A brand-new authentic Texas BBQ spot is opening this weekend on Beaufort Street in Inglewood, bringing the spirit of low-and-slow smoked meats to Perth.
Dream Realised After Tragedy
Pitmaster Jason Linton is opening the doors to Blackiron Barbecue, a Texas-style smokehouse built on a dream he shared with a close friend before the friend's sudden death. The restaurant will officially open at 11am on Saturday, May 16, at 829 Beaufort Street.
The venue traces its roots back to Pflugerville, Texas, where legendary pitmaster John Brotherton founded Brotherton's Black Iron Barbecue, one of Texas's top-ranked barbecue restaurants. John and Jason were close mates who had always talked about bringing authentic BBQ to Perth.
The restaurant is now a tribute to John, who had planned to help launch the venue before his unexpected death in 2024. "I consulted with John's family, his brothers, and a decision was made that we're going to proceed with our original plans and open the venue up," Mr Linton said. "You'll notice that in the aesthetics and the slogan in the restaurant 'show up late, lose weight' is a tribute to him."
Authentic Texas Experience
Blackiron Barbecue takes its name partly from Brotherton's restaurant in Texas, with the branding adapted into a Texas-style belt buckle logo as a nod to its origins. "It was sort of going to be another branch of what he wanted to do down here," Mr Linton said.
The restaurant promises an authentic Texas barbecue experience, with meats smoked low and slow before being carved to order in front of customers. Instead of ordering set platters, patrons move through a line where meats are sliced at the carving station and weighed to their preference before selecting sides.
"We're not telling people what they need to spend," Mr Linton said. "You tell us, we'll make that tray and that tray is personalised to exactly what you want on it."
Meals are served on trays lined with greaseproof paper rather than plates, encouraging diners to share platters family-style. "There's no plates in this place either," Mr Linton said. "The idea behind it is that most people in the family or your group are going to be just picking off what they want off those platters."
Opening Weekend and Menu
For opening weekend, Blackiron BBQ will serve its core menu, with more items and rotating specials to be introduced in coming months as staff complete training. "We're going to be running our core menu; people can experience that core range that we're pretty much always going to have this Saturday," Mr Linton said. "Once it runs out, it runs out."
Mr Linton said brisket could take anywhere from 12 to 14 hours to cook. "So effectively, we're cooking the day before anticipating in the early days what we're going to need to cook," he said. The meats are then held overnight in specialised holding ovens designed specifically for smoked barbecue. "It's not being reheated, it's going straight from temp into temp," Mr Linton said.
Liquor Licence and Future Plans
The restaurant does not yet have a liquor licence, but Mr Linton said the wheels were in motion. Until then, there will be no alcohol service or BYO. Mr Linton said their mission had always been to create both an experience and taste that stayed true to the craft. "Now it's here, done the way it's meant to be," Mr Linton said.
Mr Linton has spent more than a decade immersed in the barbecue industry, helping build Perth's BBQ scene since its early days around 2014 and 2015. He has worked across the US and in high-end catering and private events.
