It’s hard to believe it’s been over half a year since the grand opening (and our first visit) to Heritage Barbecue. While the pandemic caused so much heartbreak in the restaurant industry, one blessing was the arrival of Heritage Barbecue, the first brick and mortar venture from Pitmaster-Owner Daniel Castillo, who decided to open up a new restaurant smack dab in the middle of COVID-19 rampant 2020.
For a little background, at the heart of Heritage Barbecue are 2 custom-built 1,000 gallon offset smokers. Pitmaster Castillo confirmed that he is probably the first and only legally permitted business to use these offset smokers in all of California(!). He spent months working with government to get this all permitted and approved. The offset smokers are at the core of his Central Texas-style BBQ and how he learned (from various BBQ masters in Texas before coming back to California to open Heritage).
During the Grand Opening this past July, Heritage Barbecue had over 300 people in line(!). 
We ended up spending about 5 hours total from start to finish on the trip, which seemed ridiculous, but it was worth every minute. That’s how good Heritage’s Barbecue was. We were hopeful that a return visit would yield the same level of excellence.
A few things have changed since the Grand Opening: They now offer Curbside Pickup (a huge boon for those driving from a ways out), the menu has some slight changes, and the crowds have died down. There were only about 15 - 20 people in line when we showed up (which was much more manageable for wait times).
We wanted to try some of the additional menu items we missed from the previous visit, as well as new additions.
Smoked Turkey Breast (Pasture Raised American Heirloom, Diestel Family Ranch):
Barbecue / Smoked Turkey Breast has usually not fared well when we’ve tried it at various places over the years. Chef Castillo’s Smoked Turkey Breast has a beautiful smokiness, is well seasoned and slightly moist. Turkey Breast inherently is very lean, so to coax this much flavor and retain some moisture is commendable.
(Special) San Juan Street Dog (Smoked Beef & Pork Sausage, Grilled Peppers & Onions, Pepperjack, Chopped Brisket):
A new special on this visit was their San Juan Street Dog, which turned out to be a massive full meal by itself. 
There’s a lot of food here, beginning with their Housemade Beef & Pork Smoked Sausage. This had an incredible smokiness and meaty bite, but it wasn’t as interesting as their Chili Cheese Housemade Sausage we had during our previous visit.
The Grilled Onions & Peppers were a good accompaniment, but the Crema and Chopped Brisket (which they smoke in-house of course) just overwhelmed. Not bad at all, but just a lot of flavors and toppings all at once.
Pulled Pork (Duroc Breed, Creekstone Farms):
Per their name, Heritage Barbecue focuses on heritage breeds and quality meat offerings. They use Duroc Breed for their Pork offerings from Creekstone Farms, which are humanely raised, all-natural. 
During the Grand Opening, their Pulled Pork looked fantastic, but came off a bit dry. We found out after the fact that they offer a Housemade Bourbon BBQ Sauce and Hot Mustard, but forgot to give it to us, so we wanted to see if their Pulled Pork had improved and to try it with their BBQ Sauce this time.
Taking a bite: Much better! Pitmaster Castillo and his crew have improved their Pulled Pork so it’s got some fattiness with the lean Pork, and it was moist and tender enough on its own (with some bites still being a touch dry).
Housemade Bourbon BBQ Sauce and Hot Mustard:
However, with their Housemade Bourbon BBQ Sauce, it completely transforms the Pulled Pork! The smokiness, porcine flavors, meatiness and the slight dryness is now complemented by this incredible explosion of flavor from their Housemade Bourbon BBQ Sauce that is sweet, tangy, fragrant and complex. It makes the Pulled Pork a delight! 
I’ve read that good Barbecue doesn’t need BBQ Sauce and should be able to stand on its own, and there are many things at Heritage that do that just fine. The Pulled Pork is probably the only menu item that really needs it, but with the Bourbon BBQ Sauce, it really elevates it.
Housemade Pork & Cheese Smoked Sausage:
They also had a Pork & Cheese Smoked Sausage today. Also made in-house, the Pork & Cheese Sausage had a more noticeable smokiness (compared to the Beef & Pork Sausage in the San Juan Street Dog), with a nice snap of the casing. We still thought the Chili Cheese Sausage from their Grand Opening was tastier. Heritage rotates their Housemade Sausage flavors regularly, so hopefully it’ll come back soon.
Sides:
Classic Mac (Jack Cheddar, Chicharron):
One menu change since their Grand Opening is that they no longer offer 3 types of Mac & Cheese (darn), but will rotate in a new flavor every few weeks. On this visit it was a Jack Cheddar Mac & Cheese with Chicharron (Fried Pork Skin)! Which sounded incredible.
It turned out to be OK, mainly because the Chicharron had a slight mustiness to it, but it was still crunchy (nice), and the Mac & Cheese itself had a light creaminess to each bite.
Texas Chili (Brisket, Pork Rib Tips, Cheddar, Scallions):
Their Texas Chili was excellent! First, there was a real scorching heat (a touch below Habanero Chili level, but close), which awakened your taste buds, and then you’re basking in a deep, rich, aromatic Chili with real beefiness from the melted down Brisket and Pork Rib Tips! It’s some of the best Chili I’ve had in years!
Classic Potato Salad (Pickled Egg, Housemade Buttermilk Dressing):
One area that Heritage Barbecue has improved upon (from their already lofty heights) is their Potato Salad. During the Grand Opening, they featured a Red, White & Bleu Potato Salad, made with Bleu Cheese & Bacon. That had just a bit too much Bleu Cheese funk for my tastes and overall the balance of flavors felt off, however with their new Classic Potato Salad, they may have just created the best Potato Salad in So Cal! 
The Red Potatoes are cooked down and soft, but still retaining some structure. That earthiness is balanced by the creaminess and just enough tang from the Pickled Eggs. It’s not overly tart like some versions, but has just the right balance of beautiful creamy, savory, a touch of tart, some crunchiness from the Red Onions and Diced Pickles. It is outstanding!
Smoked Beef Ribs (Black Angus USDA Prime, Niman Ranch):
Just look at the marbling of their Black Angus USDA Prime Beef Rib! Taking a bite:
A luscious wave of beefy fattiness washes over you. The Slow-Cooked Prime Beef Rib is absurd! It nearly collapses on itself as you bite into it, there’s a delicate smokiness from Pitmaster Castillo using California White Oak. Then you get that ridiculous fatty meaty beefy flavor coming through! It is at once glorious and overwhelming (just like during our Grand Opening visit).
This is best enjoyed in small portions because it really is so marbled that it can inundate your palate (just like eating too much A5 Wagyu Beef all at once). 
Still this is probably the most absurd and outstanding Beef Rib BBQ in So Cal right now.
Pork Spare Ribs (Duroc Breed, Creekstone Farms):
But as with our previous visit, it is their Pork Spare Ribs that remain the highlight of the entire menu: It’s got a nice bark, it’s meaty, tender, juicy, beautifully kissed with a delicate smokiness from slow cooking in California White Oak, these are just incredible BBQ Pork Spare Ribs!
I’ve never had BBQ Pork Spare Ribs that tasted anything like this before! Just like the first time you had a Langer’s Pastrami Sandwich, so it is with Heritage Barbecue’s Pork Spare Ribs. It makes you think: “This is what BBQ Pork Ribs should be.” A wonderful culinary highlight! Do not miss this!
Smoked Beef Brisket (Natural Black Angus USDA Prime, Creekstone Farms):
They gave us half Lean Brisket and half Fatty Brisket on this visit. The Fatty Smoked Brisket? Succulent, tender, Pitmaster Daniel Castillo’s Smoked Beef Brisket takes over 14 hours to prepare!
It is insanely delicious, naturally enveloped smokiness, and a gorgeous aroma that doesn’t feel excessive. There’s a perfect tenderness and just the right amount of fattiness to balance out the lean from the USDA Prime Brisket.
The Lean Brisket is still very good, but definitely get the Fatty Brisket if you want to experience the ultimate expression from Heritage.
It is the best Beef Brisket BBQ we’ve ever had!
Half a year after Heritage Barbecue first opened, Pitmaster-Owner Daniel Castillo and his crew continue to deliver the best Barbecue in Southern California, from the absurdly marbled Prime Beef Ribs (served Saturdays & Sundays Only), to the outstanding Smoked Beef Brisket, to the stunning Pork Spare Ribs, these 3 offerings alone are worth the drive.
However, the surprising new Texas Chili (made with Ground Beef Brisket and Pork Rib Tips) is an eye-opener, and their Classic Potato Salad might very well be the sleeper hit on the menu: So balanced and creamy, there’s a crave-worthy aspect to each wonderful earthy bite.
Factoring in a new Curbside Pickup, much smaller lines and wait times, and Heritage Barbecue is even more appealing. But I’d gladly return just for the Pork Spare Ribs alone and to support and thank Pitmaster Daniel and his hardworking team for making such fantastic comfort food.
Heritage Barbecue
31721 Camino Capistrano
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Heritage Barbecue closes for the day when they sell out of meat. There’s no guarantee for a normal closing time.
Update 1:
Nice 70 degree F weather and staring at Heritage BBQ’s updates for too long, we suddenly found ourselves on the 405 freeway heading towards the restaurant.
Showing up just around Noon on a sunny Saturday, the outdoor line wasn’t too bad at all (for their busiest day of the week). We ended up waiting about 35 - 40 minutes, and you can order some nice draft beers from Capistrano Brewing Co. (which is literally right next to Heritage BBQ) while waiting in line.
As an excellent way to build up your appetite, the line to order snakes around the outside near the 2 custom-built 1,000 gallon offset smokers, so you can smell the delicious smoky meat aroma wafting over that entire area. As previously mentioned, Pitmaster-Owner Daniel Castillo was so dedicated to the craft of creating authentic Texas BBQ that he worked with the state of California and was the first and only legally permitted business to use these offset smokers in all of California.
Time for some Q!
Brisket Beans with Burnt Ends and Cotija Cheese:
Pitmaster Castillo and his team rotate out the flavor of their excellent Barbecue Beans every week. This week it was Brisket Beans with Burnt Ends and mixed some Cotija Cheese. The Shredded Smoked Brisket added some nice meatiness and the Burnt Ends added little bits of cartilage crunch (but for our batch, we only got a couple bits of the Burnt Ends). Still, this was delicious and probably our favorite BBQ Beans flavor so far at Heritage BBQ.
Smoked Beef Ribs (Black Angus USDA Prime, Niman Ranch):
Incredible! Look at the bark, smoke ring, and marbling on that Black Angus USDA Prime Beef Rib. Thankfully it was slightly less marbled than our previous 3 visits, which is a good thing (it was maybe too fatty before).
One bite and you realize the level of disparity between Pitmaster Daniel Castillo & Heritage BBQ compared to the rest of the local BBQ offerings. There’s a wonderful balanced, gentle smokiness from the California White Oak, your mouth is filled with tender, decadent, lush marbled Beef. The balance of flavors is spot on and even better than our previous 3 visits!
Coal Roasted Broccoli:
Their Veggie of the Week was Coal Roasted Broccoli, which sounded rather simple, but the end result was superb! The Coal Roasted Broccoli was smoky and tender enough, but it was spiked with a Chinese Chili Crisp Hot Sauce (which was only lightly spicy) and then cooled down by some Housemade Aioli which added creaminess. It might sound weird, but this was seriously some of the most delicious Broccoli I’ve had in recent memory.
Smoked Beef Brisket - Fatty Cut (Natural Black Angus USDA Prime, Creekstone Farms):
If you don’t specify, Heritage BBQ will normally give you a mix of Lean and Fatty Smoked Beef Brisket. We wanted to see how an order of all Fatty Cut Smoked Beef Brisket would turn out:
Ridiculous.
Incredibly moist, meltingly tender and fatty, but with enough lean USDA Prime Smoked Beef Brisket in each bite as well, so it wasn’t overwhelming. Seriously, the best Smoked Beef Brisket BBQ in So Cal. So good!
Housemade Chorizo Smoked Sausage:
Heritage BBQ is serious about all that they offer, and with their Smoked Sausage offerings, they make their BBQ Sausage in-house. This allows them to add variety and they end up rotating through many flavors of Smoked Sausage, which changes every week.
On this visit, they were offering a Housemade Chorizo Smoked Sausage, which sounded great. There was an excellent snap on the exterior, and the a nice smoky salinity, some decent heat and porcine flavors coming through with each bite. This might be their best Housemade Smoked Sausage flavor we’ve tried to date!
(Complimentary) Housemade Pickles:
Your order of BBQ comes with a complimentary offering of Housemade Pickles. They were perfectly tart, and the tang and acid were much needed to help cut through that fatty glory you were consuming.
Smoked Beef Brisket Tacos (on Burritos La Palma Housemade Flour Tortillas):
Heritage BBQ offering some of their excellent BBQ in Taco form made sense as a way to let customers sample in smaller quantities, but it was the fact that they partnered with the excellent Burritos La Palma, to use their top tier Housemade Flour Tortillas for these Tacos that caught my attention. This sounded too good to be true.
Taking a bite: Unfortunately it was. The Burritos La Palma Housemade Flour Tortillas still had a nice, pliant, softness, although it loses a bit of their magical quality with the passage of time and the toasting on the grill (compared to eating their great Flour Tortillas at Burritos La Palma directly within minutes of ordering). But the big hiccup was a strange, chemical aftertaste in each bite(!). 
Looking at the Taco, the only culprits were the Salsa, or the combination of Heritage BBQ Brisket mixed with that particular brand of Cotija Cheese and the Salsa perhaps? But something ended up causing this weird flavor distortion and it just wasn’t appetizing. Even beyond that, it needed a better Salsa (perhaps something that Chef Wes Avila (Angry Egret Dinette) could conjure up, or Chef Ray Garcia (Broken Spanish)) to help marry the BBQ Brisket and the Tortilla.
Smoked Pork Spare Ribs (Duroc Breed, Creekstone Farms):
Thankfully things rebounded nicely with their incredible Smoked Pork Spare Ribs (Duroc Breed, Creekstone Farms). As with our previous 3 visits, the Smoked Pork Spare Ribs are my favorite item at Heritage BBQ. The gigantic Smoked Beef Ribs, the tender, luscious Brisket may get the most attention in general, but their Smoked Pork Spare Ribs are probably the best BBQ offering on the menu!
A great exterior bark, that perfect amount of gentle smokiness, incredibly juicy, lovely porkiness, tender, a nice balance of lean and fat and the cartilage is soft enough and adds that crunch. It’s truly a skill and art form to get Pork Spare Ribs this good!
Housemade Bourbon BBQ Sauce and Hot Mustard:
Don’t forget to ask them to try both of their Sauces on the side. We like our Texas BBQ without Sauce, but that Housemade Bourbon BBQ Sauce is addicting and adds a nice tangy sweet and savory angle to the Smoked Meats.
It is a great sense of relief and joy to see Pitmaster-Owner Daniel Castillo and Heritage BBQ continuing to thrive during the pandemic, and their quality has not dropped a bit since their Grand Opening days (a couple years ago). We’ve seen so many BBQ places end up inconsistent, or drop in quality, but Heritage BBQ continues to push forward with as much energy and commitment to deliver top-quality Texas-style Barbecue to this region that it’s something worth supporting and celebrating.
Heritage Barbecue
31721 Camino Capistrano
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
I’ll have to try that next time for sure, thanks!
There are a few new places that opened up in the last year or so. I heard some of them are pretty good. I haven’t braved the lines yet.
