Central Texas-style barbecue smoked over post oak in Cloudcroft, NM. Brisket, beef ribs, pork ribs, smoked turkey, sausage, and the Chile the Kid green-chile sandwich. Treat it like a timed event: arrive early, expect a wait, plan for lunch.
The truck out front. Pitmaster James Jackson. The pit, the plates, the Dino rib.
Cloudcroft's line-out-the-door barbecue stop. A Central Texas-style smokehouse where lunch can feel like a small civic event. Come early, expect a wait, and order brisket, ribs, turkey, sausage, cornbread, and whatever hasn't sold out.
"Brisket, sliced. Dino rib if it's available. Cornbread and mac and cheese. Cobbler. The Mad Jack pilgrimage in one tray."
Brisket + Dino rib + cornbread + cobbler
"The Chile the Kid sandwich. A green-chile-laced beef sandwich named after a New Mexico legend. The thing here you can't order at a Texas BBQ joint in Texas."
Chile the Kid + a side
"Three-meat sampler — brisket, beef rib, sausage — plus pulled pork on the side. Two cornbreads. Mac and cheese. Pinto beans. Cobbler to share."
Three-meat sampler + sides + cobbler
Open Thursday through Sunday from 11 AM until the day's inventory is gone. Closed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Selling out before posted close is part of the business model — the official site says "until sold out."
Bottom of the James Canyon Highway dining strip — the closest JCH peer to the village core. From Burro Avenue, head a few minutes east; the rest of the JCH BBQ-and-diner cluster is up the road.
105 James Canyon Hwy
Cloudcroft, NM 88317
Right on Highway 82 heading into the village. The closest JCH dining stop to the Burro Avenue strip.
Phone: (575) 682-7577
Website: madjacksbbq.com
Follow on Facebook (MAD Jack’s Mountaintop Barbecue) and Instagram (linked from the official site).
Where Mad Jack's fits. The headline rule: this is a planned lunch event, not a casual drop-by.
The official hours read Thursday–Sunday, 11 AM until sold out. Closed Monday through Wednesday. Selling out is part of the business model: meats commonly run out before 3 PM, especially on weekends.
Multiple published accounts describe lines wrapping around the porch and into the neighborhood. MySA reported arriving at 11 AM and finding "the line wrapped around the porch and into the neighborhood" with a possible two-hour wait. The reporter returned a different day at 9:47 AM for an 11 AM opening. NM Gastronome described arriving five minutes before opening to find "a queue at least 50 deep."
Treat Mad Jack’s like a timed event. Plan it as lunch. Don’t build a dinner plan around it.
MySA framed Mad Jack’s as a contender for Texas’ best barbecue joint — in a tiny New Mexico village. The story called it "THE destination" in Cloudcroft and described people lining up around the block hours before opening.
NM Gastronome quoted New Mexico Magazine writer Cheryl Jamison: "anyone truly serious about barbecue should hightail it down to Cloudcroft," where James Jackson and staff serve "world-class brisket, beef ribs, sausage" and the Chile the Kid sandwich.
The Chile the Kid is the Cloudcroft hybrid: a green-chile-laced beef sandwich described by New Mexico Magazine via NM Gastronome. It’s the menu item this location does that the Texas Hill Country location can’t copy.
Owner James Jackson grew up in Lockhart, Texas, and spent 30 years working at his father’s car dealership. After Chrysler’s 2009 bankruptcy and the loss of the family franchise, Jackson moved to New Mexico and opened Mad Jack’s Mountaintop BBQ the weekend before Memorial Day 2015. His method is simple: salt, pepper, wood, fire. He drives 644 miles every six to eight weeks to source Central Texas post oak.
Manager Chris Shaw has been with Mad Jack’s for eight years and runs the operation when Jackson is away.
As of March 2026, the Cloudcroft restaurant and building are listed for sale at $2.5 million, and Jackson is building a second location in Texas near Johnson City. Both Jackson and Shaw have told the Cloudcroft Reader the Cloudcroft restaurant is not closing.
Arrive before opening on weekends. Sold out means sold out. The brisket is the headline order, the Chile the Kid is the local quirk, and cobbler is the closer. If the kitchen is sold out, Brother-N-Law at 209 JCH is the casual backup — closed Thursday and shorter waits.
MySA reported a patio-area food truck branded "Mad Jack’s BBQ Shack" offering sandwiches and plates for guests who don’t want to wait in the main line. Operating status varies by day — confirm on the day if a specific cut matters.
The current full menu and prices, online-ordering availability, current payment methods, accessibility details, food-truck (BBQ Shack) operating status on a given day, and holiday hours / weather-related closures aren’t comprehensively documented in primary sources. Confirm by phone or Facebook before driving up if any of those matter to your plan.
"Mad Jack's is the line-out-the-door barbecue stop in Cloudcroft and one of the country's most-talked-about smokehouses. Come early, order brisket, try the Chile the Kid, save room for cobbler. This is a planned lunch event, not a casual drop-by — and that’s exactly the point."
Three peer kitchens up the strip — or jump back to the full dining guide for all 19.
Central TX style · closed Thu · 209 JCH · shorter waits
12Working-crew breakfast · select Saturday German nights
14Daily 7 AM – 9 PM · Southern + Mexican · all-day breakfast
↩19 independent spots · 3 corridors · 0 chains