– Happy New Year, or did they run out of hickory?

 

– Between Disney World and Disney Land, they’ve sold two million smoked turkey legs in 2013. They all came from Yoakum Packing in Texas.

– A proposal to tax meat consumption to lower the demand.

– And how much beef do we eat? Beef Stakes is a project to help us visualize our intake by state.

– Manic American shares a video of their barbecue travels:

 

– Andrea Adelson is a college football writer for ESPN. She came to Austin for a Longhorns game, but left with memories of the El Sancho sandwich from la Barbecue. 

– Hometown BBQ in New York is on the best new restaurants list from First We Feast. 

– The Oregon Ducks football team loaded up on Rudy’s BBQ before the Alamo Bowl game in San Antonio:

 

– Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque in New York is listed as one of the NYT best restaurants of 2013. Critic Pete Wells does a little Texas BBQ name dropping in his write-up. 

– Robert Sietsema also liked Mighty Quinn’s enough to put their brisket sandwich on his list of the best sandwiches in New York. 

– Other Northern food critics are already turning on barbecue. New Yorker critic Adam Platt says barbecue joints have “become an outright plague” in his end of the year list of trends he is done with. 

– In response, Mighty Quinn’s announced a new location – in Jersey. 

– Terry Black’s BBQ in Austin is under construction, and they’re making progress:

 

– A feature on Austin’s Kerlin BBQ along with a little Texas BBQ history.

– This reviewer really likes Danny’s Little Taste of Texas, a barbecue joint in Connecticut.

 

Thrillist rib photo
Rib-eater photo from Thrillist

– Thrillist gives some bad dating advice by telling guys to avoid ribs while dining out. They use a photo from John Mueller Meat Co. in Austin. I say take your date there, and they aren’t a keeper unless they know to appreciate a good rib.

– Hey Thrillist, Lambert’s in Austin is called the perfect date-night barbecue by USA Today. One point for USA Today.

– A BBQ riff on Matthew 7:3

 

– Just don’t forget to bring the barbecue sauce home from the store, or you may get bitten in the nose.

– In an interview with photographer Robert Seale, he mentions that he always wanted to do a big portrait book of barbecue, until Wyatt McSpadden came out with his Texas BBQ book.

– An Austin ramen joint is sourcing their brisket from Lockhart:

 

– A new Whole Foods in Austin will feature “Japanese ramen with a Texas BBQ twist.” – smoked brisket. 

– USA Today provides their list of the best barbecue competitions in 2013. 

– Hays Co. BBQ in San Marcos has moved to a new location:

 

– Pork Barrel BBQ ranked the 25 Most Influential People in BBQ. The “Backyard BBQer” took the top spot. 

– The Dallas blog Central Track has named Pecan Lodge their restaurant of the year. The write-up includes an interview with Justin Fourton about their new space. 

– OinknMoo BBQ trailer in Dallas had some engine problems for the past couple of weeks, but they’re roaring to go now:

 

– A Georgia barbecue joint called KC Pit BBQ is closed after federal agents determined it was a money laundering cover business for a lucrative cocaine dealer.

– A trailer mounted Pitmaker smoker was stolen in Alice, Texas.

– A Corpus Christi barbecue joint gave away barbecue to the homeless over the holiday.

– This New York Times journalist with a well publicized case of gout knows how to eat, despite the ailment, when in Texas: