Barbecue options expand in Beaumont
Beaumont is home to both the oldest and youngest traditions in Texas barbecue.
Beaumont-style barbecue originated in the early 1900s, combining East Texas-style barbecue with the Cajun and Creole traditions in this southeast corner of the state. Patillo’s Bar-B-Q, established in 1912, is still going strong, serving the all-beef sausage links for which it is famous.
More recently, the first true Central Texasstyle craft barbecue joint opened with 1701 Barbecue, garnering high praise, long lines — and a Texas Monthly Top 50 nod after only being open for a year.
The barbecue scene in Beaumont continues to expand with a new trailer, James & Jon Barbeque, making some of the city’s most creative smoked-meat dishes. Helmed by James Filipich and son-in-law Jon Couzens, it is a classic tale of Texas barbecue entrepreneurs following their passions.
Jon Couzens grew up in Southern California and joined the Army right out of high school, in response to the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. After being wounded in Iraq, he was stationed in Germany where he became known for cooking American comfort food for his fellow soldiers, using techniques and recipes he learned cooking with his mother and grandmother. Returning stateside, he and his wife, Eryn, eventually settled in Sugar Land, where he attained a culinary degree from the Art Institute of Houston using funds from the G.I. Bill.
They made frequent visits to Beaumont, where Eryn’s family lived. During those visits, Jon began teaching her dad, James, how to cook. In 2016, they acopened quired a pair of David Klose offset smokers and began experimenting.
“We fell down the rabbit hole of Texas cooking and smoking and grilling,” says Jon.
When in Sugar Land, Jon frequented Harlem Road Texas BBQ in nearby Richmond, where he became friends with and solicited advice from owner and pitmaster Ara Malekian, who is also a classically trained chef.
After James retired from the health care industry, they decided to team up on a commercial barbecue endeavor, creating a business plan in 2019 and acquiring a trailer in 2020. They James & Jon Barbeque in 2021 in the parking lot of an old auto repair business on a busy intersection in central Beaumont.
Central Texas-style barbecue was relatively new to the city, so Jon decided they needed a niche to attract publicity and customers. Being a fan of the breakfast tacos at Pappas Bar-B-Q in Houston, he decided that could be a unique menu item to feature.
Today, they are open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. Jon stays in Beaumont during the week to work at the trailer and heads back to Sugar Land on the weekend to be with Eryn and their two kids.
On a recent visit, I sampled the breakfast taco offerings, including both the brisket and pork belly versions. These are some of the best barbecue breakfast tacos this side of Austin and reflect Jon’s culinary training and James’ pitmaster skills.
A fragrant flour tortilla envelops a generous portion of buttery, well-seasoned scrambled eggs, melted cheese and chopped brisket for one taco and a crispy slab of pork belly for the other.
For lunch, there’s a selection of inventive sandwiches, including a brisket grilled cheese option as well as classic chopped beef and pulled pork versions (call ahead for daily features). Sides include campfire-style beans and a creamy mac ’n’ cheese.
“We fell down the rabbit hole of Texas cooking and smoking and grilling.”
Jon Couzens, of James & Jon Barbeque in Beaumont