How Panther City BBQ Innovates While Keeping Old School Barbecue Alive

Pitmasters Chris Magallanes and Ernest Morales opened Panther City BBQ, a popular Fort Worth barbecue joint, after finding success on the competition circuit with barbecue that combined their Mexican heritage with classic Texas barbecue. “What you see a lot is people putting their backgrounds into [barbecue],” explains Magallanes. “Bringing what you had in your childhood to the table and mixing that with the Texas-style barbecue.”

Morales and Magallanes met working together at an audio visual company. When Morales and his cousins got into competition barbecue around 2014, they asked Magallanes if he wanted to join the team. From there, their barbecue took off. Today, customers at Panther City BBQ can expect Texas barbecue classics with Mexican-inspired spins, such as brisket elote cups and jalapeno cheese sausage. “We always like a Tex-Mex spin on everything we do,” says Magallanes.

The Panther City BBQ team recently bought a second location, an old Fort Worth barbecue institution since 1931 that decided to close its doors for good. Though Magallanes and Morales weren’t planning on opening a second location, they knew that they wanted to preserve the history of the space and the style of barbecue that came out of it. While Panther City pumps out new school craft barbecue, the team’s new location, the newly renamed Fort Worth BBQ Company focuses on the old school barbecue flavors that Fort Worth is known for. “You’re not going to get 1931 prices,” says Magallanes. “But we will keep it cheaper than what you see on a craft barbecue menu.”

Watch the latest episode of Smoke Point to learn how the Panther City team is leading the charge on craft barbecue while also keeping the tradition of old school barbecue alive.