November marks the final BBQ festival in Texas, celebrating the state's Top 50 BBQ joints, all gathered in Lockhart. The event featured several cooking demonstrations and a wide variety of smokers. My favorite was the pork farmer's demo on cutting a pork butt, especially their collaboration with Lick Ice Cream, which added bacon crumble-infused lard—delicious! The father of Choche's BBQ & Bar was incredibly kind, showing me his son's striking red smoker. It's always fun to arrive early to watch the pitmasters set up their smokers and prepare their food.