DALLAS — Good Morning America is on the search for some of the country's best barbecue, so where else to start the search than in the Lone Star State?
ABC's national morning show started its "United States of BBQ" road trip in Dallas, pitting two local staples against each other with some notable faces judging as they stuffed their faces.
WFAA Sports Anchor Joe Trahan joined Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott and now Monday Night Football play-by-play announcer Joe Buck as judges for the event. Cowboys legend and Buck's booth partner, Troy Aikman, was also in attendance.
The two Dallas barbecue restaurants vying to smoke out the rest of the competition were Pecan Lodge and Smokey John's Bar-B-Que. The show set up shop at Pecan Lodge, located on Main Street in Deep Ellum.
Both BBQ joints served up sandwiches to the judges. Pecan Lodge went with their Pitmaster brisket and pulled pork sandwich (also topped with sausage, cole slaw and jalapenos), and the brothers at Smokey John’s - Juan and Brent Reaves - countered with their Big John sandwich: a brisket sandwich topped with smoked sausage, coleslaw, two onion rings and drizzled with barbecue sauce.
But that's not all. The Big John was garnished with a rib and served it with a side of mac-n-cheese and sweet tea.
When all was said and done, the panel voted Smokey John's the winner of this Texas-sized showdown, 2-1. Trahan and Prescott crowned Smokey John's the winner, while Buck voted for Pecan Lodge ... and wore a bit of it on his shirt!
The Texas brothers were presented with golden tongs for their win and will travel to New York City next week to represent the Lone Star State in the final round. They'll face the winners from the other three cities being visited by GMA: Washington D.C., Tampa and Chicago.
And after the competition ended, Trahan caught up with Buck, Aikman and Prescott for some one-on-one exclusive interviews about the Cowboys, Texas barbecue talk and more!
Check out those interviews below: