It’s hard to imagine a time when US-style barbecue wasn’t everywhere in the UK. But as little as five or ten years ago, dishes such as pulled pork, smoked brisket and burnt ends were relatively unheard of. Nowadays we’re inundated with barbecue restaurants, each purporting to offer an authentic menu of mostly Texan dishes.

But the term ‘Texas barbecue’ has become a bit of a catchall term for any smoked meat cooked over fire – a bit like how Tex-Mex came to represent the UK’s idea of what Mexican cuisine is (something we now know not to be the case). So what actually is Texan barbecue, and how does the cuisine in Dallas and Fort Worth differ from elsewhere in the state?

‘The first thing to remember about Texas is that it’s absolutely huge – 2.9 times the size of the UK,’ says Joe Walters (aka Texas Joe), an expert on Texan barbecue who now owns his own barbecue restaurant and jerky business in the UK. ‘So there are of course lots of regional differences in the barbecue, which tend to be divided into four styles: east Texas, central Texas, Hill Country and south Texas.’

Already it’s clear that ‘Texas barbecue’ is a bit like ‘Italian food’ or ‘Indian cuisine’ – terms that are far too vague and general when trying to describe the flavours and cooking techniques of an area. And because Dallas-Fort Worth is in the north of the state, it doesn’t really fit into the eastern, central or Hill Country (which covers western, central and southern Texas) styles of barbecuing. Instead, it has started to develop its own unique cuisine. ‘The barbecue of Dallas and Fort Worth used to be more in the classic east Texas style – hickory-smoked meats coated in sauce – but these days central Texas influences have slowly become more dominant, which sees meat covered in spice rubs and cooked over indirect heat from pecan and oak wood,’ explains Joe. ‘There are quite a few influences from Louisiana, too – vinegar-based hot sauces and smoked Boudin sausages are very popular.’