoker.

  • Sugar Cookie: Fat that turns to a slightly sweet and crispy flavorful nugget after copious amounts of smoke are applied.

    Daniel Vaughn



    • Daniel Vaughn, a Dallas architect by day, works nights and weekends as a self-proclaimed “barbecue snob,” and reviews restaurants for his blog, Full Custom Gospel BBQ.
    (Courtesy David Woo / Dallas Morning News)
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