The Ultimate Texas BBQ Road Trip: A Smoke Trail Guide Across the Lone Star State

Texas certainly has a lot going for it, but as the go-to state for barbecue cookouts, it also makes for the perfect backdrop for a BBQ-inspired road trip across the Lone Star State. In doing so, you’ll embark on a pilgrimage to meet generations of talented pitmasters whose secret seasonings and time-honored grilling practices perfume the warm Texan skies with mouthwatering aromas every night.

Join us as we head out on a barbecue-themed road trip from Fort Worth to Seguin, just outside of San Antonio, to meet with the celebrated grill masters to sample their legendary briskets and hear the inspiring stories that have made them the pride of Texas.

Fort Worth: Where a Barbecue Legacy Lives On

We kick-start our road trip adventure to the Lone Star state by diving headfirst into Texas barbecue culture of Fort Worth. Starting off by booking a stay at the perfectly positioned Best Western Plus Fort Worth Forest Hill Inn & Suites, we first head to the nearby world-famous Goldee’s Barbecue restaurant.

For starters, the fantastic staff at Goldee’s don’t just know how to barbecue – they’ve absolutely perfected the art of the slow-burn. Not just popular with the locals, foodies travel from around the country to sample the flame-kissed delights of its homemade sausages and wood-smoked brisket that will help define this ultimate Texas BBQ road trip.

In fact, why not stay a few days to hone your own BBQ skills, as this legendary smokehouse also runs special classes. Here you can learn how to craft an authentic Texan sausage and properly trim the brisket, so you can perfect your live-fire cooking stations back home – because when it comes to Central Texas barbecue stylings, you simply can’t go wrong with Goldee’s.

Waco: Experience Craft Barbecue with Heart and Soul

Leaving Fort Worth behind, we next head south toward Waco, where the rolling Texas landscapes welcome you to one of Central Texas’s most inspiring barbecue experiences on the planet. Checking in to the Best Western Limestone Inn & Suites in nearby Mexia, we set our sights on the award-winning Helberg Barbecue, a true Texan-owned smokehouse venue.

Even before you roll up to Helberg’s, you’ll be able to smell the smoked brisket and handmade sausages cooking in their aromatic oak-fed fire. Here, their chef-driven approach to barbequing includes using USDA Prime beef and meats cut to order, which is a brilliant reminder that meticulous attention to detail can be tasted in every bite.

However, Helberg Barbecue is far more than just great-tasting food, as the atmosphere is as important as the items on the menu. If you’re a fan of an immersive Texan BBQ experience, loaded with genuine Lone Star warmth and hospitality, you’ll soon see why it is an integral stop-off on our food-themed road trip around the state.

Brenham: Where Tradition Meets the Future of Texas’s Cue

We continue on our Texas-focused BBQ tour by heading southeast to Brenham, a city surrounded by rolling pastures and wildflower-filled countryside that is home to one of the state’s most acclaimed barbecue destinations. After ditching your luggage at the ideally situated Best Western Inn of Brenham, we encourage you to head over to the ever-popular Truth BBQ for a masterclass in modern Texas barbecue.

Rooted in tradition, chances are you’ll meet with owner and pitmaster extraordinaire Leonard Botello IV, who first launched Truth BBQ from a humble roadside shack in 2015. Today, Truth consistently ranks among Texas’s elite smokehouses, fostering a steadfast respect for age-old barbecue traditions, but with an inventive twist to create contemporary dishes that are simply out of this world.

Truth BBQ even offers diners the chance to see how its sublime ingredients and seasonings are incorporated into the process, allowing you to watch its in-house sausage production process while waiting in line. Whatever you fancy sampling, whether it’s the perfectly rendered brisket, its homemade sausages, or creative specials, you’ll be tasting a new wave of classic Texan barbecuing innovation unlike anywhere else in the state.

Austin: Undoubtedly The Cue Line Worth Waiting For

Of course, no Texas BBQ road trip would possibly be complete without stopping into the Live Music Capital of the World – Austin, where Franklin Barbecue has achieved near-mythical status among smoked meat aficionados worldwide. Basing ourselves out of the Aiden Austin City Hotel, we have two pieces of advice as you head over to Franklin’s: get there early and make sure you do so hungry – you’ll need all the room you can muster.

Family-owned, Franklin Barbecue actually started life as a small barbecue trailer by the now award-winning team of Aaron and Stacy Franklin, who, between them, include being a chef, an author, a flavor architect, as well as barbecue visionaries and occasional TV hosts. Don’t just take our word for it, as Texas Monthly also agrees, having famously called it “the best barbecue in the known universe.”

The Franklin secret might begin with its premium ingredients, including USDA Prime brisket and heritage-breed pork, but it’s BBQ chef Aaron Franklin’s painstaking technique that keeps devotees returning time after time. As we tour the great state of Texas on our tasty BBQ road trip, as soon as you take your first bite, you’ll see that this famous barbecue establishment always lives up to the hype.

Seguin: Ending on A Texan High Note

Our final iconic barbecue institution on our road trip around Texas sees us heading to the amazing city of Seguin just outside the cultural hotspot of San Antonio, and the flame-grilled smokehouse of the Burnt Bean Company. If you make it here early enough, then you can start your day off with a fantastic Tejano-style Sunday breakfast feast that will keep you going for the whole day.

Incredibly, the Burnt Bean Company story stems from the competitive BBQing circuit, as master craftsmen AND former rivals, Ernest Servantes and Dave Kirkland, teamed up to open their doors during the height of the pandemic. Nevertheless, while other restaurants were closing down at the time, so tantalizingly tasty were the flame-grilled offerings that they not only survived, but they thrived.

So if you enjoy exceptional brisket that melts apart at just the slightest touch, coated with inventive flavors and seasoning, you’ll be coming back to the Burnt Bean Company the entire time you’re here. In doing so, make sure you get a blissful night’s sleep every night at the Best Western Plus San Antonio East Inn & Suites, knowing full well you’ll already be planning another BBQ-inspired road trip around the Lone Star State for your next vacation away.