Caldwell County BBQ at Pecan Lake

If TX and AZ had a baby, it would be Caldwell County BBQ

If you love BBQ, then you’re going to LOVE Caldwell County BBQ. We take great pride and care in preparing our simple back-to-basics Texas-style BBQ. Our meat is 100% wood-smoked, fueled with a mixture of mesquite and pecan—no gas, no propane—in our monster homemade smokers.

If Texas and Arizona had a baby, it would be Caldwell County BBQ. We offer Texas meat-market style barbecue with nods to Arizona, like citrus and a little bit of green chile zip. You’re going to love our beef brisket, slow-cooked for 20 hours until it is tender and moist. Our tender, fall-off-the-bone St. Louis ribs spare nothing on flavor. Caldwell County BBQ’s pulled pork has a simple rub of salt, pepper, and garlic that lets the natural flavor of the meat come through. And the sauce! Three different sauces are made in-house and are very memorable. The House sauce has a “tantalizing undercurrent, unspooling into the territories of molasses and cane sugar, but without a shock of sweetness (Phoenix New Times)”. An amber mustard sauce and a Hot n Sweet sauce finish out the trio.

Our Story

Clay and Susan returned to Arizona and began conceptualizing Caldwell County BBQ, a play on their last name and the BBQ capital of Texas. Clay returned to Texas to tour iconic BBQ restaurants seven times and had conversations with many of the well-known owners. Clay and Susan finally found an ideal location in a part of Gilbert that was more green fields than human development. Clay partnered up with his son, Spencer, whose real-estate background helped secure the property and begin the renovation. The Caldwells bought, gutted, and remade the residential home into a charming spot done in farmhouse style with a large dining room and a backyard full of picnic tables. Clay, Susan, Spencer, and his wife, Alisa all have an active role in running the restaurant. We want our customers to feel like they came over to our house for a backyard BBQ.