Two Houston area barbecue joints are tops in Texas

Tejas Chocolate Craftory in Tomball is No. 6 on Texas Monthly's 2017 list of "50 Best BBQ Joints" in Texas. It is the highest ranking Houston area barbecue joint on the list, released May 22. Shown: Ribs and brisket with tomato, tomatillo and mole sauces, and corn pudding. less Tejas Chocolate Craftory in Tomball is No. 6 on Texas Monthly's 2017 list of "50 Best BBQ Joints" in Texas. It is the highest ranking Houston area barbecue joint on the list, released May 22. Shown: Ribs and ... more Photo: J.C. Reid Photo: J.C. Reid Image 1 of / 101 Caption Close Two Houston area barbecue joints are tops in Texas 1 / 101 Back to Gallery

Two Houston-area barbecue joints cracked the elite Top 10 in Texas Monthly's list of the best barbecue joints in Texas.

Tejas Chocolate Craftory in Tomball and CorkScrew BBQ in Spring found themselves at No. 6 and 7, respectively, on the 2017 list of "The 50 Best BBQ Joints" in Texas, a survey the magazine does about once every four years. The list, in the June 2017 issue of the magazine, was released Monday.

"I don't know what to say. Never imagined we'd make it that quickly. Very thankful," said Scott Moore Jr., who opened Tejas Chocolate Craftory with his brother Greg Moore in October 2015.

"I remember reading the 2008 Top 50 list cover-to-cover," said Will Buckman, who owns and operates CorkScrew with his wife, Nichole. "This was even before we were cooking any barbecue. I thought it would be cool to be on this list. (Making the list in) 2013 was amazing. This is even better."

Overall, the Houston area made a strong showing, tying with Austin at seven placements each, solidifying its growing reputation as one of the state's top barbecue destinations. Texas Monthly's rankings, considered the definitive canvassing of the Texas barbecue scene, proved that Houston no longer plays second fiddle to Austin, which in recent years has been touted as the white hot center of smoked meat.

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Also placing in the Top 50: Killen's Barbecue in Pearland, and four more from Houston including Gatlin's BBQ, Pinkerton's Barbecue, The Pit Room, and Roegels Barbecue Co. Austin also had seven spots on the list, including Franklin Barbecue (No. 2), Freedmen's, La Barbecue, Micklethwait Craft Meats (No. 8), Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew, Terry Black's Barbecue and Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ.

In terms of big city comparison, Dallas had three placements (Cattleack Barbecue at No. 3, Lockhart Smokehouse and Pecan Lodge), while San Antonio scored two (2M Smokehouse and the Granary 'Cue & Brew).

The magazine's list arrives at a time when Texas barbecue lust is at fever pitch. The interest in barbecue restaurants, competitions, education, equipment and cookbooks has been propelled by a national – and even international – appreciation for barbecue, particularly Central Texas-style. In its 2013 survey, Texas Monthly noted that since its previous list (2008), something seismic happened in Texas barbecue. "A tectonic shift occurred," the magazine wrote. "Over a few short years, beginning around 2009, an unprecedented number of brand-new, very good joints opened up."

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And since those floodgates opened, there has been no stopping the barbecue surge in Texas, and in Houston for that matter.

What's new and notable on the 2017 list? For one, it ranks the Top 10 for the first time. "Previously we singled out four or five places as the best of the best," notes the magazine's barbecue editor, Daniel Vaughn. "This year we made it a top ten – and half of those weren't even in existence when we did the last list."

Underscoring the reputation of Texas barbecue was the 2015 win by Austin's Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue for Best Chef Southwest at the James Beard Awards, considered the country's ultimate culinary accolade. It was a pivotal moment in barbecue history. "The award shows that Texas-style smoked meats can attain the highest quality," said Texas Monthly food editor Patricia Sharpe. "Franklin is not just a pitmaster; he's a chef."

The Top 10 of the 50 Best BBQ Joints:

1. Snow's BBQ, Lexington

2. Franklin Barbecue, Austin

3. Cattleack Barbecue, Dallas

4. Bodacious Bar-B-Q, Longview

5. Louie Mueller Barbecue, Taylor

6. Tejas Chocolate Craftory, Tomball

7. CorkScrew BBQ, Spring

8. Micklethwait Craft Meats, Austin

9. Evie Mae's Pit Barbecue, Wolfforth

10. Truth Barbecue, Brenham.

The remaining 40 joints are not numerically ranked; they are sorted by city and then in alphabetical order.

Snow's, overseen by barbecue legend Tootsie Tomanetz, and the game-changing Franklin Barbecue find themselves, again, at the tip top of the Texas Monthly List. In the 2013 ranking, Aaron Franklin's joint, which opened in 2009, was at the top of the list as the best barbecue in Texas. In the 2008 survey, it was the unheralded Snow's, open only on Saturday, which found its way to No. 1.

On Monday, to mark "The 50 Best BBQ Joints" issue, Texas Monthly has released a limited number of early-bird tickets to the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest weekend. Hosted in Austin for the eighth consecutive year, this year's festival rolls out a two-day line-up. Programming begins on Saturday, Nov. 4, with the Texas Monthly's Brisket Brunch and a new educational event Texas Monthly 'Cue Course. The festival itself will be held on Sunday, Nov. 5, at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. The Early-Bird Ticket Sale will give barbecue lovers three days to purchase tickets at TexasMonthly.com/tmbbqfest. This sale begins at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 22, and ends Wednesday, May 24, at 10 p.m. General sales for the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest Weekend go on sale at 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 10.

Houston Chronicle barbecue columnist J.C. Reid contributed to this story.