Mad Jack's Mountaintop Barbecue — Restaurant in Cloudcroft

Mad Jack's is a REAL BBQ joint, and it's REALLY GOOD, so good that we (generally) have been there every Saturday for the past several years. The food is amazing, and all of the staff is equally awesome, and is like family to us.

There will almost always be a line (except in the super super cold, snowy months), and you will generally wait awhile. If you get there by 930, this will maximize your odds of getting everything you want. If you get there later, and are in line, expect that SOMETHING will be out. Not because they only make enough to serve one person, but because they are POPULAR and some people buy sizeable portions.

They also smoke their briskets ALL night on an all WOOD fire (they don't use propane, which in my opinion makes brisket taste less appealing), and can only make as much as they are able to, based on staff, and the volume that they do make. They can always use additional staff -- so if you're reading and want to help out, I'm sure they'd be tremendously eager for good, quality help.

They have a chalk board next to the hostess station that shows what items are currently sold out, some do in fact sell out in an hour or so, because again, it's that good.

Back to the line -- yeah, it may move slow sometimes -- even though they have menus plastered outside and on the door (if I recall at least) people still get to the hostess station and ask 1000 questions (nothing is wrong with that by the way), but this is a factor as to WHY the line may APPEAR to be slow.

Also, some people may see a certain meat they didn't order initially (example, the Dino Rib), and then decide they want to get one of those as well once they see it with their eyes.

The line does move efficiently for the most part, short of these smaller (again, non-issue; just explaining so that people may get a better insight as to WHY at SOME point it may seem the lines slowed -- it hasn't).

We have met some great and interesting folks in the line, and have some great conversations. I get that standing in a line for 2-3 hours for FOOD may seem insane, but MAD JACKS is worth the wait.

Also, if you have an issue when you're there, let them know. They genuinely do care about their customers. They have signs all over asking for feedback. It'd better suit your goals if you informed them of issues while you were there, rather than writing a negative review 10 minutes after you leave.

I could honestly write a book on this place by now, but I think this about sums it up.

Great food. Great staff. Always willing to listen to their customers concerns and address any issues, again if you're willing to step up and verbalize your issues, rather than in a review. They aren't going to vaporize you with lasers or chop your hand off with the cleaver (well, they may, KIDDING).

The reviewer "M" is clearly a local having a...

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 A Love Letter to Mad Jack’s Mountain Top BBQ – Cloudcroft’s Crown Jewel of Smoke and Soul

Let me begin with a simple truth: there is barbecue, and then there is Mad Jack’s Mountain Top BBQ. Perched 8,660 feet above sea level in the enchanting village of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, Mad Jack’s doesn’t just serve food—it offers a transcendent, smoky pilgrimage into the very heart of American barbecue tradition.

You feel it before you even taste it: the unmistakable scent of post oak and passion curling through the mountain air like incense. It’s hypnotic. It draws you in off the road, through the pine-sweet breeze, into a place where craft, care, and community collide in every bite.

This is no ordinary roadside smoke shack. This is where legends are made. It’s no surprise that Mad Jack’s brisket has been ranked third-best in the entire country—a title that, while astonishing, still somehow doesn’t feel like it captures just how life-changing that first bite can be. It’s not just meat—it’s a moment. The bark crackles with perfect smoke and salt. The fat, glistening and rendered like a dream. And the meat itself? Like velvet. Like memory. Like home.

Jack’s pit magic doesn’t stop at brisket. The ribs are masterfully glazed and fall away with a gentle nudge of your teeth. The sausage has that perfect snap, spiced and smoked to balance. The turkey is shockingly moist, kissed by smoke but never overpowered. Even the sides—beans, slaw, potato salad—carry the same DNA: nothing phoned in, everything done with integrity and heart.

And the heart is what lingers most.

You can’t talk about Mad Jack’s without talking about the man behind it all—Jack himself. A pitmaster, yes. But also a storyteller. A steward of something ancient. A man whose love for his craft radiates in every detail, from the firewood stacked just so to the way he greets guests like old friends.

Cloudcroft may be a tiny mountaintop town, but thanks to Mad Jack’s, it stands proudly on the national stage. 22nd best barbecue in the entire country overall? Believe it. Eat here and you’ll understand why people drive from states away, why they’ll line up before the doors open, why they speak of this place with reverence.

This isn’t a gimmick. This isn’t fast food. This is slow, soulful, smoked perfection at the summit of the world.

5 stars isn’t enough. Mad Jack’s is a treasure—a smoky, succulent testament to what happens when a man devotes his life to doing one thing, and doing it unbelievably well.

Don’t just eat here.

Make...

MAD Jack's exceeded my expectations. I'm a little of a bbq conisseor. I've visited some of the most popular bbq places in the nation and left disappointed. Most restaurants can nail one or two things on the menu and be subpar with the rest. For me, if I am going to try BBQ, I do my research. If I'm about to give someone my money, it better be worth it because I will smoke it at home. Going out to eat anywhere for me is hard, as I have a strong passion for good food.

Everything we had at Mad Jack's was excellent. The line is fine, it's there because this man and his team know bbq. It's better than Lockhart, Austin, South Texas, Kansas city, Hawaii.. heck it just might be the best in the nation. He takes care in the whole process and absolutely knows what he is doing. This man is going to be a legend amongst bbq God's.

We had sliced brisket, sausage, a chopped brisket sandwich, beans, baked potato, and a blackberry peach cobbler.

I currently live 1.5 hours away and I will be up here for lunch just as much as a local. It's that good.

Big Props to his entire staff. (If you end up following his Facebook you'd see he is an outstanding guy who happens to be a bbq expert)

10/10

best bbq I've ever tasted and that speaks volumes for me as I have NEVER been THIS impressed and I've waken up early to spend hours in a line and left regretting it.

There is no bbq hype with him. He knows exactly what good bbq is and has mastered everything else on top of it.

I'm now determined to find something on the menu that doesn't land a 10/10 because can this man be the first to truly master everything on the menu?

If I had to be really picky, I'd say I can make a better cobbler at home, HOWEVER it's the 2nd best dessert I've ever had at a restaurant. (Arbuckle Oklahoma has the BEST fried pies, that may top his cobbler)

Would I order his cobbler again? Heck yea!! I wish I bought more than the one.

If you made it this far, just realize, Mad Jacks Mountain top bbq is the best. I can't imagine someone making better bbq. He has the best bbq in the entire state of Texas and he is right there in cloudcroft new mexico.

I could talk more about it but I'm holding you back, go ahead and head down. Be ready to be impressed and leave Mad...