– The World’s Championship Bar-B-Que at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo crowned a new champion:

 

– Darren Warth of Smokey D’s BBQ was the runner up:

 

– Here’s a full write-up on the event from the Houston Chronicle.

– The Houston Chronicle has the details on Pinkerton’s BBQ, coming to Houston in August.

– The jump from competition barbecue to owning a barbecue joint can be challenging says J. C. Reid of the Houston Chronicle.

– The Houston Press chats with Trent Brooks of Brooks Place BBQ in Cypress.

– Texas BBQ Treasure Hunt has some high praise for Pappa Charlie’s BBQ in Houston.

– A chart for smoking meat:

 

– The Alabama Tourism Department has launched the Year of Alabama Barbecue. 

– There’s a full website devoted to Alabama barbecue including a documentary trailer and a BBQ finder app. 

– Snead’s BBQ in Kansas City has been going strong since 1956. 

– There’ll be some serious BBQ experiments going on at SXSW:

 

– Memphis’s Melissa Cookston, a successful barbecue competition cook and a barbecue joint owner, is profiled on CNN.

– Craig David Meek shares his Memphis underrated barbecue favorites with First We Feast.

– Murphysboro, Illinois claims to be the state’s barbecue capital, but not everyone agrees.

– Brisket cheesecake:

 

– Meat satire from McSweeney’s: Caleb’s Humane Meat, where “most of our meats come from small farms upstate on the weekends, back to their apartments in the city for the week, and then back upstate unless they have to travel for work.” 

– On the controversy, or non-controversy, at a barbecue competition in Alabama where teams were asked to take down their American flags. 

– A profile of Michael Twitty who travels the country to demonstrate antebellum cooking methods including barbecue. 

– Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s prime minister, had two elephants killed, among other animals, for his birthday barbecue over the weekend. 

– A few BBQ road trips from Austin:

 

– A barbecue competition held for the last thirteen years in La Vernia, Texas won’t happen this year.

– The Granary ‘Cue & Brew gets some love from the San Antonio Express-News.

– ESPN baseball analyst had a great meal at Franklin Barbecue and shared the experience on his personal blog.

– Burger Mary says “If you only have time to visit one traditional, iconic and outstanding barbecue joint in Texas, Louie Mueller Barbecue should be it.”

– On the origins of banana pudding:

 

– The Dallas Observer talks to local pitmasters about what woods they prefer. 

– Later this month, Fort Worth Food & Wine will kick off with a barbecue at Billy Bob’s Texas. 

– Thrillist includes BBQ on the Brazos in Cresson, Texas in their list of the best breakfast tacos in Dallas/Fort Worth. 

– They’ve built a fully loaded BBQ (grilling) van in Japan:

 

– The Smoking Ho tried Willie’s Bar-B-Q in Austin, and didn’t find much to like beyond the boudin. 

– Full & Content provides this guide for eating around Austin with kids, and includes a few barbecue options. 

– Clem Mikeska of Clem Mikeska’s BBQ in Temple, Texas is profiled in the local paper. 

– Already adept at handling smoked meat on the pit, John Lewis tried his hand as a Waffle House griddle master: