Barbecue is king in the Lone Star State. The problem is, everybody knows that, and everyone wants to be the top dog. Throughout 2025 there were several notable barbecue joints that at one point or another had some outlet proclaim them the No. 1 barbecue joint in Texas, always with a new ranking never far behind.
MySA is not about to tell you which barbecue joint is No. 1 in the state — unless you’re talking barbecue chains in San Antonio — but we can highlight everyone that had their hats thrown in the ring this year. These are the barbecue joints that at some point this year were named the No. 1 smokehouse in Texas.
Burnt Bean Co.
No better place to start than with Seguin’s Burnt Bean Co., which in May earned the honor of the No. 1 spot on Texas Monthly’s Top 50 BBQ Joints list, an acclaimed publication that is released every four years. Texas Monthly gave particular praise to the short ribs, Korean beef back ribs, brisket, turkey and the bourbon peach cobbler taco dessert.
“High school football cheers written on the front windows, smokers on a sun-drenched patio, the shadow of the Guadalupe County courthouse —make Burnt Bean feel like a museum of small-town Texas, with barbecue perfection the main exhibit,” Texas Monthly wrote…