Follow the Smoke: Texas Turkey Smoke Tour

We hear everything is bigger in Texas. Big boots, big hair and even bigger flavor on the barbecue pit. And when it comes to barbecue, Texans don’t hold anything back.

Turkey Smoke’s mission is to amplify the versatility of turkey in grilling and smoking. Through Turkey Smoke, we’re creating a new category for competition barbecue and challenging pitmasters across the country to dream up their tastiest turkey creations. Turkey Smoke has appeared as a competition category at the biggest events in barbecue, including Memphis in May and the American Royal World Series of Barbecue.

But turkey isn’t just making strides in competition barbecue. From the backyard grill to the barbecue rig at your favorite joint, turkey is smoking over the coals, and Texas is leading the way. With barbecue considered its own food group in the Lone Star State, it’s no surprise that pitmasters have embraced turkey as a staple on barbecue menus to keep flavors fresh.

To get a taste for ourselves, we set out on a Texas Turkey Smoke Tour where we visited several barbecue joints – both local institutions and up-and-comers – in the Austin area. If you think eating some of the finest turkey barbecue Texas has to offer for two days straight sounds like a good time, well, you’d be absolutely right.

Try turkey at your next barbecue joint – you won’t be disappointed. In the meantime, check out our video recap featuring some of our stops to see for yourself how turkey stacks up on the smoker. Clear eyes, full bellies, can’t lose.