Come along with DadLabs as we take you on Brad's Buick BBQ Tour. Daddy Brad and the crew recently traveled from Austin to Atlanta and along the way stopped at a number of different barbecue restaurants for a barbecue tour we like to call the "5 States of Q". Our first stop is Black's Barbecue in Lockhart, TX where we sampled some great beef ribs, sausage and brisket. In Lafayette, LA we stopped in for some Cajun flavors at Johnson's Boucaniere and got to try some great smoked meats, pork and boudin. Our Mississippi stop led us to The Shed Barbeque and Blues Joint in Ocean Springs where we encountered one of the finest looking barbeque spreads ever seen. In Atlanta, we meet Neal Matthews who tells us about his homemade barbecue sauce. Special thanks to Buick for use of the Buick Enclave and all the great barbecue joints that made up Brad's Buick BBQ Tour. DadLabs Ep. 687.

Daddy Brad: Hey I'm Daddy Brad and welcome to the DadLabs barbecue tour. I'm calling it The Five States of Q. We're gonna go across the country, actually across five states, and sample barbecue. Our first stop is in Lockhart, Texas, right here at Black's Barbecue. They've been doing it for 80 years. I'm hungry. Gotta go. Come on.
David Jackson: Black's Barbecue, we're famous for our famous dry rub. We're also famous for our brisket and our homemade sausages.
Daddy Brad: Beef rib. They're good. Tender. That's a rib.
The second state of Q is here in downtown Lafayette, Louisiana at Johnson's Boucaniere. The cool thing about this. We're in the transition zone. We've found it. The transition zone from beef barbecue to pork barbecue. And you know what, they've got some cool Cajun stuff thrown in. A little boudin maybe? I'm gonna go inside and have a taste.
Greg Walls: This restaurant's called Johnson's Boucaniere. It's in Lafayette, Louisiana. And the store is based on my father in law's store in Eunice, Louisiana. It was called Johnson's Grocery. And they had been open since 1937. And they specialized in smoked meats of all types and they were a local grocery store. And what we've done here in Lafayette is basically continue the tradition of the smoked meats. We smoke the sausage and the tazo, the pork, and we make boudin. So we continue his tradition as well as do a few new things to incorporate what people in Lafayette like.
Daddy Brad: Okay, here we go. Trying the pork. A little sauce. Mmm, that's good. That's kind of vinegary sauce. I gotta try the boudin though. This is kind of your typical Louisiana sausage. Oh baby. Boudin is awesome.
The third state of Q - The Shed Barbeque & Blues Joint in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. It's the rub and the sweet southern sauce that makes this place great. Let's go in and find out. A line, that's always a good sign. I've eaten a lot of barbecue in my day but I have never seen a spread as pretty as this. State #3. The Shed. Mississippi. Sweet rub and sweet Southern sauce. Oh yeah baby.
Jim Groves: We've been open to this day 9 years, 1 month, and 8 days. The first thing I ever ordered was a beer and baby back ribs. It's family oriented. Everybody is welcome. Don't care who you are. We just don't allow any cussing. If you do, I'll ask you to leave.
Daddy Brad: I am not stopping in Alabama. I'm still sore about last year's football game. Just gonna have an apple instead.
From Atlanta, Georgia, the fifth state of Q. Make your own. Neal Matthews.
Neal Matthews: You got it.
Daddy Brad: This dude has made some of the best barbecue sauce I have tasted.
Matthews: Well thank you. I got up one morning and I said, you know, I can't find the barbecue sauce in the store that I like.
Daddy Brad: Right, right.
Matthews: So I thought, what do I like? And I got out Big Neal's. That was my aunt. Big Neal left me this dutch oven. It's 65 years old.
Daddy Brad: Wow, that's awesome.
Matthews: And the wooden spoon is critical. Which I made by the way.
Daddy Brad: Did you make the spoon?
Matthews: Absolutely.
Daddy Brad: What kind of wood is that?
Matthews: It's bass wood.
Daddy Brad: Bass wood.
Matthews: And I just started playing in the kitchen. It's a vinegar base, so it's kind of a Carolina base but it's also got some tomato in there. It's got a mixture of light and brown sugar.
Daddy Brad: Right.
Matthews: Dark brown sugar.
Daddy Brad: Now are you from Georgia?
Matthews: Born and raised.
Daddy Brad: Okay. And would you say this is classic Georgia barbecue sauce?
Matthews: It is my southern charm barbecue sauce, is what this is.
Daddy Brad: You were actually on "In The Heat of the Night"?
Matthews: Yes I was.
Daddy Brad: That's great.
Matthews: For two seasons. I was Hugh O'Connor's stand-in and stunt double.
Daddy Brad: Right.
Matthews: And just one of the extra cops.
Daddy Brad: That's cool.
Matthews: And as a matter of fact I did bring.
Daddy Brad: Very nice.
Matthews: There we go.
Daddy Brad: There you go.
Matthews: Sparta. Sparta, Mississippi. This is as it came off my body about 18 years ago when the show was cancelled.
Daddy Brad: Wow, that was 18 years ago? I remember watching "In The Heat of the Night". I loved it. Well, the fifth state of Q is incredible. Save the best for last. Neal, thanks dude.
Matthews: Absolutely. It's been a pleasure.
Daddy Brad: Been a pleasure for us. I'm gonna have a little more barbecue.
Well that's it for my 5 States of Q Barbecue Tour. Thanks to the good folks at Buick for giving us that sweet Enclave to drive. And thanks to all those people that fed us along the way. Barbecue, mmm.