Where can you find the best BBQ in the US?

[Spy Car]

4 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Barbecue is the cooking device, the name of the event and sometimes the name of the food. It’s a flat gas grill that cooks hot and fast or occasionally a Weber style with more slow cooked stuff. It might have anything cooked on it but typically you would get some skewers with beef, chicken and veg, sausages, maybe lamb and steak. Definitely onion slices and possibly other veges like thin sliced potato, sweet potato, whole corn. Dh even does broccoli and asparagus. 

 

So you would say do you want to come over for a barbie? You would cook the food on the barbies. And you most likely would just call the food by name but you might called it barbecued.

This is very similar to what most Americans would casually refer to a BBQ, but people who are really into "real barbeque" would insist that such foods are "grilled."

For "real BBQ" the temps have got to be under 250 f/121 c, and more ideally no more than 225/107 and the foods cook for many hours.

Many great foods to enjoy both ways.

Real BBQ culture in the USA is its own thing. People who are into it tend to take it very seriously. And regional differences abound.

Bill

 

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, wintermom said:

Is sloppy joe and pulled pork bbq usually served in a bun or on piece of white bread? Is the bread supposed to be on the side, or to be used to hold the meat in? 

Sloppy joes aren't BBQ.   they're not even grilled.   

both are usually served in a bun - 

what kind of bread, and how it is served - is regional.

[SHP]

White owned and without Jazz:

Western Kentucky. The restaurant was on a slight hill overlooking a strange intersection layout in the middle of no where. It came highly recommended by the people at the genealogy center a couple counties away. We barely kade it before they closed and I was worried that the quality at the end of the day wouldn't be there. I was wrong. It was worth going out of our way for and I hauled home 3 mason jars of sauce. This was in 2018 so I am unsure if the place is still there. I am ever within 2 hours of it during opening hours I will take the detour.

 

Black owned with Jazz:

I am sorry, but I will need to do a bit of research involving a road trip to Kansas City. I promise that I will plan a trip to this year's Jazz festival (June 17-19) and will sample all the BBQ during the festival and report back. I will not be sharing.

[Spy Car]

Another thing that differentiates "grilling" from "barbequing" is that the former generally uses tender/expensive ingredients (like steak, or chops, or shrimp, or fish) that only require flash cooking, where barbeque takes inexpensive cuts (tough hard-working muscles) that are transformed by the cooking method.

Around my house I call methods that turn cheap ingredients into delicious meals "value added" meals. BBQ is one of those methods. 

All the classic BBQ items come from what are traditionally inexpensive cuts.

Bill

[Tanaqui]

Okay, so I don't know why nobody has said this - or why I missed it if they did say it! - but there is no "USA barbecue". Different places differ SO MUCH on what they call barbecue and what meats they typically barbecue and how they do it, to say nothing of ethnic differences. (And of course, some other regions have no real barbecue tradition.) So there's definitely no USA way of barbecue. You can talk about Texas barbecue, or North Carolina barbecue, but "USA"? No can do.

It's topics like this that remind us that the US is a really, really, really big country.

[Jean in Newcastle]

When I was in St. Louis for a week I think that I went to a locally famous bbq place at least 3 times that week.  So good! 

I am not from a region where there is a specific bbq tradition.   I like to eat different meats, different sauces, different rubs etc. depending on my mood.  I will say though that as a diabetic, I work hard to not make my bbq sugary even if that's not "authentic".  I am not going into a diabetic coma just for authenticity.  There is a Stubbs sugar free bbq sauce that I buy sometimes.

Oh and someone said that sloppy joe sauce comes from a can?  I make the sauce all the time.  No can required.  (Also work to tweak it to my dietary needs.) 

[DawnM]

We used to think BBQ meant any kind of meat cooked on a BBQ.   To us that seemed logical.   So when I went to my first BBQ in the South and they only served pulled pork, I was very confused.     I am a quick study though and I now have been properly educated.   😂  However, they take their sauces with pride and god forbid I ask for sweet sauce in SC or mustard sauce in NC and don't ever ask for "Carolina sauce" because you will get a different sauce depending on which area of "Carolina" you are in!   Vinegar based, mustard based, tomato based......OY!

I am going to go full sacrilege here and say that I don't even care for pork much at all.   I will eat it on occasion, but I don't go out of my way to eat it.   It just isn't my favorite thing.

DH will get 10 pounds of pork from Costco and cook it all day in the Komado Joe, then pull it apart and we have about 8 pounds of non-fatted meat from that and we freeze in one pound containers to use whenever.   I will eat some, it just still isn't my favorite.

[Ottakee]

5 hours ago, wintermom said:

Here's that 'weird to me' use of terms - hamburger bbq. I'd say, "My dh is barbequing hamburgers on the bbq," and the finished product is called a hamburger. BBQ is not part of the name of this food. If I grilled a chicken breast or cooked a whole chicken on the grill using a spit, I'd be serving barbequed chicken. 

What ingredients do you use to make hamburger BBQ, and what does the final product look like?

In our area of West Michigan a South Olive BBQ is ground beef Cooked and crumbled (like for a sloppy joe) but then it is mixed with a can of tomato soup, a can of chicken gumbo soup, a squirt of mustard and a spoon of brown sugar.  Served on a hamburger bun.

[Pawz4me]

LOL! What a dangerous question. You really could start a civil war over the "best" barbecue. Here in NC the war is between the two dominant styles -- 

• Eastern, which uses a vinegar and pepper/other spices based sauce with no tomato at all. The entire hog is used, and is typically served with mayo based slaw (coleslaw)
• Lexington, which uses a red (tomato/ketchup along with vinegar and spices) sauce. Only the pork shoulder is used, and it's typically served with "red" or "barbecue" slaw, which is exactly what it sounds like--slaw that uses barbecue sauce as a binder instead of mayo

Volumes of books have been written about the barbecue in NC, and I'm sure volumes of books have also been written about the barbecue in other states and regions.

So it's fairly obvious that's what's "best" is in the mouth of the taster. 😉 

I shudder when people refer to cooking on a grill as a "barbecue." No, no it is not. Never ever, I don't care what you're cooking on it. It's grilling. It's not barbecue.

[HomeAgain]

The best bbq is at our house. 😁  Ribs slow cooked with hickory chips for about 18 hours and basted with dh's secret homemade sauce, loaded potato salad, grilled corn, and apple-jicama slaw on the side.  Give me a nice cider to wash it down with and that's the perfect summer meal.

 

 

[Carrie12345]

26 years in NJ and 17 years in PA, and I cannot define a single regional “BBQ”. Because NJ and PA don’t have a style of barbecue, we simply grill, which CAN include varieties of regional BBQ, but doesn’t necessarily.
We might say we’re going to grill hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, etc., or that we’re going to smoke a brisket, do a pulled pork, cook some ribs, etc. But there’s still no telling whether there’s going to be a vinegar based sauce, super hot sauce, or whatever in between.
If we have a barbecue/cook out/grill, we have to specify what’s being made.  Well, I suppose we don’t *have to, lol, but no one will know what’s for dinner if we don’t.

Secretly, I don’t get all the hype. I enjoy just about anything cooked outside, but I don’t find all the hours of prep and watchfulness with special cookers, specific woods, and “perfected” sauces to be worth it. I am not a foodie. But, if other people are doing it all, I’m happy to eat what I don’t have to make!

[Ann.without.an.e]

I thought true bbq, as in pulled pork with sauce, was a southern thing? There is a difference between barbecuing, grilling out, eating something barbecued and the food with the single term BBQ. That can only mean slow cooked (preferably pit cooked) shredded or chopped pork (or beef) with sauce. When I was in high school, I worked at a BBQ restaurant and I had a few different people come through wanting to know what it was, like "what are you barbecuing? burgers? chicken?" 🤣. Being from the south my whole life, my first convo like that was frustrating. "It's, you know, just bbq." Them "yes but barbecued what?" I had never had to think through what exactly BBQ was, it was just...you know...BBQ. Not sloppy joes, not grilled chicken on the barbecue or burgers on a grill, it is just plain old BBQ. We call cooking anything on a grill "grilling" and not barbecuing by the way. Calling it barbecuing is unheard of and a culturally inappropriate thing to do.  I make it a lot of time in the crock pot actually. I make carnitas the same way but simply different seasonings and uses and sans the sauce. I put a pork butt in the crockpot in the morning, toss in some salt and pepper and garlic and let it simmer all day until is it fall apart. I then pull it apart into shreds. You then top it with bbq sauce. I prefer something not too vinegary but not too sweet either, in between is good for me. 

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by Ann.without.an.e

[Ann.without.an.e]

3 hours ago, DawnM said:

However, they take their sauces with pride and god forbid I ask for sweet sauce in SC or mustard sauce in NC and don't ever ask for "Carolina sauce" because you will get a different sauce depending on which area of "Carolina" you are in!   Vinegar based, mustard based, tomato based......OY!

 

 

I live on the NC side of the NC/SC border so we argue a lot about this topic. We are close enough to SC that they've influenced some of us lol. I like something between sweet and vinegary personally. The true vinegar sauces are just too vinegary for me. 

[Terabith]

Not only is there not a single USA bbq, but large swathes of the US doesn’t really have bbq.  Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, and the various Carolina styles are the main iterations.  

[mmasc]

Oh this is easy—no need for controversy. 
 

Texas.
 

Done. 😉😁

[kristin0713]

1 hour ago, Carrie12345 said:

26 years in NJ and 17 years in PA, and I cannot define a single regional “BBQ”. Because NJ and PA don’t have a style of barbecue, we simply grill, which CAN include varieties of regional BBQ, but doesn’t necessarily.
We might say we’re going to grill hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, etc., or that we’re going to smoke a brisket, do a pulled pork, cook some ribs, etc. But there’s still no telling whether there’s going to be a vinegar based sauce, super hot sauce, or whatever in between.
If we have a barbecue/cook out/grill, we have to specify what’s being made.  Well, I suppose we don’t *have to, lol, but no one will know what’s for dinner if we don’t.

NJ here also. We say all of this. My dad will say, "Come over for a BBQ!" and he will have several things on the grill, including BBQ chicken and ribs (i.e. the meat is basted and grilled in BBQ sauce) but also burgers and hot dogs. I don't often hear someone say, "I'm making BBQ."  I wouldn't really know what they meant. I have a friend that says "pork BBQ" but what she means is pulled pork. This is slow cooked and shredded with BBQ sauce. And brisket is a specific cut of beef cooked slowly at a low temp. I'm NJ born and bred, soon to be moving to PA, not a southern bone in my body 😂

[Lecka]

Texas.  I have had Memphis and Kansas City, and do not like them nearly as much.

It’s no surprise since I grew up eating Texas style 😉

Edited May 13, 2022 by Lecka

[Lecka]

Oh, I have had barbecue in South Carolina.  It’s good.  (I lived in Columbia for 2 years.)  

It’s pretty different from what are familiar barbecues to me, to the point that to me it’s like it’s not barbecue.  

They have a sauce with vinegar.

I definitely grew up around debates around if you can even call chili that has beans in it “chili.”  Texas chili (as I grew up with it) does not have beans.

People will still like chili with beans but don’t want it to be called just chili.  
 

This is not my thing at all, but there are people who will say chili with ground beef isn’t “real chili.”  It doesn’t mean they don’t like it, they just don’t want it to be called chili.  
 

Honestly I have heard the most debates around chili.

 

For barbecue I have a strong preference for saucy barbecue.  Dry barbecue is just strange to me.  I like it, it’s good.  But it is not what I think of as barbecue.  I believe Kansas City is the dry barbecue that I have had.  It’s good but it’s not my thing.

 

My number one is definitely brisket.  Also very popular are ribs.  

Edit:  oh, I also love pulled pork.  
 

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by Lecka

[MrsMommy]

Beast Craft BBQ, Belleville, IL

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

Just assume that Sticky Lips in Rochester has close to the most amazing BBQ you’ll ever taste, and you’re good.

The very best BBQ I’ve ever had was in a little hole in the wall diner in Shelby, NC, but Sticky Lips is a close second.

[Miss Tick]

16 minutes ago, MrsMommy said:

Beast Craft BBQ, Belleville, IL

Thanks! I'll be passing through at some point this summer, will definitely plan to stop!!

[wintermom]

7 hours ago, bookbard said:

A typical bbq would be sausages on a grill, in pieces of bread, with tomato sauce. Also called a "sausage sizzle". 

If you have more money people put on bits of steak or lamb chops. Always lots of fried onion. When we were growing up, you'd fry slices of bread too, yum. 

You can buy "barbecued chickens" from a BBQ chicken shop, but they're not really barbecued, they're more rotisserie chickens. Other than that, you don't really call the food anything (except sausage = snag).

I am surprised Americans don't know about American BBQ because it's on TV here all the time, there seems to be lots of American BBQ type cooking/eating shows! 

I cook pulled pork, you just cook it for a long time on slow heat for ages and add a tangy bbq sauce. Then you get two forks and 'pull' it apart (because it's so tender). But I wouldn't call it BBQ. I'd just call it pulled pork because I'm sure it's not authentic American BBQ! 

Thanks for the details. I'm not American, which is why I'm asking all the detailed questions. I'm Canadian. It's amazing how you can live so close and yet know quite little about some things. We used to joke that Americans coming up to Canada laughted at our colourful Canadian paper money. I used to wonder why paper money was ever referred to a 'green backs.' All US bills are the same colour green. Each Canadian bill is a different colour. 

[sweet2ndchance]

2 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

Eastern, which uses a vinegar and pepper/other spices based sauce with no tomato at all. The entire hog is used, and is typically served with mayo based slaw (coleslaw)

When I lived in eastern NC we called this a "pig pickin'". Typically a big gathering with lots of people. Always slathered in a vinegar-y sauce. I only lived there for a few years but I still crave it now and again.

Another typical side for eastern NC BBQ is Brunswick stew. I never developed a taste for that though lol.

[lmrich]

ya'll are cracking me up - Sloppy Joes as BBQ! I can't even imagine what would happen to the indvidual if she/he brought that mess to a BBQ contest😊

You can do brisket, pork, beef, it can be pullled and in a sandwich with sauce or no sauce, you have red sauce, white sauce, and my in-laws do a yellow sauce, you can have ribs, you can a sandwich or a platter... You must have amazing sides. Cornbread, Texas toast, little biscuits, coleslaw, beans, fried apples, corn on the cob, cucumber salad... Sweet tea is always on the menu (funny story, we went to this place in rural, rural, rural SC and I asked  for a  water -  they said they did not serve water! Apparently they had well water that tasted so bad they could not serve it!) 

People have their absolute favorite BBQ places and will drive for miles and miles to get to them. And they are not fancy - think wooden picnic tables and paper towels. And they should smell smokey and amazing. 

I can understand why someone from Canada would be confused. BBQ is very regional. I have never attempted to make real BBQ at home since I don't have a smoker or proper grill to do it. 

[wintermom]

7 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Barbecue is the cooking device, the name of the event and sometimes the name of the food. It’s a flat gas grill that cooks hot and fast or occasionally a Weber style with more slow cooked stuff. It might have anything cooked on it but typically you would get some skewers with beef, chicken and veg, sausages, maybe lamb and steak. Definitely onion slices and possibly other veges like thin sliced potato, sweet potato, whole corn. Dh even does broccoli and asparagus. 

 

So you would say do you want to come over for a barbie? You would cook the food on the barbies. And you most likely would just call the food by name but you might called it barbecued.

I'm learning so much on this thread! I now know the correct way to spell barbie. 😅 I'd only ever heard it said on TV.

The use of word barbeque / barbie sounds much more similar to Canadian than US. Although it sounds like saying, "I ate the best BBQ in Memphis last week" in the US has a very specific meaning. No one is eating a grill, and the actual food product they ate could be one of a number of things. Only people who've eated BBQ in Memphis knows for sure. 🤣

[cbollin]

If you can get to Memphis this weekend, there is the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (as part of Memphis in May).  bbq involves pulled pork, ribs, chicken is ok.  and at the contest you might find alligator.  but, Pig.  think Pig. pork.  chicken is permissible.  find news stories about the contest and you'll see videos of what bbq is.   It is the food of community.

I'm still laughing at the sloppy joes.  that's just so funny "I ain't got words".  ground beef with canned sauce.  nope.  and no, a grill in backyard is not bbq.  BBQ is a noun not a verb.

check out "it's a southern thing" youtube for "How to find the best BBQ in the south".  They make a really good case for Memphis and big cities not being the best. 

[Dmmetler]

I personally like Memphis style for Pork, Carolina for Chicken, and Texas for Beef Brisket. I will also say that I do not add sauce-I like dry rubbed pork ribs or brisket, then slow cooked, or marinated chicken or pulled pork. 

 

I will also say that in Memphis, literally every BBQ place advertises that they have the best x, and has a stack of competition wins to prove it. BBQ comps are a big fundraiser here, and there are specific standards and programs to become a judge for the big ones (which trickles down to the smaller ones).  Ultimately, it comes down to what you like. The restaurants that are most often recommended as places to bring tourists, etc are, IMO, not as good as some of the smaller, hole in the wall or takeout only ones. 

 

And, in Memphis, if you have the chance to pick the pulled pork, hot wings, or fried catfish on any institutional menu (hospital cafeteria, college food service, school cafeteria, etc), do so. Because if there is ONE thing that will be good there, that will be it. 

 

[wintermom]

7 hours ago, Ellie said:

Well, or sauce vs no sauce. Barbecue is a regional thing. In Texas, "barbecue" is a noun, not a verb (you have a cook-out in your backyard, not a barbecue), and "barbecue" is *always* brisket (beef). And it is not cooked *with* sauce; it's dry rubbed, and sauce is served on the side. Personally, I never use sauce. Bleck. In some parts of Virginia and No. Carolina, "barbecue" is what we call pulled pork. 

Ok, now I need to try Texas bbq without sauce. I'm not a huge fan of sauce, either. I like the taste of seasoned meat. Why would I spoil that with sauce?

I'll have a side of amazing sauce and just use a sponge bread to eat it. 🤣

[Farrar]

Adding that the BBQ sides are also regional. I was once in Tennessee with my California cousins. They had only ever had NC BBQ. We went out for Memphis style BBQ and cousin was like, "where's the hush puppies!?" and TN auntie was like, "no, hush puppies only go with fish." And all us NC folks had to be like, nope, hush puppies ALSO go with BBQ in NC.

And, of course, in Georgia, you get Brunswick Stew - which is not BBQ - at a BBQ place.

BBQ is so regional that NC has two totally different types - eastern and western. And in South Carolina, they put some sort of evil mustard concoction on their BBQ.

[Danae]

Just to complicate things, if you go to a restaurant that has a lot of choices for specialty hamburgers you might see a “BBQ burger.”  This is a grilled hamburger patty with topping that include at least BBQ sauce, but often pulled pork, smoked cheese, etc. 

[Farrar]

Also... in terms of the "best." I mean, it's super opinionated... but I'll just say it. ALL BBQ has the potential to be good. I don't care where it comes from. Sure, western NC BBQ from around Concord/Kannapolis has a special place in my childhood heart. But I've had BBQ from all over the country and if it's done well, it's good. And the best is more about the individual place and skill and quality of the meat than the style.

[wintermom]

27 minutes ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

Just assume that Sticky Lips in Rochester has close to the most amazing BBQ you’ll ever taste, and you’re good.

The very best BBQ I’ve ever had was in a little hole in the wall diner in Shelby, NC, but Sticky Lips is a close second.

That's really good to know. I only had room in my belly for the Texas brisket. I would have loved to try all the bbq on offer, though. 

[wintermom]

4 minutes ago, Farrar said:

Also... in terms of the "best." I mean, it's super opinionated... but I'll just say it. ALL BBQ has the potential to be good. I don't care where it comes from. Sure, western NC BBQ from around Concord/Kannapolis has a special place in my childhood heart. But I've had BBQ from all over the country and if it's done well, it's good. And the best is more about the individual place and skill and quality of the meat than the style.

Yes, exactly! I want people's strong opinion. The reason is because I've read on this forum that people will drive for miles and wait in really long lines at a gas station/bbq restaurant for a certain BBQ. Something must be extra special about this food to motivate that kind of behaviour. 😉 

Edited May 13, 2022 by wintermom

[cbollin]

19 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

And, in Memphis, if you have the chance to pick the pulled pork, hot wings, or fried catfish on any institutional menu (hospital cafeteria, college food service, school cafeteria, etc), do so. Because if there is ONE thing that will be good there, that will be it. 

 

truth!  that well known children's cancer hospital is featuring Leonards BBQ this week. dh had his pulled pork with mustard based slaw on top.

hushpuppies and BBQ? Where I've live, hushpuppies go with fish.   never knew other regions did that differently.  oooh...  could be fun to try. LOL

[shawthorne44]

10 hours ago, Spy Car said:

But real BBQ is low and slow, preferably using hardwood charcoal and smoking woods for flavor.

Amen!   

Best BBQ is easily Texas.  There are other places with good BBQ.   Kansas gets an honorable mention for their Burnt Ends.   The thing that makes Texas BBQ stand out is that the worst BBQ place in Texas has to rank at least an 8.5 on a 10 scale.  We went to what is supposed to be the best BBQ in Nashville and it was really good, but only about a 8.5.    NC is disgusting unless you are fond of vinegar.   In NC, I had to throw my food away even though I was hungry and I'm not a BBQ snob.   I assume BBQ anywhere else to be BBQ-ish.    Like how Olive Garden is Italian-ish.    The food can still be good, I just don't expect real BBQ.      It could happen outside of those areas.   For example, we ate at an amazing mom-pop Tex-Mex place in remote Indiana (of all places).   

 

[theelfqueen]

Well I grew up in Kansas City - so I'm gonna plug it. But I've had barbecue in a lot of places and I'm pretty fond of Memphis, too. My Texas experiences were lower on the list.

You should be able to smell the wood smoke when you walk up - often Hickory but other options can be good. 

My regional BIAS is strong - White sauce is not BBQ sauce. 

Edited May 13, 2022 by theelfqueen

[Carrie12345]

58 minutes ago, cbollin said:

I'm still laughing at the sloppy joes.  that's just so funny "I ain't got words".  ground beef with canned sauce.  nope.  and no, a grill in backyard is not bbq.  BBQ is a noun not a verb.

Hey, hey, hey! This northerner does NOT make sloppy joes with canned sauce.
(But I don’t call it BBQ, either, lol.)

[stephanier.1765]

For me as a vegan, the Urban Bean has the best BBQ pulled "pork" sandwich on the planet. It's in a wonderful drippy sauce that has you licking your fingers. And even though my son just took me there for Mother's Day, you have me already wanting to go back. Yum!

Edited May 13, 2022 by stephanier.1765

[elegantlion]

Kansas City is my preferred. Here are some of the top places in the city. When I was a kid, my dad used to bring home Arthur Bryants, yum. https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/food-and-drink/kansas-city-bbq--6-top-picks-you-wont-want-to-miss

There are plenty of BBQ places not on this list in the area, some better than others. 

 

[wintermom]

8 hours ago, Spy Car said:

Another thing that differentiates "grilling" from "barbequing" is that the former generally uses tender/expensive ingredients (like steak, or chops, or shrimp, or fish) that only require flash cooking, where barbeque takes inexpensive cuts (tough hard-working muscles) that are transformed by the cooking method.

Around my house I call methods that turn cheap ingredients into delicious meals "value added" meals. BBQ is one of those methods. 

All the classic BBQ items come from what are traditionally inexpensive cuts.

Bill

That makes a lot of sense. I grew up in Alberta, where our beef is excellent. I like it rare/medium rare, and it should be tender and the juices flowing red.

To me, BBQ sounds a lot like "salvaging tough meat to make it edible" prefected very, very excellently. 😉 

[HS Mom in NC]

Are you trying to pick a fight?

BBQ varies by region.  10 years ago we went to Washington DC from Arizona where we lived.  I flew with the little, husband drove with the older two, then tween and teen.  They had BBQ all the way across the 4 days they drove.

I know I'm over simplifying here for the sake of simplicity,  but American BBQ runs from more chili pepper based in the southwestern part of the SW, to more tomato based the farther east you go,  leading into more mustardy as you move to the Midwest and Eastern Southern states, to waaay more vingary in the southern states closer to the East coast. We had friends visit from AZ who didn't recognize BBQ sauce here in NC because it looked like salad dressing. They thought the waitress accidentally brought them something other than the BBQ sauce they requested. 

Our favorites are adovadas from the SW (hot red chili pepper based) and Memphis BBQ (sweet and tangy mustard based with a hint of heat.)

[wintermom]

4 minutes ago, HS Mom in NC said:

Are you trying to pick a fight?

BBQ varies by region.  10 years ago we went to Washington DC from Arizona where we lived.  I flew with the little, husband drove with the older two, then tween and teen.  They had BBQ all the way across the 4 days they drove.

I know I'm over simplifying here for the sake of simplicity,  but American BBQ runs from more chili pepper based in the southwestern part of the SW, to more tomato based the farther east you go,  leading into more mustardy as you move to the Midwest and Eastern Southern states, to waaay more vingary in the southern states closer to the East coast. We had friends visit from AZ who didn't recognize BBQ sauce here in NC because it looked like salad dressing. They thought the waitress accidentally brought them something other than the BBQ sauce they requested. 

Our favorites are adovadas from the SW (hot red chili pepper based) and Memphis BBQ (sweet and tangy mustard based with a hint of heat.)

I'm going to quote myself from a previous post:

"I want people's strong opinion. The reason is because I've read on this forum that people will drive for miles and wait in really long lines at a gas station/bbq restaurant for a certain BBQ. Something must be extra special about this food to motivate that kind of behaviour."

This shouldn't involve fighting, unless y'all are going to bust out into a fight while waiting for you favourite bbq.  

ETA: I'm also learning throug this thread that BBQ varies by region. If you don't ask the question, how are ya gonna learn, folks?

Edited May 13, 2022 by wintermom

[MrsMommy]

1 hour ago, SusanC said:

Thanks! I'll be passing through at some point this summer, will definitely plan to stop!!

You won't be disappointed!!!

[DreamerGirl]

Texas smoked BBQ.

DH and I generally do not eat beef. Not even steak. Our red meat of choice is goat.

But the rare occasions we do, it is lean brisket. 

And dear God, the sides. Creamed corn is so bad for you, but so good.

We grill a lot of meat. Chicken, fish, shrimp, goat but when you say BBQ, TX BBQ it is for me.

 

 

[Miss Tick]

43 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

For me as a vegan, the Urban Bean has the best BBQ pulled "pork" sandwich on the planet. It's in a wonderful drippy sauce that has you licking your fingers. And even though my son just took me there for Mother's Day, you have me already wanting to go back. Yum!

What state is this in? In case I'm passing through....

[wintermom]

2 minutes ago, DreamerGirl said:

Texas smoked BBQ.

DH and I generally do not eat beef. Not even steak. Our red meat of choice is goat.

But the rare occasions we do, it is lean brisket. 

And dear God, the sides. Creamed corn is so bad for you, but so good.

We grill a lot of meat. Chicken, fish, shrimp, goat but when you say BBQ, TX BBQ it is for me.

 

 

This is so great, especially coming from a lady origianlly from India, for me, the land of the original vegetarian. 😉 

I became vegetarian when I moved to Norway. I couldn't take the brutal meat they served up. Fish and seafood was amazing, but their beef just did not compare to what I was used to in Alberta. Once I moved back to Canada, I resumed my 'meatetarian' ways, thanks to Ruth Chris Steakhouse. ☺️  I've learned that there other great beef products outside of Alberta. 

[DreamerGirl]

Just now, wintermom said:

This is so great, especially coming from a lady origianlly from India, for me, the land of the original vegetarian. 😉 

I do love my veggies. But cooked with or as side with meat. 😋

Just now, wintermom said:

I became vegetarian when I moved to Norway. I couldn't take the brutal meat they served up. Fish and seafood was amazing, but their beef just did not compare to what I was used to in Alberta. Once I moved back to Canada, I resumed my 'meatetarian' ways, thanks to Ruth Chris Steakhouse. ☺️  I've learned that there other great beef products outside of Alberta. 

TX BBQ is something else. The smokey meat, falling off the bone, seasoned well. 😋

We don't eat Pork, so I do not know about that. But we have tried their chicken and Turkey too.

Some thanksgivings, we order turkey from the BBQ place until we discovered Cajun Fried turkey. So it is always a pull between those two.

Sausage is also supposed to be really good.

They also have something called chopped. All saucy and meaty.  It makes excellent sandwiches. 

[HS Mom in NC]

Anecdotally, my experience with people from the Midwest and Canada is that their heat tolerances are famously low. I've have food based social events with scores of each because AZ is a destination for snowbirds from both regions and here in NC we have sooo many Midwestern transplants. They've said so themselves because where I come from and interacted with most of them, heat tolerances are famously high (Mexican border food in the southwest.) The ones here are part of my Cuisine Ladies group that eats at different exotic food locations and they want to know from wait staff what the least hot foods are at Mexican, Thai, and Indian restaurants.  They'll usually ask if it's spicy, and their idea of spicy is much broader than people the southwestern part of the Southwest.

So, if you're going to try American BBQ, odds are lower that you'll like southwestern chili based ones unless you like spicy foods.  Sticking with Southern or Midwestern BBQ might be a better fit.  That includes Texas.  People accustomed to very hot chili pepper based BBQ tend to not like Tex-Mex, (people west of TX often don't recognize Tex-Mex as "real" Mex)  including TX BBQ because it's relatively bland.  It has less complex flavors, it's disproportionately smokey, and has a lower heat index.  I've had it often with my in-laws who like blander food so they go to BBQ places in PHX that have Texas style sauces. To me, it's like making out with someone who smokes. I've done that...not for very long.

[Carrie12345]

29 minutes ago, wintermom said:

I'm going to quote myself from a previous post:

"I want people's strong opinion. The reason is because I've read on this forum that people will drive for miles and wait in really long lines at a gas station/bbq restaurant for a certain BBQ. Something must be extra special about this food to motivate that kind of behaviour."

This shouldn't involve fighting, unless y'all are going to bust out into a fight while waiting for you favourite bbq.  

ETA: I'm also learning throug this thread that BBQ varies by region. If you don't ask the question, how are ya gonna learn, folks?

So does pizza, but you don’t hear quite as much fighting about it because the majority of the country has no idea that good pizza exists. 😉

Tacos can be another one.  I cannot get a great taco around here, and we mostly make White People Tacos at my house.

Bagels are also highly debatable.

 

[shawthorne44]

4 minutes ago, HS Mom in NC said:

Anecdotally, my experience with people from the Midwest and Canada is that their heat tolerances are famously low. ... They've said so themselves because where I come from and interacted with most of them

I've joked that I was born in Minnesnowda and that is why I think Ketchup is a tad spicy.