Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Que in Tyler serves a “Brother-in-Law” sandwich of chopped beef, hot links, and cheese.
 
It is not known if the “Brother-in-Law” sandwich is related to the “Mother-in-Law” sandwich (a tamale with chili in a hot dog bun).
 
   
Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar- B-Que (Tyler, TX)
Stanley himself has been off of the scene for more than a decade, but with a new owner and pit master, who took over the nearly 60 year-old-joint in 2000, has revived the quality of its barbecue—all the usual suspects plus ham and turkey—and spruced up the atmosphere: It’s now a cross between a fifties diner and a rustic hunting lodge.  They also tinkered with the tangy house sauce, but the thick slices of lean brisket (smoked for 16+ hours) and juicy pork-and-beef sausage taste better left alone.  If you visit at lunch, consider a sandwich called the Brother-in-Law: hotlink, chopped beef, and cheese. Yes, cheese.  You’ll wonder why it hasn’t been a barbecue staple forever.
—Christopher Keyes, Texas Monthly Magazine, THE BBQ ISSUE, May 2003, featuring the 50 BEST IN TEXAS
 
Stanley’s proudly stands as one of the oldest operating restaurants in Tyler, Texas! Stanley’s has been family owned and operated for 50 years and is proudly still a “Mom & Pop” joint. Proprietors Nick and Jen Pencis welcome you to come and taste the difference and promise you’ll always be greeted with a friendly smile! So please tell your family and friends and come back often! We appreciate your support!!
 
KLTV 7 (Tyler-Longview-Jacksonville)
7/6/07
In The Kitchen: The “Brother-In-Law”
Stanley’s BBQ
The “Brother-In-Law”
 
Ingredients:
1-pkg.-Hillshire hot links
Smoked Chopped Brisket
American Cheese
Stanley’s Regular BBQ Sauce
4 1/2 plain top burger buns
 
You can also substitute Pulled pork or Sliced Beef for the Chopped Brisket.
 
County Line (Serving the Upper East Side of Texas)
Best of 2007
BEST BBQ
Stanley’s Famous BBQ, Tyler. “Famous” isn’t much, if any, of a brag for this small place with a big patio near the Tyler medical complex. Texas Monthly magazine has called it one of the 50 best places to eat barbecue in Texas. In business since 1958 (with a “new” owner since 2000), Stanley’s serves all the usual meats and sides, plus ham and turkey. Unusual combinations include the Brother-in-Law sandwich with hot link, chopped beef, and cheese. From time to time, there’s also live music. Other popular choices: Bakers Ribs, Canton, Riverport Bar-B-Que. Jefferson, Texas Barbeque Corral in Mount Vernon.
   
Texas Monthly (June 2008)
TYLER
Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Que
Menu surprise: Tilapia.
The Brother-in-Law, a sandwiched smorgasbord of chopped beef, butterflied hot links, and cheese, has a powerful (and well-deserved) reputation in East Texas, but order the old-fashioned hand-pulled-pork sandwich, filled with juicy shreds of perfectly smoked pork shoulder. Nick Pencis, the owner and pitmaster, follows a fifty-year-old smoking method—meats housed for sixteen hours in the pecan-fueled pit—to turn out some of the best barbecue in this neck of the Piney Woods.
Rating: 4.5.
525 S. Beckham Ave., 903-593-0311. Open Mon–Fri 11–4, Sat 11–3. Closed Sun. stanleyspitbbq.com