P.O. Sam's BBQ: The Cadillac Story Behind Colbert, Oklahoma's Legendary Pitmaster

Ask anybody who grew up around Colbert, OK about barbecue and you'll probably hear two words before anything else: P.O. Sam. 🔥 From 1952 until his passing in 1985, Samuel A. Flagg ran Po' Sam's Bar-B-Que about a mile and a half north of the Red River, and his spicy brown gravy sauce became one of the most loved, most argued-about, and most imitated flavors in all of Texoma. This is the story of the man, the sauce, the old stand, and the memories that still make folks smile.

The old P.O. Sam Bar-B-Q stand in Colbert, with its Dr Pepper sign and long covered porch. From a framed photo shared with Love My Texoma Home.

Who Was P.O. Sam?

Samuel A. Flagg was "Po' Sam" to his friends (like the po' boy sandwich), and plenty of folks just called him "P.O." Before he ever landed in Colbert, he'd already been selling barbecue near schools in Paris and Honey Grove, Texas, according to the local history book Colbert, 1845–1982. He crossed the river in 1952 and opened his own place, and for more than thirty years he built a following that stretched from Durant to Denison and well beyond.

He ran his business out of at least three buildings around Colbert over the years. One of them burned, and since Sam famously preferred to deal in cash, a good chunk of money is said to have gone up with it. Another, a white concrete-block building on South Franklin Street, was still standing when Texas Monthly's barbecue editor drove past it in 2014. For decades, travelers on U.S. 69 knew the drill: take the Colbert exit, get in line, and get a sandwich with the gravy.

The Cadillac Story Colbert Still Tells

Every small town has a story it loves to retell, and this is one that was passed along to us. P.O. Sam had been cooking all day and walked into a Cadillac dealership still in his overalls, ready to buy a brand-new car with cash. The salesman took one look at the smoky overalls and figured there was no way this man could afford a Cadillac. Sam didn't argue. He simply took his business somewhere else and drove home in a new Cadillac anyway. 🚗

It's a story, not a documented record, and that's exactly how we're sharing it. But it fits everything that is on the record about Sam: a man who worked long, hard days, kept his money close, and never felt the need to explain himself. If your family remembers the Cadillac (or has a photo of it), we'd love to hear from you.

The Legendary Brown Gravy Sauce

Brown gravy, the basic idea behind P.O. Sam's sauce (not his actual recipe). Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Here's what made P.O. Sam's different: instead of a sweet red sauce, he poured a spicy gravy over his barbecue. It started with drippings from smoked meat, thickened with flour, thinned with a little liquid, and spiked with cayenne and black pepper. Sam made it in a small brick-walled room out back, and nobody but Sam knew exactly what went in. According to writer Gary Carter, Sam judged a batch by dipping a big spoon in and checking that it coated the back with just the right amount of red cayenne specks. 🌶️

It came hot or mild, and the hot was hot. Denison pitmaster Johnny Doyle told Texas Monthly that when he tried it as a kid, the heat was the only thing he could remember. If you wanted some to take home, Sam would pour it into whatever you brought (a jar, a jug, even a barrel) and figure out a price right there.

Here's a fun detail: people still don't agree on what it looked like. Some remember a rich brown gravy. Others swear it was a pale, almost creamy gravy speckled with pepper. Everyone agrees it was the best thing they ever put on a sandwich. When Sam died in 1985 the recipe went with him, and the mystery has only made the legend bigger.

What Folks Remember Most

A sandwich, chips and a cup of sauce: the kind of order people still remember from P.O. Sam's. Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Wikimedia Commons (CC0).

Read the comments people have left online about P.O. Sam's over the years and the same happy memories come up again and again:

• 🥪 The order: a chopped pork or beef sandwich with a slice of raw onion, covered in gravy.
• 🥤 The sides: a bag of potato chips and an ice-cold orange soda or RC Cola.
• 🚗 The ride: kids in the back seat on the drive down from Durant or across the river from Texas, mouths already watering.
• 🔥 The heat: grown men debating whether to risk the hot or play it safe with the mild.
• ❤️ The feeling: people who moved away saying that if you met someone from Texoma anywhere in the world, sooner or later P.O. Sam's gravy came up.

That last one says it all. A barbecue stand in a small Oklahoma town became a shared memory for a whole region.

P.O. Sam's Work Ethic and Legacy

Smoked brisket on a bun with raw onion, the way Texoma still likes it. Photo: Jeremy Noble, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

None of it happened by accident. Even in his later years, Sam was known to work around fifteen hours a day, tending a barbecue pit said to be longer than most people's living rooms. Real smoked meat takes time, and the drippings for his gravy came from hours of slow smoking. His sign summed up his attitude with a little humor and a lot of confidence: "Not the best… but hard to beat."

Forty years after he fired the pit for the last time, brown gravy sauce is still a signature of Texoma barbecue. Texas Monthly calls it a regional specialty and credits the original to P.O. Sam's in Colbert, even though most places serving it today are on the Texas side.

Where to Taste the Tradition Today

No one has Sam's exact recipe, and most of these folks will tell you so. But Texoma barbecue is still going strong, and several of these spots have carried on the brown gravy tradition in their own way, according to Texas Monthly and Texoma Living. Hours and menus change, so call ahead before you make the drive:

• RC's Signature BBQ, Calera/Colbert, OK: a local favorite just up the road at 4118 Leavenworth Trail, about two miles north of Love's. They cook Fridays and Saturdays starting at 10:30 a.m. until they sell out, so check their Facebook page for updates before you head over.
• Williams Old Style Bar-B-Que, Colbert, OK: owner Nick Williams knew P.O. Sam and used to swap firewood with him. Many longtime fans say his hot gravy comes closest to the original.
• Hickory House Bar-B-Que, Denison, TX: a downtown Denison favorite that's served its own darker, thicker brown gravy for decades.
• Perk's Bar-B-Que, Savoy, TX: owner Melissa Perkins grew up in Colbert eating sandwiches at P.O. Sam's after school, and makes her own peppery version.
• Fine BBQ, Sherman, TX and Bear's Smokin' BBQ, Denison, TX: two barbecue trucks keeping the brown gravy style alive.

Want to try it at home? Start with brisket drippings from your smoker, thicken them with a flour-and-water paste, and season with cayenne, black pepper, garlic and a splash of Worcestershire until it coats the back of a spoon. Texas Monthly published a full home version from Gary Carter in In Search of Brown Gravy Sauce.

Colbert, OK Today: A Small Town With Big Stories

Colbert sits in Bryan County, OK, just north of the Red River and a few minutes from Durant, OK, Denison and the Lake Texoma shoreline. It's the kind of small town where a barbecue stand can become a landmark and a Cadillac story can stay in circulation for decades. That character, plus easy access to Texas jobs and Oklahoma prices, is a big part of why buyers keep discovering this corner of Texoma.

If you grew up on P.O. Sam's gravy, or you're just discovering the stories behind the towns we love, we'd love to hear from you. And if you're thinking about buying or selling in Colbert, Durant or anywhere around Lake Texoma, Brian & Jonelle are always happy to help. Call or text (580) 217-7435. 💗

Sources

• Daniel Vaughn, "In Search of Brown Gravy Sauce," Texas Monthly, June 6, 2014 (cites the local history book Colbert, 1845–1982).
• Edward Southerland and Gary Carter, "Brown Gravy Sauce: PO Sam's Creation," Texoma Living! (2009), and reader memories in its comments.
• "Williams' Old Style BBQ," Texoma Living!
• Daniel Vaughn, "Perk's Bar-B-Que," Texas Monthly, 2014.
• "TM BBQ Club Newsletter," Texas Monthly, 2020.
• The Cadillac story is local storytelling passed along to us, not a documented record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was P.O. Sam of P.O. Sam's BBQ in Colbert, OK?

P.O. Sam was Samuel A. Flagg, a pitmaster who opened his barbecue restaurant in Colbert, Oklahoma in 1952 after running barbecue stands near schools in Paris and Honey Grove, Texas. He ran the Colbert restaurant until his death in 1985, building it into a well-known institution across the Lake Texoma region.

What is P.O. Sam's brown gravy sauce made of?

P.O. Sam's signature sauce was made from the drippings of meat smoked for roughly twenty-four hours, thickened with flour and broth, and seasoned with a list of spices he kept to himself. The exact recipe was never written down and died with him in 1985, though the brown gravy style remains a hallmark of North Texas and southern Oklahoma barbecue.

Is the story about P.O. Sam and the Cadillac true?

It's a story that was passed along to us: P.O. Sam had been cooking all day and walked into a Cadillac dealership in his overalls, ready to pay cash. The salesman didn't think he could afford one, so Sam took his business elsewhere and drove home in a new Cadillac anyway. We share it as local storytelling, not a documented record.

Is P.O. Sam's BBQ still open today?

No. P.O. Sam ran the restaurant until his death in 1985, and it has not continued to operate under his ownership since. One of the buildings that housed the restaurant, a white concrete block storefront on South Franklin Street in Colbert, was still standing when Texas Monthly visited in 2014.

Where is Colbert, OK located relative to Lake Texoma?

Colbert sits in Bryan County, Oklahoma, just north of the Red River and a short drive from Durant, OK and the southern shoreline of Lake Texoma, making it part of the broader Texoma region.