John Brotherton, an influential pitmaster who helped usher in the Texas craft barbecue movement, died Jan. 15 after a brief illness. He was 49.
Raised in Liberty, east of Houston, he moved to Austin in 1995 and worked in laser printer sales until 2015. In 2010, he started cooking barbecue for friends in his backyard, which led to catering jobs and several barbecue trailer ventures that gained a cult following on social media. Working out of his house, his popularity often resulted in lines of 300 people waiting to eat his barbecue.
To help with the volume, he contacted his friends Russell and Misty Roegels of Roegels Barbecue Co. in Houston, who provided additional pit space with their own Bewley cabinet smokers.
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In 2017, he opened Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue in Pflugerville with a focus on Central Texas-style barbecue incorporated into a range of classic sandwiches. During this time, he also became a regular presenter at Texas A&M University’s Camp Brisket and Barbecue Summer Camp gatherings.
Brotherton's star continued to rise as the Texas craft barbecue movement gained national and international acclaim.
While pitmasters Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin and Tootsie Tomanetz of Snow's BBQ in Lexington became public faces of Texas barbecue in global media, Brotherton had as much or more of an influence on barbecue’s trajectory by working locally and behind the scenes. He constantly crisscrossed the state visiting established and newly minted pitmasters alike, dispensing advice and encouragement in equal measure, and weaving together a tight-knit community.
15608 Spring Hill Lane, Suite 105, Pflugerville
Closed Mondays; facebook.com/PFTXBBQ
Like all great mentors and ambassadors, Brotherton had a knack for recognizing and promoting talented colleagues. In 2020, he partnered with Bill Dumas, a journeyman pitmaster with a genius for making sausage, to create an in-house sausage program for his Pflugerville location. Under Dumas’ direction, the program became so popular that he often takes it on the road in the form of sausage-making classes and tasting events.
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Brotherton's presence was unmistakable at any event he attended. There was the tattered trucker cap with "BBQ" emblazoned across the front, a short-sleeve work shirt (in hot weather) or a hoodie-style sweater (in cold weather), cargo shorts (in all weather, no matter how cold), a bar towel hanging from his belt and colorful print socks tucked into running shoes or Crocs.
My most memorable interaction with John happened in 2018 when I co-organized a Houston vs. Austin barbecue competition in December of that year at a brewery in southeast Austin. Among a dozen other pitmasters from those two cities, Brotherton jumped at the chance to compete when we invited him several months earlier.
He had just announced a new venture, Berty Barbecue in Georgetown, and by coincidence, the opening date ended up being a couple of weeks after the competition. When the competition date approached, he was working 100 hours a week to get the new location open. He didn’t have time to come up with a creative competition dish like the other pitmasters.
Brotherton pulled an all-nighter working at his new place the night before the competition, so we were convinced there was no way he would make it to an all-day barbecue event. But at the appointed time, he rolled up in his pickup truck, unloaded a makeshift kettle-style grill and a cooler filled with rib-eye steaks, and started cooking.
We told him he didn’t have to enter his impromptu steak dish in the competition, but he insisted on it because he wanted to honor his commitment to us. His simple but delicious steak did not place in the blind judging process that favored the creative dishes. And yet, even as the winners were being announced and trophies given out, Brotherton was wandering through the crowd with a tray of steak samples serving his guests and fellow pitmasters alike.
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John’s wife Brenda, son Braeden and his business partners have announced that Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue will continue operating. Check social media for future schedules.
John Brotherton, influential Texas barbecue pitmaster, dead at 49
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17.01.2024
John Brotherton, an influential pitmaster who helped usher in the Texas craft barbecue movement, died Jan. 15 after a brief illness. He was 49.
Raised in Liberty, east of Houston, he moved to Austin in 1995 and worked in laser printer sales until 2015. In 2010, he started cooking barbecue for friends in his backyard, which led to catering jobs and several barbecue trailer ventures that gained a cult following on social media. Working out of his house, his popularity often resulted in lines of 300 people waiting to eat his barbecue.
To help with the volume, he contacted his friends Russell and Misty Roegels of Roegels Barbecue Co. in Houston, who provided additional pit space with their own Bewley cabinet smokers.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
In 2017, he opened Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue in Pflugerville with a focus on Central Texas-style barbecue incorporated into a range of classic sandwiches. During this time, he also became a regular presenter at Texas A&M University’s Camp Brisket and Barbecue Summer Camp........
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