Todd and Misty David started Cattleack Barbeque in 2010 as something to do in retirement. That plan did not survive contact with the public. Word got out, lines formed, and what was supposed to be a quiet hobby turned into one of the most decorated barbecue operations in North Texas. In 2023, Todd sold the business to Andrew Castelan, a 34-year-old former accountant who had been working there long enough to know what he was getting into. The name is a pun on Cadillac.
Cattleack holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and has been on Texas Monthly’s radar for years. It sits at 13628 Gamma Road, on the edge of Addison and Farmers Branch, north of 635 and east of Midway. The hours are the thing everyone mentions first: Wednesday through Friday, 10am to 2pm, plus the first Saturday of every month for Whole Hog Day. No reservations. No call-ahead orders. The line forms before the doors open and the meat sells out when it sells out.
The beef comes from Heartbrand Ranch — Akaushi Wagyu, one of the most consistently marbled cattle breeds raised in Texas. The pork is Duroc. Oak and hickory do the smoking. Castelan runs it the same way the Davids did: low and slow, no shortcuts. The brisket has a black peppercorn bark that holds together properly — not powder, not crumble, actual crust — with a pink interior that jiggles when it should and holds together when it needs to. Order it fatty. The lean is good. The fatty is the reason you came.
The beef rib runs about a pound and a half per bone and one is a meal. The pork ribs pull clean without falling apart, properly smoked, seasoned without covering the pork. The whole hog runs every first Saturday and is the reason some regulars schedule around that one day a month. The homemade sausages snap on the casing. The Japanese Brown bologna — sliced thick and smoked — is the item people didn’t plan to order and end up talking about on the way home. The pastrami brisket is a weekly special; check the website before you make the drive.
The Toddfather is the sandwich: brisket, pulled pork, sausage, homemade slaw, and barbecue sauce on a bun. The Four Horsemen adds a pork rib to that. Both are large. The Cattleack Platter covers everything — two pork ribs, one beef rib, and roughly a third of a pound each of burnt ends, brisket, whole hog, turkey, and sausage. No substitutions. Order it your first time and you’ll know exactly what you want on your second.
The sides are made in-house and taken seriously. Lead with the burnt end beans — actual burnt ends in the pot, not a flavoring. The chili mac and cheese goes next. Esquites, dirty rice, cornbread, coleslaw, and potato salad round it out. For dessert, the crack cake has had its own following for years. Order it. The banana pudding and Oreo peanut butter cream pie are also on the table if you have room, which you probably won’t.
Free cold beer is included. The room is loud and the patio fills up fast. Arrive early if the beef rib is on your list — it goes before the lunch hour is out. Castelan posts weekly specials and any schedule changes on the website and social media. Worth a look before you head over.
Cattleack Barbeque is at 13628 Gamma Road, Farmers Branch. Open Wednesday through Friday 10am to 2pm and the first Saturday of every month 10am to 2pm. Phone is (972) 805-0999. Menu and weekly specials at cattleackbbq.com.
