If there’s one thing Texans are passionate about, it’s barbecue. So it’s no surprise that even storms couldn’t keep crowds away from one of Houston’s biggest barbecue events.

The 13th annual Houston Barbecue Festival returned to Humble on Sunday, but with a smaller lineup of food vendors. The roster Sunday included nearly two dozen from across Greater Houston, from decades-old pitmasters to up-and-coming ‘cue connoisseurs. 

Pushing the boundaries of traditional Texas barbecue, many of the vendors Sunday debuted creative dishes far beyond classic fare including Gochujang glazed pork loin; Italian beef sandwiches with pepperocini and provolone cheese sauce; and salsa verde pork shoulder with bacon sausage, brisket and smoked cabbage.

“The bar is so high now on the quality of barbecue,” said Houston Barbecue Festival co-founder Michael Fulmer. “The old days of being able to kind of phone it in or just have good brisket and get your sides from Sysco … those days are gone.”

“The vendors we have here, they’re making their own sides,” Fulmer continued. “They’re making their own sausages, smoking bread pudding … it’s just like the level they take to their devotion to the craft. I’m in awe, and the least I can do is try to shine a light on that.”

Before the event was even over, some pitmasters had already packed up, done after serving all of their samples. 

Tin Roof BBQ, a participating vendor that’s been present every year, was out of samples after an hour and a half, clearing out its pork belly burnt ends, smoked brisket chili and Texas chocolate sheet cake. It was a far cry from last year’s event, when scorching heat challenged pitmasters. This year, vendors welcomed light rain showers, though it did force some to pivot their game plan. 

“In addition to what we served … we were going to do pork belly cracklings, but I was like, ‘I’m not going to have a fryer just in case,'” said Tin Roof BBQ pitmaster Brek Webber. “If it ever rains, I’m not going to have a fryer. So we did decide at the last minute.”

Despite the dreary weather and organizers opting for a smaller roster of restaurants, the event still brought out dozens of foodies eager to get unlimited bites of barbecue, including some who flew out of state.

“It shows their devotion to the Houston barbecue scene. There’s great barbecue all across Texas, but Houston has its own identities,” Fulmer said. “We’re really about shining a lot of that and seeing people come in to support that. I talked to a couple that flew in from Las Vegas just for this event. They’re literally going back to the airport and they’re flying back now.”