– A profile of Vera’s Backyard Bar-B-Que in Brownsville, the best barbacoa in Texas.

– A “Meat Cloud” has detrimental affects on the New York Times’ office, but the bacon cloud seems to be harmless.

– Smoked tofu? Must be SXSW:

 

– Ironworks BBQ in Austin “is average Texas barbecue,” says the Smoking Ho. 

– A bunch of companies hawking meat substitutes at a SXSW panel tell us that – surprise – their products are the way of the future. 

– A profile on Ray’s BBQ in Houston, where they like their meat real smoky. 

– An interview with Shane Stiles and Lance Kirkpatrick of Stiles Switch in Austin. 

– Jimmy Kimmel came to Austin and ate some great barbecue: 

 

– Franklin Barbecue and Dominque Ansel met and traded a Cronut for brisket. They also made a sandwich, or maybe they made two. Either way, does it really take two Eater stories to cover this “event?” 

– Here is Franklin Barbecue by the numbers, with a bonus barbecue sauce recipe. 

– Food critic and author Ruth Reichl had her barbecue epiphany in Austin….at Franklin Barbecue. 

– The Houston Fed blog also shares a piece on barbecue revelations and education. Franklin gets a lengthy mention there too. 

– Texas Monthly is bringing some Texas pitmasters to Brooklyn for a BBQ Pop-up on 3/27. 

– There was even more barbecue for Jimmy Kimmel yesterday:

 

– How to best cook a hog, piece by piece. Of course, when the directions come from a New Yorker not nearly enough of these cuts are suggested for smoking.

– A guide to hog breeds, both for pets and for food.

– Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) isn’t going away on its own. The pork industry has a strategy to stave off the spread of the disease, but pork prices will likely rise.

– Fries cooked in brisket fat at Freedmen’s Bar in Austin:

 

– What does Amazing Grace sound like when sung by a bunch of famous Southern pitmasters? Find out here.

– Are you in North Carolina and searching for some barbecue-related events? Here you go.

– In Kansas City, it’s all about the barbecue rubs. I guess the meat is secondary, or maybe tertiary after the sauce. Anyway, there’s a rub recipe in there too.

– John Lewis of la Barbecue entered the barbecue competition at Rodeo Austin. He ended up taking home first place in brisket:

 

– “It’s easy to talk about ‘this place or that place has been really important to me,’ and then you realize the last time you ate there was two years ago.” A great read on restaurant preservation from Hanna Raskin.

– Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor had cut back their hours to be closed on Monday to allow for staff training. The training must be done because they are now back open on Mondays.

– The Daily Meal provides their list of the best barbecue chains in the country. To choose Dickey’s over Rudy’s as a representative of Texas barbecue is shameful.

– Riscky’s Barbeque started as a grocery store, and they delivered groceries in a truck back then. That old truck is being restored, so maybe BBQ deliveries are in the near future:

 

– Gas Monkey Bar & Grill has opened a second location. This one is in DFW Airport.

– Hutchins BBQ in McKinney has announced plans to expand to Collin County.

– Kreuz Market will open a second location in Bryan, Texas before the end of the year.

– Can you find the brisket?:

 

– President Obama and Vice President Biden are divided by their preferences for barbecue sauce.

– In Florida, a business called Boca Shorty’s has been outlawed from selling smoked brisket at their restaurant. God bless Texas.