The Juneteenth holiday has always been closely tied with barbecue. Charleston food writer Robert Moss provides a history of barbecue’s role in emancipation celebrations.

Moss also profiled Memphis pitmaster Desiree Robinson, who recently became the first black woman to join the Barbecue Hall of Fame.

Eats Beat reminds Fort Worth barbecue fans about Lee’s Bar-B-Q, a black-owned restaurant north of town that’s been going strong since 1989.

Brisket prices are coming down, but this deal out of Fort Worth seems crazy:

Chef Edward Lee closed his MilkWood restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, to make way for the the McAtee Community Kitchen, helmed by chef Nikkia Rhodes to honor the memory of slain pitmaster David McAtee.

On the foundation of Houston barbecue:

Thrillist says these are the best Houston area barbecue joints for takeout, which I guess just means these are the best barbecue joints in the Houston area.

A new barbecue joint in Fort Worth has an unusual specialty item. Big Boyz Pit Smoked BBQ is known for its smoked chicken salad.

A report commissioned by the Independent Restaurant Coalition suggests that up to 85 percent of independent restaurants are at risk of permanently closing by the end of 2020.

I talked to the Matador Network about what defines Texas-style barbecue. With so many variations, it comes down to the beef.

The most influential women in barbecue:

Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor has reopened, and they’re hiring. They’ve been shipping barbecue, but the restaurant had been closed since late March.

Liberty BBQ in Round Rock has also reopened after temporarily closing its doors in mid-April.

A new H-E-B store has opened in South Austin, and it includes Austin’s first location of the True Texas BBQ chain.

A sausage photo that’ll make you want to go to Puerto Rico:

Oak’D Handcrafted Barbecue, a new barbecue joint coming to Dallas, will open in August.

Also in Dallas, Oak Highlands Brewery will host a Backyard Brisket Competition on Saturday, June 27. All the smoking will be done at competitors’ homes, and the briskets will be delivered for judging at designated turn-in times.

What’s the difference between freezer paper and the butcher paper, or peach paper, that pitmasters use to wrap their barbecue? Oren International, which manufactures butcher paper, has the answers.

Small-scale meat processors are looking for financial relief:

As Tyson and Smithfield were warning the American public about meat shortages, the industry giants were exporting more pork to China than they had in years.

“The nation’s meatpackers along with federal and state officials have for years planned for pandemic flu outbreaks that could wipe out herds and flocks and threaten America’s food supply. But those efforts focused on animals rather than the army of humans—mostly immigrants, refugees and African Americans—hired to slaughter them and cut them up for restaurants and groceries.” – ProPublica

“Coronavirus outbreaks at U.S. meatpacking plants continue to soar as the beleaguered industry ramps up production,” says the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.

At least 24,715 American meatpacking workers have been infected with the coronavirus, and at least 86 have died, according to Mother Jones. Meanwhile, Europe has had only 2,670 cases and four deaths linked to the virus in meat plants.

A Tyson poultry worker is asking the company to slow line speeds for chicken processing:

John Lewis of Charleston’s Lewis Barbecue describes how he tells the difference between good and bad barbecue: “You should like it. More than that, it shouldn’t be dried out or crumbly. It shouldn’t seem like it was reheated. Personally, I like a nice bark on the outside.”

Revenue is down at Heirloom Market BBQ in Atlanta, but they’re in better shape than most restaurants thanks to their thriving takeout business.

A snapshot of Memphis means barbecue, and Payne’s is a good place to start:

“One of my earliest memories is my father cooking a whole hog in a refrigerator,” NASA rocket scientist and barbecue enthusiast Howard Conyers told Bon Appétit.