A Pappas Bar-B-Q plate costs $11.95 to $18.95 and always includes two sides. Hickory smoked ham and link sausage are the cheapest at $11.95, pulled pork is $12.95, turkey and chicken breast $14.95 each, and sliced or chopped beef brisket is $16.95. Combination plates run $15.95 for the Pork Trio, $17.95 for the Beef Trio and the House Special, and $18.95 for the five-meat Mixed Platter. Every plate also comes with bread, pickles, onions and jalapeños, and two sides can be swapped for a loaded baked potato for about $1.35.
The single-meat plates
Six meats, six price points, identical structure: meat, two sides, bread and pickles.
Bar-B-Q Specials — one meat
Choose two sides from ranch beans, spicy rice, macaroni & cheese, yams, potato salad, cucumber salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw or green beans.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Beef — Sliced or ChoppedBrisket, smoked over hickory and mesquite | $16.95+ |
| Turkey BreastWhole breast, smoked and sliced to order | $14.95+ |
| Chicken BreastBoneless, the lightest plate on the board | $14.95+ |
| Pulled PorkShoulder, pulled by hand | $12.95+ |
| Pork or Beef SausageCoarse-ground link with a snappy casing | $11.95+ |
| Hickory Smoked HamBest value-per-dollar single plate | $11.95+ |
Beef brisket — $16.95+
Brisket is the plate the pit gets judged on, and it's the one most people are pricing when they land on this page. At $16.95 with two sides it is the most expensive single meat and, per ounce, not the cheapest way to eat brisket here — a pound to go is $7.75+, and a pound feeds two comfortably. The plate makes sense when you want the sides and the bread and you don't want to portion anything yourself.
Order sliced if you want to inspect the bark and the smoke ring; order chopped if the brisket is going under sauce or you're sharing. There is no price difference between the two.
Pulled pork — $12.95+
Four dollars cheaper than brisket and, for a lot of people, the better plate. Pappas pulls the shoulder rather than shredding it to mush, so you get texture. It's also the base for the two regional sandwiches on the menu — Tangy Tennessee and Sweet Caroline — which is a decent signal that the kitchen rates it.
Pork or beef sausage — $11.95+
Tied with ham for the cheapest full plate. The link is coarse-ground with a casing that snaps, and it holds heat far better than sliced meats — the practical pick if you're driving twenty minutes home with the box on the passenger seat.
Turkey breast — $14.95+
Genuinely smoked, not roasted, and the lean choice that doesn't feel like a compromise. Pairs well with the cucumber salad and green beans if you're trying to keep the plate light.
Chicken breast — $14.95+
Boneless breast, priced level with turkey. If you want chicken with more character, skip this and go to the half chicken combos below — a whole half bird is $13.95, a dollar less than the breast plate.
Hickory smoked ham — $11.95+
The quiet value play. Ham is the cheapest meat by the pound ($5.75+) and the cheapest plate, and it is the meat that makes the House Special and Mixed Platter work as combinations rather than just more-of-the-same.
Combination plates
Where the menu gets interesting. Five combinations between $15.95 and $18.95, each with two sides.
The combination maths. A plain brisket plate is $16.95. The Beef Trio — same brisket plus sausage plus a rib — is $17.95. You are paying one dollar for roughly a third more food. Unless you specifically want a plate of nothing but brisket, the trio is the rational order, and the same logic pushes you from the trio to the $18.95 Mixed Platter.
Chicken combos
Half a smoked chicken alone or paired with a second meat. This entire block is duplicated on the gluten-free menu at identical prices.
Half Chicken & Pairings
Served with your choice of two sides.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| 1/2 ChickenBone-in half bird — a dollar cheaper than the breast plate | $13.95 |
| 1/2 Chicken & Link Sausage | $14.95 |
| 1/2 Chicken & Pulled Pork | $15.95 |
| 1/2 Chicken & 1 Pork Rib | $15.95 |
| 1/2 Chicken & 2 Baby Back Ribs | $16.95 |
| 1/2 Chicken & 1 Beef RibThe heaviest plate in this block | $19.95 |
Worth noticing: the plain half chicken at $13.95 undercuts the $14.95 chicken breast plate while giving you thigh and drumstick as well. Unless someone at the table specifically wants boneless white meat, the half bird is the better order. The $19.95 beef rib pairing is the most expensive item in the combos block and one of the few places on the Pappas menu where a single line item crosses twenty dollars.
Plate questions
Sliced or chopped brisket — which should I order?
They cost the same, so it comes down to how you eat. Sliced arrives as whole cross-cut slices with the bark and smoke ring intact, and you can see exactly what you're getting — if you care about the quality of the smoke, order sliced. Chopped is a mix of lean, fatty and bark chopped together; it eats moister, carries sauce better, and is the right call for a po-boy or a loaded potato.
What is the difference between the Beef Trio, House Special and Mixed Platter?
Beef Trio ($17.95) is brisket, sausage and a rib. House Special ($17.95) swaps in ham for the brisket-heavy lean: beef, ham, sausage and a rib. Mixed Platter ($18.95) is the widest sample — beef, ham, sausage, rib and pulled pork, five items for a dollar more. If you're ordering for the table, the Mixed Platter is the efficient one.
Can I get a plate with three or four meats?
Yes — that is what the combination plates are. The Two Sliced Meat Combo ($15.95+) lets you pick any two sliced meats. Above that, Pork Trio and Beef Trio give you three items and the Mixed Platter gives you five. For anything larger, the Gluten-Free Texas Dinner ($38.95+) sells three sliced meats at half a pound each with three large sides, which serves two to three people.
Are plate portions the same at every location?
Portioning is standardised on the line, but the price is not. Downtown Pierce Street, the NRG Stadium store and freeway locations near business parks tend to run at the top of each price band; suburban stores in Humble, Pasadena and Duncanville sit at the bottom. That's the practical reason we print starting prices with a plus sign rather than a single figure.
Now pick your two sides
Nine of them, all free in pairs with any plate. We ranked them by how well they survive a twenty-minute drive home.