As anti-Muslim rhetoric rises in Texas, Muslim pitmasters are carving out a space in the state’s culinary landscape by adapting one of its most iconic traditions to fit Islamic dietary guidelines. At Goldee’s BBQ in Fort Worth, customers began lining up as early as 6:30 a.m. on a recent summer Saturday, waiting for the restaurant to open at 9 a.m.<\/p>\n
Thanh Huynh, 30, was first in line, planning a substantial meal after waiting nearly three hours in lawn chairs. “I have, like, a whole list, and I’m going to spend lots of money here. It’ll be worth it,” he said, checking off items from his phone.<\/p>\n
Opened in 2020, Goldee’s was named the No. 1 barbecue spot in Texas by Texas Monthly<\/em> in 2021 and later received a Bib Gourmand award from the Michelin Guide for value and quality. While the menu features classic staples like craft pork belly, sausage, and ribs, it also offers halal-certified brisket, turkey, and lamb.<\/p>\n Haris Ghaffar, who drove an hour from Celina and waited two hours in 90-degree weather for the halal offerings, called the availability of highly rated halal barbecue a blessing. He recalled that in the 1990s, a McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish was often the only halal option available when dining out.<\/p>\n Food writer Farhan Mustafa, who covered the rise of American halal barbecue for Bon App\u00e9tit<\/em> in 2025, noted that halal food has evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry integrated into the American mainstream. “Halal food is American food,” Mustafa said. “It belongs on your plate. It belongs in the casual chat. It belongs in hip-hop tracks. It’s the most American thing there is.”<\/p>\n Mustafa emphasized that Muslims are part of a broader trend of diverse communities putting their stamp on Texas barbecue. “Whether they’re first, second or third-generation Muslims or Muslim Americans or just Americans, they’re bringing what they know and what excites them,” he said.<\/p>\n This wave of innovation is evident across the state, with at least a dozen barbecue spots now serving halal meats. Notable examples include Yearby’s Barbecue & Waterice in Plano, run by Black Muslim couple CJ and Sabrina Henley, and Levant Mediterranean BBQ, which operates locations in Houston and Frisco and features an all-beef menu including a brisket shawarma sandwich.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" American Muslims are transforming Texas BBQ culture, with establishments like Fort Worth’s Goldee’s BBQ gaining acclaim for offering halal versions of iconic dishes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2491],"tags":[2494,2495,2493,458,2492,26,10],"class_list":["post-1237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food","tag-american-muslims","tag-food-culture","tag-halal-food","tag-texas","tag-texas-bbq","tag-us","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}