TYLER'S BARBEQUE - SMOKE 'EM IF YOU GOT 'EM
Growing up in Amarillo, I have had my fair share of barbecue. I remember visits to The Hickory Pit or Doug’s on a Saturday for a chopped beef sandwich. I also remember going to Sutphens downtown (ya’ know, where Youngbloods is now) on a Friday or Saturday night and having to wait for what seemed like three hours to get a table; I am sure it was more like 30 minutes. After finally being seated, we would be served platefuls of ribs, sausage, potato salad, cole slaw, beans, and what to this day may be the best onion rings to ever grace my lips. There was also Texas Toast and the apricot preserves which always was a mystery to me. Come to find out, apricot preserves have a long barbecue history and are unique to Texas Panhandle Barbecue.
After the Sutphens in Amarillo closed, we have been treated to Cattle Call and Dyers as the main purveyors of barbecue along with stands like Robinsons, Doug’s, Henks and The Hickory Pit. They are always consistently good and offer the traditional sides along with their meats cooked in a fashion long accepted, and loved, by Amarillo.
Then Tyler Frazer brought Central Texas Barbecue home with him to Amarillo and opened Tyler’s Barbeque. Tyler sat down with me to chat about Barbecue, SMU Tailgating, the benefits of a CDL, and how Tyler’s would not have succeeded without the Amarillo Spirit.
Since opening in 2010 and being anointed with a prestigious spot on Texas Monthly Top 50 Barbecue Joints in Texas for both 2013 and 2017, Tyler’s Barbeque has become a benchmark of the exceptional food Amarillo has to offer. At each stop during his career, he has been equipped with a new skill needed to successfully run Tyler’s Barbeque.
After stints in the kitchen of Gary’s Barbecue and Coca-Cola as a transport driver, he landed at Hastings in the warehouse before transitioning to a Candy Buyer with Hastings. Learning the logistics of inventory management and making sure each store had just the right amount of inventory at just the right time foreshadowed a need in his restaurant to provide enough barbecue for his customers without having to dispose of leftovers at the end of the night.
Following Hastings, he pursued some opportunities in the Metroplex and began tailgating for SMU football games with a buddy of his. While watching the pretty people of Dallas prepare for some sub-standard football, he began smoking a pork shoulder here and there. For one game, his buddy made arrangements for Trace Arnold to show up with his “Ultimate Smoker” rig. All the groundwork was laid for a blowout to end all blowouts, but on the evening before the game, they received a call from Trace informing them his driver’s mom was in the hospital and would not be able to get the rig there unless he knew someone with a Commercial Driver’s License. Cue Tyler “I have a CDL!” which he acquired from his days of driving for Coca-Cola. A time was set the following morning for Tyler to meet Trace to show his driving proficiency before turning over the keys of the 80 foot behemoth to some stranger. After putting the truck and trailer through its paces, they headed off to the tailgate. When Tyler pulled up, a microphone from WFAA in Dallas was shoved into his face asking what it was like to own such a machine. Without pause, the salesman in him kicked in and he proceeded to give the interview of his life. After Trace’s initial bewilderment ended, a great friendship was born.
Over the next couple of years, Tyler would help Trace with events when he was needed, the entire time Tyler learning a little bit more about the barbeque craft. Soon, Trace landed a 5 year contract for a series of events and he asked Tyler to come work with him full-time. Tyler was making a good living in Dallas at the time and told Trace he couldn’t afford him. After some salesmanship on both sides they realized Trace was not only gaining a cook, but a driver and a spokesman, and a deal was set.
Over the course of the next 5 years, they traveled all over the US, at one point making 90 stops in 105 days including Dallas, Kansas City, Seattle, Oregon, California, and everywhere in between. They both noticed their style of barbeque was sparse anywhere north and west of Texas. During this time, Tyler began formulating a strategy to open his own Central Texas Barbeque Joint in Amarillo. He had roots here, he had the skill, he had the desire, and Amarillo had never seen anything like it.
As the 5 year contract was nearing its end, Tyler began scouring Amarillo for a location to house his dream. Most places were either too expensive or needed too much work to make it a go. A closed down Long John Silvers offered the best compromise of location, amenities and price, so the plan started to take shape. With help from family and friends he began renovating the place and developing his menu. He knew he wanted to feature brisket, sausage and ribs along with pulled pork. He acquired his smokers, along with a supply of mesquite, and started cooking. In the early days, he couldn’t afford any staff, so his mom was enlisted to run the register and a few buddies would help cook and run the Joint. He would take each day’s sales and go buy meat for the next day, eventually leading to a 2 day cushion. After about 120 days, he was able to hire some help and things started rolling.
Word got around Amarillo about the barbeque atypical of anything Amarillo was accustomed to. We were not used to restaurants without strict closing times and a place selling out of product, but in a world where a brisket takes 12-14 hours or more to cook, you can’t just throw more on at 1:30 in the afternoon after a lunch rush. We were also not acclimatized to the mesquite smoke he uses. His brisket had a heavier smoke flavor and heavier seasoning than anything Amarillo had experienced, and we ate it up.
In 2013, Tyler’s Barbeque was named one of the Top 50 Barbecue Joints in Texas; a first for Amarillo. Tyler’s was the only recipient north of the DFW Metroplex. When the issue hit the stands, the rest of Texas and the world were let in on the secret. Travelers started stopping in from everywhere. While we were talking, people travelling from Florida and South Carolina stopped by to thank Tyler for the excellent food. Again in 2017, the newest list included Tyler’s including the Yeti Sponsored Top 50 Passport with a goal to visit all 50 Joints. Because of our geographic location, Tyler has had the pleasure of awarding some participants with their final Passport sticker multiple times.
Tyler’s smokers run almost 24/7 on a prescription of mesquite for the overnight briskets and a dose of oak in the morning before adding the ribs, chicken and sausage. When I asked him how he maintains the quality and volume to keep everyone happy, he offers some advice given to him early on “Cook what you like and you will always be happy.” Good advice to everyone.
The Eat Out Amarillo High Five
1 – What is your favorite thing on your menu? Chopped Beef Sandwich
2 - What do you cook at home? Steak
3 - If you opened a completely different type restaurant, what would it be? Ice Cream or Snow Cones
4 - What are your 3 favorite joints in town?
Coyote Bluff
Golden Light
Blue Sky
5 - What is your favorite out of town joint?
Bluebonnet Cafe - Marble Falls
Royers Cafe – Roundtop
Horseshoe Hill – Fort Worth
The Ranchman's Cafe – Ponder - Don't miss the chicken fried steak
THE JOINT EXPERIENCE
We visited on a Thursday for lunch. I cannot stress this enough, if you can make it on a Thursday, you are in for a treat of Green Chile Mac & Cheese. It is the only day it is offered and is gone quickly. Due to the Mac & Cheese, the crowd seems to be bigger, so visiting early is recommended.
Upon entering you are presented with a menu of sandwiches or dinner plates. I do not venture out very often from my standard order of a Two Meat Plate with Sliced Moist Brisket and Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage with Beans and Coleslaw. On Thursdays, I will swap the bean for a Mac & Cheese deliciousness. For this visit, I also added 2 pork ribs.
I need to make a disclaimer here. My wife tells me I exaggerate. If I told her once, I’ve told her a million times, I don’t exaggerate, I just remember big. All hyperbole aside, the brisket is phenomenal. I mean, out of this world, fantastic. I have trekked to Austin and waited in a 3 hour line for Franklin Barbecue in Austin, and this is right up there. Ordering it moist is the key for me. I prefer the fattier, juicier deliciousness of the point of the brisket. The marriage of the smoke, the long cook softening up the fat, and the skill of the cutter harmonize to serve not only some of the best brisket I have encountered, but some of the best beef. I cannot recommend the Sliced Moist Brisket enough.
Tyler serves jalapeno cheddar sausage from a secret purveyor. He has worked on his own recipe and has not perfected it yet. Until his is better than what he currently purchases, he will remain serving the proven recipe. The sausage is amazing, with its just-right spiciness and snap. I cannot imagine visiting Tyler’s and not partaking of the sausage.
Let’s talk about ribs. I don’t think any cut of meat has more cooking methods, rubs, sauces, myths, rumors or fanaticism than pork ribs. You can get baby backs, St. Louis cut, or spare ribs. You can smoke, boil, bake, slow cooker, braise, or grill ribs. You can wrap them in foil, put apple juice on them, dry rub them, sauce them, or leave ‘em naked. The variations and opinions are endless. Carolina’s Ribs are Best! No, Kansas City’s Are! You Morons, Memphis’ Are The Only True Ribs! My opinion is ribs are delicious, just as long as they are in my mouth. I have preferences towards saucier, sweeter St. Louis Cut ribs, but if you smoke ‘em, I will eat ‘em. Tyler’s ribs are more on the savory end of the rib spectrum with a nice crisp bark to them and a wonderful bite. I was impressed.
Every visit to Tyler’s further solidifies his placement among Texas’ Best Barbecue Joints. His Joint on Paramount gives Amarillo folks an opportunity to experience the new Golden Age of Barbecue without having to take a roadtrip south. Take your appetite to Tyler’s Barbeque for a treat, just get there before they sell out.
