Miller's Smokehouse
Miller's dropped its offset smokers for a wood-fired rotisserie and Texas Monthly still put the black-crusted brisket in its 2025 Top 50. A fire took the Belton dining room in February 2026, so a trailer out front cooks a short menu that changes weekly while the family rebuilds.
Why go
Dusty Miller talked his father Dirk into lending him gear and yard space from the family deer-processing and taxidermy business in 2008.3 He was a sophomore studying accounting at Mary Hardin-Baylor, cooking sausage wraps and pulled pork in the off-season.3 Six family members work the place now, and five 1,000-gallon smokers run around the clock.3 We don't take any shortcuts,
Dusty told Texas Highways. Buy high-quality meat, smoke it, that's it.
3
Then there is the coffee. Dusty commuted from Austin for three years and came home wanting a cortado. He put a La Marzocco on the counter in 2018.3 The family now roasts under its own name, Penelope Coffee Company, in a warehouse a few blocks away on South Main.3
Order this / avoid
- Order: the brisket. Post oak, through a wood-fired rotisserie since Miller's retired its offsets.1
- Order: Lisa Miller's sopaipilla cheesecake pie, cinnamon sugar over crust top and bottom.3
- Avoid: planning a running order in advance. The trailer rotates its selections weekly and the ribs, smoked chicken, pulled pork and burgers come and go with it.2
What locals & experts say
- Daniel Vaughn, Texas Monthly, Top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas (2025 edition):
The brisket, with its black crust, melts in your mouth, and the pork dangles gently from the St. Louis–style ribs.
1 He ate that in the dining room, before the fire. - Chazz McAdams, head of coffee development, to Texas Highways:
People grew up on dark Italian and French Folgers roasts, no cream. There's a lot of bite back when you charge $2.71 for a small coffee.
3
Good to know
- The fire. The venue's own words:
Our brick and mortar restaurant is currently closed for remodeling due to a fire but we're excited to be serving you from our food trailer right out front for the time being!
4 - Trailer hours: Monday to Wednesday 11 to 3, Thursday to Sunday 11 to 8, or until they sell out.4
- Breakfast ran 7:30 to 10:55 in the building, with espresso drinks and cinnamon-roll pancakes topped with deep-fried ribs.1 Call before you drive out for it.
Jeff's take (his words)
- His review (Jeff, first-hand, 5 stars, 27 December 2023): "Fast, efficient service in a large space. Cheddar jalapeno sausage was fantastic. Pork ribs were perfectly cooked and very moist with a classic Texas rub. Brisket was good, but a bit overcooked in parts of it. Good for both large groups and families. Solid drink selection including local craft beer, sodas, etc..."
Verdict
should-visit — Daniel Vaughn put this room on the 2025 Top 50 after a switch from offset smokers to a wood-fired rotisserie, which is the harder way to keep a black crust and they kept it. The kitchen also roasts its own coffee a few blocks away and pours it beside the brisket, which almost nobody does. The rung stops short of the top one because the dining room burned in February 2026 and what a visitor gets now is a trailer menu that changes week to week. Come back to this when the building reopens.