– Operation BBQ Relief is doing great work in tornado-damaged Rowlett:

– Restaurant owners, including those of Slow Bone and Lockhart Smokehouse supplied free meals to those affected by the storm in Red Oak.

– Chris Osburn traveled the American South to find his picks for the best barbecue in the country. Not surprisingly, there are a few from Texas.

– I talk with the Texas Standard about great barbecue on the edges of Texas.

– Barbecue roots:

 

– Guns Up BBQ enjoyed their visit to Cattleack Barbecue in Dallas. 

– My SA reviews King’s Hwy Brew & Q in San Antonio. They love the tortas and the beans. 

– BBQ Recon finds a lot to like at Opie’s BBQ in Spicewood. 

– Wide Open Country rounds up this humorous list of one-star reviews of famous Texas barbecue joints. 

– The Salt Lick is keeping the holiday fires burning with their Y’all Log:

– Bear’s Smokehouse in Hartford, Connecticut is making a difference in their community by bringing on employees with criminal records. 

– SI’s Andy Staples has a thing for Archibald’s ribs in Northport, Alabama. 

– The Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association released their 2015 State of the Barbecue Industry Report. They predict more barbecue in 2016. 

– Impressed with Corkscrew’s brisket:

 

– The Houston Press also loves the bone-in pork belly at Killen’s Barbecue.

– The Pappas BBQ location in Humble is closed due to a pit fire.

– J C. Reid tracks the fall and rise of the neighborhood barbecue joint in Houston.

– One of the pits caught fire at Quality Packers Smokehouse in Victoria, but it caused no major damage.

– No bones about ‘em:

 

– Barbecue Hall of Famer Steven Raichlen shares his year in barbecue. 

– Robert Moss reviews the barbecue stories of the year for Southern Living. 

– Ardie Davis of the Kansas City Star provided this long list of great barbecue books. 

– More than a year late, Cooper’s is almost ready to fully open in downtown Austin:

 

– Bodacious Bar-B-Q in Longview will be open five days a week starting in 2016.

– Mudd’s Good Eatin’ in Krum has permanently closed.

– Jambo’s BBQ will open a third location when they take over the old Arlington Steakhouse building.

– Lots of your favorite barbecue joints, like Kerlin BBQ have limited hours (or none) today and tomorrow, so be sure to call ahead before hopping in the car.

– Bill Woodrich, former bounty hunter, and current owner of Billy’s Oak Acres BBQ in Fort Worth goes on a Dallas morning show to discuss the capture of Ethan Couch:

– Mark Vamos of the Dallas Morning News said the smoked meats at Cattleack Barbecue were “easily some of the best I’ve ever tasted, anywhere.”

– Eater Dallas includes 18th & Vine BBQ in Dallas in its list of the biggest local restaurant openings of the year.

– The opening date for the new location of Heim BBQ in Fort Worth is March 3rd.

– Not the best combination of meat and fire: