ExploringBBQ.com was built around a simple idea: barbecue is more than a meal. It’s an experience, a craft, and for many of us, a journey worth remembering.
What started as a personal effort to keep track of great BBQ stops across Texas quickly became something bigger. The deeper we went, the clearer it became that most people experience barbecue in different ways. Some are chasing legendary joints and long lines. Others want a reliable local spot for lunch. Many are learning how to cook better barbecue at home, one fire at a time. And almost everyone has stories tied to the places they’ve been, the people they went with, and the meals they still talk about years later.
ExploringBBQ exists to bring all of that together.
Barbecue culture is rich, regional, and deeply personal, but it’s also easy to lose track of. Great meals fade into memory. Road trips blur together. Recommendations get passed around without context. We wanted a better way to discover barbecue, learn from it, and keep a record of the journey along the way.
ExploringBBQ is built to help people experience barbecue more intentionally. That means discovering BBQ joints with context, learning the techniques and traditions behind the food, and giving people tools to track, revisit, and share their own BBQ story over time.
At its core, ExploringBBQ is not just a list of restaurants.
It’s a growing platform designed around how people actually engage with barbecue:
Finding places worth visiting
Learning how barbecue is cooked and why it matters
Tracking visits, notes, and memories from each stop
Exploring BBQ culture beyond rankings and hype
Whether someone is planning a BBQ road trip, learning to cook brisket at home, or simply trying to understand what makes one style of barbecue different from another, ExploringBBQ is meant to meet them where they are.
One of the things that makes barbecue special is that no two experiences are the same. A quiet lunch at a local joint feels different than standing in line at a destination spot. Cooking your first brisket teaches lessons you don’t forget. ExploringBBQ was designed to reflect that reality.
The bucket lists, visit tracking, guides, and stories on the site are all part of a larger idea: barbecue isn’t something you check off once. It’s something you grow into over time.
ExploringBBQ helps turn those moments into a journey you can look back on, build upon, and share.
Texas barbecue is where ExploringBBQ begins. The traditions, regions, pit styles, and culture here provide a foundation that runs deep. As the platform grows, the same philosophy will apply elsewhere, respecting regional differences while keeping the focus on experience, learning, and community.
Texas will always be part of the DNA, but the idea behind ExploringBBQ is bigger than any one state.
ExploringBBQ is still evolving. New features, content, and community tools are being built alongside the people who use them. This is not a finished product, and that’s intentional.
Whether you’re discovering your first great BBQ joint, tracking decades of smoke-filled memories, or learning how to cook better barbecue at home, ExploringBBQ is here to grow with you.
This isn’t about chasing trends or rankings.
It’s about exploring barbecue, experiencing it fully, and creating something worth remembering.