In case you missed it, the James Beard Foundation named its semifinalists, and three pitmasters made the list in the regional “Best Chef” categories: Samuel Jones from North Carolina, Rodney Scott from South Carolina, and Texas’s own Tootsie Tomanetz from Snow’s BBQ in Lexington.

Brisket, oxtails, and boudin in Houston:

 

Is Pappas Delta Blues Smokehouse “the next generation of Texas BBQ?”

Women in barbecue are finally getting the limelight they deserve, says the Houston Chronicle.

Is a two-hour line in 37-degree weather worth it for some great Texas barbecue? Linsey Thut of The Daytripper thought so at Pecan Lodge. Who’s gonna tell her she could have used the Express Line for the Trough?

Smoked brisket with mole proves difficult for a home cook:

 

There’s a new barbecue food truck in San Antonio, but this one, named Cow Tippin BBQ, is housed in a converted airport shuttle.

Pollos Asados Los Norteños served San Antonio’s best mesquite-grilled chicken before it was forced to close by TCEQ last September. They plan to reopen in a couple weeks.

A Waco barbecue joint owner was arrested on prostitution charges stemming from a hidden camera at a massage parlor.

Have you seen this man?

 

SXSW is coming up later this month, and the Smoking Ho has released a guide to barbecue in Austin.

BBQ Recon headed to Pflugerville and found themselves impressed with the barbecue at Brotherton’s Black Iron BBQ.

Aaron Franklin, of Austin’s Franklin Barbecue, talked to Munchies about his upcoming Hot Luck Festival and the soon-to-open Loro in Austin.

The one that got away:

 

There was a time, a century ago, when the hippopotamus was seen as the answer to an American meat shortage. Praise was given to the flavor of their fatty brisket, and the meat was affectionately referred to as “lake cow bacon.”

In 1932, James and Zelma Graham opened Graham’s Rib Station in Springfield, Missouri. They survived the Depression and chose not to segregate their restaurant.

You’ll want some teeth to eat this beef: