Business
July 22, 2021
How This Sad Barbecue Tray Became a Meme, Then an Artwork, Then a Cash Cow
After years of online mocking by barbecue fans, “Brooklyn BBQ” is now being auctioned as an NFT. The starting bid is about $10,000.
BBQ News
BBQ
July 21, 2021
Mac’s Bar-B-Que in Dallas Will Close After 66 Years
The Dallas barbecue institution will serve its last chopped-brisket sandwich sometime next week. Proprietor Billy McDonald couldn’t be happier about it.
BBQ
May 27, 2021
Asian-Inspired Barbecue Restaurants Are Getting Their Shine
Plus: see how smokers are made and listen to a poem about Texas smoked meats.
BBQ
May 13, 2021
As Bodacious Bar-B-Q Temporarily Shutters, a Sunbird Rises
Plus: Valentina’s leaves Austin, and Arkansas gets its own barbecue trail.
BBQ
April 29, 2021
Texans Don’t Need to Worry About a Beef Ban
Plus: A must-read barbecue book and a great jobs resource for aspiring pitmasters.
BBQ
April 15, 2021
The Joy of #Meatposting
Plus: free bacon burnt ends, a new location for Smoke Sessions, and yet another project for Blood Bros. BBQ.
BBQ
April 1, 2021
A Legendary Tater Tot Casserole Recipe Is Finally Revealed
Plus: The new Austin FC stadium will serve local ’cue, and Young’s BBQ suffers a crisis.
News & Politics
March 31, 2021
Were the Texas Blackouts a Crime?
The February power outages were a deadly man-made disaster, but punishing those responsible may prove elusive.
BBQ
March 18, 2021
Mitch Davis, Beloved Waco Pitmaster and Preacher, Has Died at 64
His family plans to keep his barbecue joint-slash-convenience store open. Plus, restaurant owners reflect on a year of pandemic barbecue.
BBQ
March 4, 2021
A Barbecue Wood Shortage Is the Latest Side Effect of the Winter Storm
Plus: Meshack’s BBQ works to recover, Texas Twinkies, and 17,000 pounds of chicken.
BBQ
February 22, 2021
BBQ News Roundup: How Texas Joints Are Surviving the Deep Freeze
Plus, families grilling in the cold, gas-station barbecue recommendations, and a poorly timed opening week.
BBQ
February 5, 2021
Kevin Bludso Is Ready to Mentor the Next Generation of Pitmasters
One of television’s favorite pitmasters has signed on to Preserve the Pit, a fellowship that hopes to continue the legacy of Black barbecue.
BBQ
February 4, 2021
BBQ News Roundup: Welcome to BBQ University
New schools are offering multiple ways to learn how to be a pitmaster, plus a rocket scientist’s take on barbecue.
BBQ
January 21, 2021
BBQ News Roundup: West Texas Gets Barbecue on the School Bus
Plus, Snow's reopens, Killen's expands, and an honest pitmaster job posting.
BBQ
January 7, 2021
BBQ News Roundup: A McKinney Staple Forced to Close
Plus, Houston’s most anticipated restaurant openings for 2021, Fidel Castro in a cowboy hat, and the end of #BrisketGate.
BBQ
December 23, 2020
Dallas’s Back Country BBQ Community Is Helping a Pitmaster in Need
Plus, mask shirkers in Abilene and Greg Abbott's shocking barbecue tab.
BBQ
December 10, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: Massive Closures Are Coming for ’Cue Joints
A warning from the National Restaurant Association. Plus, Austin kicked off its annual 12 Days of Smoked Meat.
BBQ
November 28, 2020
A Celebrated Pitmaster on His Long Road to Recovery
Jordan Jackson once ran the pits at one of the best joints in the state—Bodacious Bar-B-Q, in Longview—but he says the drinking and the pressure were too much. Now he’s working for Aaron Franklin as he starts to rebuild his life.
BBQ
November 25, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: Last-Minute Thanksgiving Tips for Smoking a Turkey
Plus, pork processing plant managers behaving badly and $2,000 brisket.
BBQ
November 12, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: Thanksgiving Tragedy at Greenberg Smoked Turkeys
A fire at the meat processing plant means no turkey for 200,000 customers. Plus, Feges in Houston now ships nationwide.
BBQ
October 29, 2020
BBQ News: A Very Bad Take About Barbecue in America
Plus, our very own BBQ Fest culminates in a virtual backyard barbecue this Sunday.
BBQ
October 15, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: Want to Buy a Top 50 Barbecue Joint?
Hays Co. Bar-B-Que in San Marcos is for sale. Plus, Neely’s in Marshall closes after 93 years.
BBQ
October 1, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: A Fort Worth Restaurant’s New Online “Meat Locker” Sells Brisket to Smoke at Home
Plus: Texas A&M scientists used eye-tracking tech to help 1775 BBQ in College Station design a new menu.
BBQ
September 23, 2020
Blue Moon BBQ Is Back
The owners of the Hearne restaurant had planned to stay closed permanently, but reconsidered after hearing from loyal customers.
BBQ
September 18, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: John Mueller Has a New Joint, and Chris Shepherd and Aaron Franklin Have a New Beer
Plus: Look for a new hot dog cart from La Barbecue.
News & Politics
September 17, 2020
The Justice Department Has Fined Blue Bell More Than $17 Million for the Listeria Outbreak
It’s the largest penalty for a criminal food safety case in U.S. history.
BBQ
September 11, 2020
Bidding Adieu to Peggy Sue BBQ
The nostalgic Dallas restaurant was where I first fell in love with Texas barbecue.
BBQ
September 10, 2020
Two Austin Women Hope to Build the First Lab-Grown Brisket
The founders of BioBQ are designing a real-meat version of the Texas barbecue favorite—no animal slaughter required.
Tacos
September 10, 2020
Taco News Roundup: Get Your Texas Taco Merch, From Stickers to a Bun B T-Shirt
Plus: a cheesy dish that's half pizza, half quesadilla.
BBQ
September 3, 2020
Barbecue News: To-Go Tailgate Kits and the Return of Kerlin’s
Plus: a 17-year-old barbecue prodigy.
BBQ
August 20, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: ‘Chef’s Table’ Features Tootsie Tomanetz
Plus: are we ready for lab-grown barbecue?
News & Politics
August 14, 2020
Texas’s Lebanese Community Comes Together After the Beirut Explosion
Lebanese Texans have raised nearly $200,000 since the disaster, which shares similarities with two Texas explosions also caused by ammonium nitrate.
BBQ
August 13, 2020
A Barbecue Family’s Final Farewell
The butcher shop and barbecue joint, more than a century old, is finally shutting down (but not before giving us its mop sauce recipe).
BBQ
August 6, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: Brisket Tips and Barbecue Fraud
Plus: two new barbecue sauce lines launch.
BBQ
July 23, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: Meat-Cutting Robots and 3D-Printed Steak
Plus: Cananda misunderstands Texas barbecue.
BBQ
July 2, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: Get That Brisket To Go This Fourth and Learn More About American Barbecue
Plus: Subway's Pitmaster Ramone gets a shout-out from his boss at Sadler's.
BBQ
June 26, 2020
Louie Mueller Barbecue Is Back
The legendary Taylor restaurant has adapted to the coronavirus era with an abbreviated menu, larger outdoor patio, and other changes.
BBQ
June 19, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: Nearly 25,000 American Meatpacking Workers Have Had the Coronavirus
Plus, we celebrate pioneering black pitmasters on Juneteenth.
News & Politics
June 12, 2020
In Memoriam: Bartell Zachry Built a Global Business, but He Always Considered Himself a San Antonian—and an Aggie
The longtime leader of his family’s engineering and construction firm, Zachry leaves a legacy of volunteer work and philanthropy.
BBQ
June 5, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: Supporting Black Pitmasters and Mourning Louisville’s David McAtee
Plus: Houston gets a new barbecue joint.
BBQ
May 28, 2020
Aaron Franklin Will Be the Next Texan to Join the Barbecue Hall of Fame
The honor comes as his business struggles to break even during the pandemic.
BBQ
May 21, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: Don’t Mess With Brisket
Plus: coronavirus surcharges, the pork crisis, and the inevitable branded masks.
BBQ
May 7, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: James Beard Awards, Meat Shortages, and Restaurant Reopenings
Plus: please stop wringing out the brisket.
BBQ
April 28, 2020
Tejas Chocolate & Barbecue Is Still Innovating
Business has been slower during the pandemic, leaving co-owner Scott Moore with extra time. He used it to create original new dishes.
BBQ
April 24, 2020
Dallas Restaurants Band Together to Feed First Responders—and Pay Food Workers
Started by the pitmasters at Pecan Lodge, the Dinner Bell Foundation will deliver 2,300 meals on Friday alone.
BBQ
April 23, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: Donations, Temporary Closings, and Reopenings Across the State
Plus: A recipe for smoked brisket on a charcoal grill in response to our challenge.
BBQ
April 22, 2020
In the Heart of Texas Oil Country, Pody’s BBQ Is Determined Not to Go Bust
As his oil field customer base disappears and brisket shipments decline, pitmaster Israel "Pody" Campos is relying on lessons learned from the past to help weather the pandemic.
BBQ
April 15, 2020
BBQ News Roundup: Where to Find Takeout, Who Is Giving Back, and Which Places Are Closed for Now.
Plus: They're back! Joints that have reopened in some capacity.
BBQ
April 8, 2020
Barbecue Joint Owners Grapple With Payroll Relief
The problematic launch of the $349 billion relief program has small-business owners scrambling to figure out the rules.
BBQ
April 8, 2020
BBQ News: Where to Get Barbecue for Easter
For this special edition of our biweekly roundup, we look at what joints are doing this weekend.