Hickory or Post Oak? Pork or beef (or goat)? Sauce or no sauce? Barbecue aficionados continually argue these questions when exploring the methods, styles, and histories of the people who prepare, serve, and enjoy meats smoked in the brick pits of big-city and back-road establishments across Texas.
Join Foodways Texas and the Meat Science Section of the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University in exploring some of these questions at our annual barbecue camps held in College Station, Texas. Continuing our mission to preserve, promote, and celebrate the diverse food cultures of Texas, Foodways Texas, in partnership with Texas A&M University, is delighted to present these events on barbecue cookery.
Barbecue Summer Camp
Barbecue Summer Camp is a three day event held in June each year. Attendees gather in College Station, Texas for an intensive look at the traditions and practices of Texas barbecue. It is an opportunity to learn the science behind the food, and a rare chance to experience a short course on meat processing and fabrication. Participants don hairnets and lab coats and enter the classrooms and cooler rooms of the Rosenthal Center to examine carcasses and learn about the anatomy and grading of beef, as well as information on pork and poultry. There are speakers and hands on opportunities to learn about seasoning choices. Special guests include scientists, pitmasters, pit builders, and more.
Camp Brisket
Camp Brisket is a two day camp held in January in College Station. It is dedicated specifically to the most beloved and bedeviling cut in Texas, brisket. This is an opportunity to learn from the very best about the preparation and smoking of this signature Texas dish. Topics range from trimming and seasoning, to wood choices, holding, slicing and serving. Learn about the difference between restaurant and competition practices. Consider the various pit technologies that will bring your tailgating up to snuff, secure the adoration of your neighbors, or help you hone your restaurant skills. Attendees in the past have ranged from backyard cooks to storied barbecue families. All are welcome. Of particular interest to most campers is the opportunity to meet and grill the very best pitmasters in Texas. Become part of the Texas Barbecue Family.
How to Attend:
Barbecue camps are open to Foodways Texas members only. If you are not a member, follow this two-step process for a chance to attend future camps.
Ticket price for each camp:
$495 – Foodways Texas Members
Become a member ASAP!
Watch for lottery registration instructions from Foodways Texas (July for Camp Brisket and November for Barbecue Summer Camp).
Due to the high demand for our camps, we have shifted from online ticket sales to a lottery system. See the rules below:
Only Foodways Texas members are eligible to register for the drawing.
Members who attended camps in the previous year are not eligible to enter the drawing for current camps (2019 attendees are not eligible for 2020).
Each entry is weighted based on the length of your membership and/or if you have attended camps in the past. For example, if you have been a member since 2010 and have never attended a camp, then your entry will be weighted “9.” If you became a member in the last twelve months, then your entry will be weighted “1.” If you became a member in 2011 but attended the same camp in 2015, then your entry will be weighted “3.”
Members must register in advance for each drawing (we will send instructions to all members prior to each camp’s drawing).
Tickets are not transferable. If you register and later find that you cannot attend, we will have a drawn wait list of members ready to take your spot.
Groups of up to four can register together. One member of the group will register all other members. The group will have a single weighted entry that will be an average of all the individual “weights.” For example, if the group includes a 5-year member, two 3-year members, and one member who attended camp in 2017, the individual weights of 5, 3, 3, and 1 will be averaged to a single weight of 3.
Good luck!