Goldee’s in Fort Worth has taken the top spot in Texas Monthly‘s list of the best barbeque joints in the state.

Five long-time friends (Lane Milne, Jalen Heard, Nupohn Inthanousay, Jonny White, PJ Inthanousay) opened the joint in February 2020. Goldee’s was a take-out operation for most of the pandemic, but the dining room reopened in April.

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Texas Monthly gives a shoutout to the obvious choices: spareribs, sausage and brisket. But, co-founder Nupohn Inthanousay has another recommendation for first-time visitors.

“Everyone gets the brisket but I say the turkey,” he said. “It’s turkey breast, so when you see turkey breast, you assume it’s dry and whatnot. But, we smoke it to the point where it’s juicy and buttery.”

The magazine also makes note of Nupohn’s house-made Lao sausage. It’s served with sticky rice and jeow som sauce.

“The sauce has a limey, sugary, spicy, tanginess to it that goes well with the sausage,” he said.

There’s a ton of experience between the five pitmasters; they’ve worked at Austin staples like Franklin, La Barbecue, Micklethwait and Valentina’s. But, Nupohn’s Lao sausage is a family recipe.

“My grandma used to bake it in the oven,” he said. “We thought one day, ‘what if instead of baking it, we smoked it?”

Two other North Texas joints made the top ten. Cattleack Barbeque in Dallas and Panther City BBQ in Fort Worth. Eight North Texas barbecue spots made the top 50. Texas Monthly visited 411 barbecue joints in the states to compile their list.

Got a tip? Email Miguel Perez at mperez@kera.org. You can follow him on Twitter @quillindie.

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