It's 7:52 in the morning, but Austin Hebert has been sitting in a camping chair by the door of a rickety wooden shack for a while already, hoping to grab the best lunch of his life.
The sun hasn't long been out, bathing the tops of the trees on the country road and the slightly rusted white sign with the large black letters "BAR-B∙Q" in a warm Texan morning glow.
Here, south of the city of Fort Worth, the most improbable rise in the world of Texas Barbecue when the influential magazine Texas Monthly published its list of the state's best BBQ joints.
First place went to Goldee's, founded just a year earlier by a group of twenty-somethings. Since then, it seems like half the nation has been lining up in front of their little wooden shack.
Be prepared for a wait
It's open Friday to Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm - or until everything is "sold out". Austin Hebert has waiting there since 6:30 am and the first customer to pull up outside Goldee's today. He's from Louisiana and is on a barbecue road trip.
Herbert has been everywhere for top grilled meat. "I think barbecue is the ultimate expression of love - because of how much time and effort goes into making it." And it's true, Texas Barbecue really is an undertaking that needs to be planned with military precision.
At Goldee's they grill pork and beef ribs, turkey, sausages and, of course, the most important meat in Texas: brisket. The brisket needs 12 to 14 hours at 93 to a maximum of around 135 degrees in a smoker, using meticulously arranged logs of post oak (Quercus stellata) to create the smoke.
Amir tends the fire at Goldee's, standing under a corrugated iron roof between two grill ovens as long as minibuses. The grill master is putting new wood in the ovens for the dozens of briskets. It's 10:26 am sunlight is hitting the fine, fragrant clouds of smoke.
Almost 200 people have now lined up behind Austin Hebert.
A mixture of feeling and science
Barbecue at Goldee's is a mixture of emotions and science. It's about the right cut, how it's placed in the oven, the proportion of sugar and salt, and the humidity. It's all in the detail.
After 12 hours, the delicate pink has given way to a deep black crust, the brisket itself has shrunk by half. Amir will open the smoker and give it a light prod to see if it's done. Seared on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside.
Suddenly here is some movement. Jonny White, one of Goldee's founders, steps out of the entrance. He writes down the specialities of the day on a board before they are crossed out and marked "sold out" a few hours later.
As White speaks to Hebert and other guests, it quickly becomes clear that the unexpected fame hasn't gone to anyone's head. "I'm one of the owners, but I'm also like a full-time employee," he says. On Mondays, when Goldee's is closed, he tries to do some maintenance.
As both toilets are broken at the moment two portable toilets have been set up on the car park. That doesn't bother the person from Michigan waiting in the line: "The place doesn't need to be fancy, because it's the food itself that's special," he says.
It's all about the seasoning
Nowadays Americans in the Southern United States primarily distinguish between barbecue styles of Carolina, Kansas, Memphis and Texas. Some focus more on pork, while others are big on gravy. And within Texas itself, there are different schools of thought.
Central Texas Barbecue is probably the most well-known. It comes from the central part of the state, between the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area to the north and San Antonio and Houston to the south. As experienced butchers, German and Czech settlers to the region once preserved tough meat by smoking it for a long time, making it one of the forerunner's to the brisket of today.
Goldee's also follows this tradition. The dry seasoning mixes are more important than heavy BBQ sauces, which are used more sparingly. For several decades now, Texas Barbecue has been booming, with young grill masters making a name for themselves across the country.
The gateway to heaven for meat lovers
It's shortly after 11 a.m. when hearts being to race outside Goldee's. Heads turn, people start to whisper and point to the entrance. The gateway to meat lovers' heaven is opening.
You can feel the excitement in the air. The salespeople at the counter already know what you want. Sausage, brisket, sauce - a bit of everything, something that looks good, and not just for social media. This beauty doesn't come cheap: it costs $130. Eight red and white chequered tables with kitchen roll await next to the counter.
After spending an eternity in the smoker, the brisket doesn't need a knife. The juicy pieces just melt in your mouth. The beef rib looks like a dinosaur bone and is cooked to perfection. The smell of smoke perfumes the meat in an almost obscene way, the sausage is equal parts spicy and salty.
Austin Hebert has long since eaten what he could from his huge portion. He stands up to make way for the hundreds who have yet to eat their barbecue. With a grin suggesting he appreciates this expression of love, he says: "Man, that was good!"
