The team behind Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants and Windy City Smokeout is bringing its passion for country music and ‘cue down south with the inaugural debut of the Lone Star Smokeout in May. The three-day fest, to be held May 2-4 at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium, is the group’s first expansion since launching in 2013.
For more than a decade, Windy City Smokeout has proved to be a raging success, attracting more than 90,000 attendees annually. The star-studded country music and barbecue festival has had its fair share of big name country music headliners and been featured in Rolling Stone, the New York Times, USA Today, Forbes, Food & Wine, and more. Naturally, news of the Texas fest and its showcase of top tier barbecue talent has garnered lots of excitement in Dallas.
Meat Church BBQ’s Matt Pittman is slated to emcee, with festival headliners including Jon Pardi, Cody Jinks, and Midland, with additional performances by Randy Rogers Band, DJ Pauly D, Eli Young Band, Tanner Adell, and more. The event’s prestigious pitmaster lineup is just as impressive.
“This festival is all about celebrating Texas BBQ and highlighting how its influence has shaped pitmasters from all over the country,” said Lone Star Smokeout culinary director Max Robbins in a release. “For our first year, we’re bringing in some of the best BBQ talent from across Texas, including a few familiar faces from past Smokeouts.”
Here is a guide to the Texas pitmasters that will be showcasing smoked goodness on their home turf come May 2.
Roy Hutchins, The Original Roy Hutchins Barbeque
Barbecue legend Roy Hutchins fell in love with Texas barbecue at the age of 14. His first taste of smoked brisket laid the foundation for Hutchins becoming an authority on the subject for nearly five decades. In that time, the pitmaster sprinkled a bit of his legacy all over North Texas, and has since settled down with his son Wes and grandson Zack at the Original Roy Hutchins Barbecue in Trophy Club, Texas. According to Zack, things have come a long way in the last 50 years.
“From festivals to Michelin stars, the BBQ scene has grown so much with national recognition and even more BBQ joints popping up throughout Texas,” says Zack, general manager of the Original Roy Hutchins Barbecue. “Growing up in the BBQ scene, I find it super exciting to see so many kinds of BBQ joints. From trailers to huge venues, everyone is doing their part to keep the BBQ scene going strong.”
The time-honored barbeque joint continues to thrive in what Zack calls “barbeque’s golden era”. The Original Roy Hutchins Barbeque will open an outpost in Arlington this summer, and Lone Star Smokeout will provide a sample of what’s to come. Their platinum bbq experience menu will feature brisket, smoked chicken, pulled pork, and the mouth-watering Texas Twinkie, a jumbo jalapeño stuffed with cream cheese and chopped prime brisket wrapped in thick-cut bacon.
Chris Magallanes, Panther City BBQ
This southside Fort Worth barbecue joint, known for its Tex-Mex flair, recently made headlines for garnering one of three Michelin recommendations in the area in the first-ever Texas Michelin Guide. Its station at Lone Star Smokeout is sure to draw a crowd.
“Panther City BBQ was honored to be able to participate in the Windy City Smokeout the last two years,” said pitmaster and co-owner Chris Magallanes in a release. “To be able to showcase our food in such a great event was an unforgettable experience, so of course we were pumped when we heard it was coming home to Texas! Y’all get ready!”
Festival-goers take note: Put Panther City BBQ at the top of your Lone Star Smokeout list. Selling out is the norm for this buzzy barbecue joint.
Essaul Ramos Jr., 2M Smokehouse BBQ
Esaul Ramos Jr. and Joe Melig’s Mexican-barbecue has garnered San Antonio’s 2M Smokehouse BBQ two James Beard nominations and a Michelin recommendation. La Barbeque-trained Ramos Jr.’s oak-smoked barbeque includes turkey breast, serrano and Oaxaca cheese sausage, pork ribs, colossal beef ribs, and brisket that pairs perfectly with house-made spicy pickles. Save room for sides with Mexican flair. Think nopales, Mexican street corn, and chicharron-topped macaroni.
Jefferey Hobbs, Slow Bone BBQ
From casual to fine dining, pitmaster Jefferey Hobbs’ robust resume has range, and it shows at his Dallas Design District restaurant, Slow Bone BBQ. The popular barbeque joint is known for melt-in-your-mouth brisket, two-week-brined Berkshire pork chop, and smoked fried chicken. Sides that have some oomph, like brussels-flowers au gratin, are a nod to Hobbs fine-dining training.
As part of the excitement leading up to Lone Star Smokeout, Hobbs took Guy Fieri to Flavortown on the “Sandwich Shenanigans” episode of Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives that aired on April 11.
Brandon Hurtago, Hurtado Barbecue
Hurtado Barbecue got its humble start in the pop-up circuit before Brandon Hurtado and his wife launched their food truck in 2019 at Arlinton’s Division Brewing. Despite the challenges of the pandemic in the years that followed, the Hurtados were able to go on to open three brick-and-mortars across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. With a pile of accolades, including being named among Texas Monthly’s Top 50 Barbecue Joints, serving as the Texas Rangers’ official barbecue restaurant, and a forthcoming cookbook, Hurtado gives flowers to the integral role festivals play in barbecue culture.
“Events like this help shape the next generation of pitmasters by allowing them to flex their culinary creativity and offer items that they might not typically serve in a restaurant,” he says. “We’ve tried out dishes that were more experimental but went over really well with the crowd, and ended up becoming a staple in our restaurants down the road.”
At Lone Star Smokeout, Hurtado will serve cheesy chicken fajita sausage and Central Texas-style pork spare ribs, a bite he regards as his personal favorite.
Steven Rossler, Rossler’s Blue Cord Barbecue
With more than 20 years of service as an infantryman under his belt, U.S. Army veteran Steven Rossler turned his dream of becoming a chef into reality, as a method of coping with the effects of active combat. The pit became his therapist, and what resulted was a successful restaurant, known for low and slow Central Texas-style barbecue, that Rossler built alongside his wife, Kristen.
Rossler will bring the magic of Rossler’ Blue Cord Barbecue 150 miles north to Arlington from Harker Heights to give festival-goers a taste of his expert technique.
Miriam Wilson, The Salt Lick BBQ
The Salt Lick BBQ is a Texas institution that’s well embedded in Windy City Smokeout. It seems fitting that the famed Driftwood restaurant, known for its centerpiece open-air hooded brick barbeque pit and family-style dining, showcase their historic barbeque at the inaugural Lone Star Smokeout.
“The Salt Lick BBQ has had the opportunity to share BBQ family traditions at the Windy City Smokeout the past 11 years,” said the Salt Lick BBQ’s recently-retired pitmaster, Miriam Wilson, in a release. “We are excited to begin a new tradition with great food and music at the Lone Star Smokeout — deep in the heart of Texas.”
Andrew Ho, Curry Boys BBQ
Two-time James Beard semifinalist Curry Boys BBQ from San Antonio is adding some variety to the Lone Star Smokeout with its offerings that meld Thai and Southeast Asian flavors with Texas barbeque.
“Our approach infuses smoked meats with fragrant curries, herbs, and spices, creating a unique experience that pays homage to both traditions while offering something entirely new,” says Andrew Ho, co-founder of Curry Boys BBQ.
At Lone Star Smokeout, Curry Boys BBQ will feature sweet and sticky sliced pork belly with green curry and Laotian-style Jeow dipping sauces; and beef cheek barbacoa nachos topped with curry queso, honey sriracha, and herbs. The food will give festival-goers a sampling of the melting pot of flavors that makes Curry Boys BBQ a standout in Texas.
Barrett Black, The Original Black’s BBQ
The Original Black’s BBQ in Lockhart has been smoking meat since 1932, and is well-regarded for its traditional Texas trinity of pork ribs, brisket, and sausage. Today, the nearly century-old, family-owned barbeque restaurant spans five generations of Blacks across four Texas locations, who adhere to the simple business plan of “not changing a thing.”
The Black’s three-step brisket cooking process consists of eight hours in a wood-heated rotisserie, a few days in the cooler, and four hours smoked over brick pits. Festival-goers can experience a bit of Texas barbecue history at Lone Star Smokeout, where 4th generation pitmaster, Barrett Black will be slinging ‘cue on behalf of the historic restaurant.
