You just can't talk about Texas without talking about barbecue. This year, we covered just about everything you could think of when it comes to good ol' fashioned barbecue from how to turn a keg into a grill to the best homemade barbecue sauces you can make at home. As we look back on 2017, things definitely changed in the barbecue world.
Some of it was humorous, and some of it was heartbreaking, but as we round the corner to 2018, it seems that everything worked out just fine in the end.
9. Ed Aiton's 3,600th barbecue meal
It was a regular Thursday for most folks, but on June 22, Ed Aiton logged his 3,600 barbecue meal at Tyler's Barbecue in Amarillo.
8. All about La Barbecue
It was a big year for barbecue joints, especially those in the Austin-area. From announcing the opening of a West Coast location, writer Jessi Devenyns spoke with LeAnn Mueller on what was like growing up as barbecue royalty and how her family influences her decisions at her own joint today.
7. Our extensive barbecue trivia guide
Everything you have ever wanted to know about Texas barbecue, in one place. For instance, did you know that the first mention of American barbecue wasn't from the South? It was from Massachusetts. Surprise! There are 36 more facts where that came from...
6. The Franklin Barbecue fire & recovery
On August 25, as Hurricane Harvey made landfall, wild weather caused a wind-blown ember to ignite several buildings at Franklin Barbecue. With $200,000 of structural damage, we weren't sure when Franklin would reopen his beloved joint.
However, a few days before Thanksgiving, he announced that Franklin Barbecue would resume regular service at its location. How often does such a tragic story come to a happy end?
5. Remember when The Wall Street Journal told Texas to step aside for NYC barbecue?
In May, The Wall Street Journal published a story declaring New York City as the next big barbecue scene and let's just say it was the headline heard 'round the Lone Star State. Many of you felt strongly about the declaration and made your opinions clear in the comments section. Lesson: No one messes with Texas barbecue.
4. The 10 best brisket sandwiches in Texas, maybe?
Much like every opinion piece on the internet, this list of the best brisket sandwiches from USA Today was perfectly fine with some of you. The other half of you were just plain incensed with the choices. Do you still push back against the rankings?
3. Texas Monthly's list of the 10 best barbecue joints
Every four years, the staff at Texas Monthly hit the road in search of the genuinely best barbecue in Texas. No stone is unturned, no shop is missed, on their hunt and in 2017, they released a new list.
We saw some familiar faces, as well as some newcomers that splashed onto the scene when the rankings were published.
2. That time Eater called NYC a Barbecue Capital
It seems like 2017 was the year to provoke Texans via barbecue, and boy did it work. Eater sent a tweet that won't soon be forgotten in March, declaring NYC as being well on its way to barbecue capital status.
Naturally, Texans were having none of it, and the responses we found on Twitter were so hilarious, we couldn't help but share.
1. Texas' controversial Barbecue Bill
Ultimately, our most popular barbecue story in 2017 wasn't a collection of the best sandwiches or the most interesting facts. In fact, it was our reporting on the Barbecue Bill introduced into the Texas house this year.
House Bill 2029 focused on removing regulations that required restaurants that sell food by the pound to use a visible, registered scale. While some of you agreed with the concept in the practice of transparency, others felt it was too invasive of a law for small business owners. To learn more about the bill, check it out here.
