Texas Monthly BBQ Fest 2022: BBQ, Brisket & a Very Texas Day in Lockhar
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I love a good food and drink festival.
I’ve eaten my way through the Austin Food + Wine Festival, sipped my way through Seltzerland, and in 2022, it was time to do something even more Texas: spend a day in Lockhart surrounded by some of the best barbecue in the state.
Enter: Texas Monthly BBQ Fest.
And when I say come hungry, I mean COME HUNGRY.
Because yes, everything is served as a sampler.
But when you have sampler + sampler + sampler + sampler from some of the best BBQ joints in Texas…you will basically be fed for a week.
First, the Drive to Lockhart
Even getting there felt very Texas.
We drove from Austin toward Lockhart, which meant spending part of our drive on SH 130—home to an 85 mph stretch, the highest posted speed limit in Texas.
An 85 mph speed limit.
On the way to eat brisket.
Tell me you're in Texas without telling me you're in Texas.
And honestly, Lockhart was the perfect destination for this festival.
Known for its barbecue history, the city hosted Texas Monthly BBQ Fest for the first time in 2022. The festival expanded into a two-day event, with festivities in downtown Lockhart followed by the big Top 50 Picnic at Lockhart City Park.
And THAT was where things got serious.
So. Much. BBQ.
The best part about Texas Monthly BBQ Fest?
You basically get to take a barbecue road trip around Texas without actually taking the road trip.
Barbecue joints came in from across the state—including Cattleack Barbeque from the Dallas area—along with pitmasters from Central Texas, Houston, Fort Worth and beyond.
Normally, trying this many celebrated Texas barbecue spots would require multiple weekends, many miles in the car and probably several very long lines.
Here?
Walk a few steps.
Get brisket.
Walk a few more.
More barbecue.
Repeat until your jeans begin questioning your decisions.
Everything was served in smaller tasting portions, which initially gives you a completely false sense of confidence.
"Oh, they're just samples."
No.
There are MANY samples.
If you're anything like me and want to try everything, my biggest piece of advice is to pace yourself.
Did I follow my own advice?
Obviously not.
And Then Someone Put Brisket in a Bag of Fritos
There are dishes from that day that I can't remember anymore.
And then there is the Fritos bag.
One of the BBQ spots served Fritos straight inside the original packet, loaded with brisket and toppings.
I wish I remembered exactly which pitmaster made it because it was one of my favorite bites of the entire festival.
Nothing fancy.
No elaborate plating.
Just Fritos + brisket + deliciousness, eaten straight out of a chip bag while walking around a BBQ festival.
10/10.
Would eat again.
Can We Talk About These Smokers?
Obviously the food gets most of the attention at a barbecue festival.
But I couldn't stop looking at the smokers.
Some of the smoker trailers these teams brought were MASSIVE.
It's one thing to order brisket at a restaurant.
It's another thing to stand there surrounded by smoke, watch pitmasters working and see the equipment involved in producing barbecue at this scale.
The pits themselves almost felt like part of the exhibition.
And the smell?
You are basically walking around in a cloud of wood smoke and barbecue all afternoon.
I was not complaining.
Of Course I Found the Drinks
If you've read my Austin Food + Wine Festival or Seltzerland recaps, you already know that I am physically incapable of attending a food festival without investigating the drinks.
Occupational hazard.
And Texas Monthly BBQ Fest had plenty to investigate.
I remember stopping at activations from brands including Tanqueray, Jim Beam and Tito's Handmade Vodka.
And this is something I always love about food festivals.
Yes, I want to know what's on the plate—but as a mixologist, I'm equally interested in what's being poured into the glass and how beverage brands build an experience around the food.
Especially when that food involves smoke, fat, spice and a LOT of brisket.
So between the cocktails and the barbecue samples…
Let's just say nobody was leaving hungry or thirsty.
What I Loved About Texas Monthly BBQ Fest
I've been to quite a few food and beverage events, and what I loved about this one was that it felt unapologetically Texas.
Big smokers.
Great pitmasters.
Cold drinks.
People walking around discussing brisket.
Smoke everywhere.
And an absurd amount of food.
But more importantly, it gave me the chance to discover barbecue restaurants from all over Texas in one afternoon. That's difficult to replicate.
Texas is huge. Some of these restaurants are hours away from Austin, and there will always be another barbecue joint sitting on my "I really need to go there" list.
Here, they came to us.
Would I Go Back?
Ummm…
Do I like brisket?
Absolutely.
And if you're planning to attend Texas Monthly BBQ Fest, here's what I would do differently next time:
Eat a VERY light breakfast. Wear comfortable shoes. Arrive hungry. Walk around before committing to everything you see. And pace yourself.
Actually, ignore that last one.
You'll tell yourself you're going to pace yourself.
Then somebody will hand you brisket inside a bag of Fritos and the plan will be over.
And honestly?
That's exactly how a Texas barbecue festival should be.
More Food + Drink Festivals I've Covered
If food festivals are your thing too, you might also like my experience at the Austin Food + Wine Festival 2021, where I ate and drank my way around one of Austin's biggest food events.
And if you're more interested in what's in the glass, read Why You Should Attend Seltzerland, my recap of an afternoon dedicated to all things hard seltzer.
I attended Texas Monthly BBQ Fest in Lockhart in 2022. This post reflects my personal experience at the festival. Participating restaurants, sponsors and festival programming can change each year.
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