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Food

Humble brag: Of the 33 'best BBQ joints in America,' 9 are in Texas 

UPDATED 9:33 a.m. on May 16, 2018: This story was published in October 2017, but we're bringing it back to celebrate National BBQ Day.

It's not a contest. It isn't. Well, OK. Maybe it is.

Of the 33 barbecue restaurants listed in Thrillist's "Best BBQ Joints in America" list, nine are from the great state of Texas. Our state has some of the best barbecue in the world, Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn might tell you. Seems like Thrillist's writers might just agree.

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The list includes barbecue joints from all over the country, not just in the South and Midwest, though it's mostly a who's who of barbecue royalty in the Carolinas, Tennessee, Texas and Kansas & Missouri. The addition of Hometown Bar-B-Que in Brooklyn -- say it! "New York CITY!?"  -- makes it an outlier.

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One barbecue joint in Texas, Truth, was lauded by Thrillist for its Instagram game. Barbecue in Brooklyn? Instagram? It sure is a trendy time to be into barbecue.

Check out Thrillist's full list here. Or take a look at the highlights from the 9 Texas hot spots:

Black's Barbecue in Lockhart: "Smell the history in the long skinny hallway leading up to the butcher," the article says, "and don't miss out on the beef rib -- they claim to be the ones who popularized it."

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Cattleack Barbeque in Dallas: This rising star is "one of several places raising Dallas's barbecue profile to full on destination." Hey, thanks!

Franklin Barbecue in Austin: Duh. This place for "barbecue obsessives" had to make the list.

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Gatlin's BBQ in Houston: Get one of everything, Thrillist says. But don't miss the dirty rice.

La Barbecue in Austin: Because it's located in a convenience store, the article says, "Best believe you'll never taste a better slice of brisket just a few feet away from a refrigerator stocked with Gatorade and Monster Energy drinks."

Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor: It has "permanent legend status" and is run by Wayne Mueller, "the Socrates of barbecue."

Pecan Lodge in Dallas: These pros sell "one of the smokiest briskets in the country, packing so much mesquite flavor that each bite that you'll need a moment to compose yourself before biting into another explosion of beef dripping with fat."

Snow's BBQ in Lexington: The article lauds Miss Tootsie Tomanetz, one of the state's only -- and best -- female pitmasters, as "barbecue Superwoman." True.

Truth BBQ in Brenham: "The brisket's a must, but the jalapeño cheddar sausage puts Texas's legacy cased meat purveyors to shame. There may be no juicier link in the state. Bonus points for their meticulous plating, which is guarantee to rack up the Instagram likes."

You're hungry now, aren't you? Find a barbecue joint in D-FW near you.