Whether you like your BBQ pulled or chopped, smoky or sweet, sauce or no sauce, dry rub or wet rub, one thing we can all agree on is that BBQ brings people together.
American barbecue is a broad term for meat cooked with dry heat, generally either grilling or smoking. The meat is cooked for a long time at low temperatures, tenderizing it through the Maillard reaction. American barbecue places emphasis on the quality of its ingredients and the technique used to prepare and cook the food.
American barbecue can be differentiated from other regional styles by its use of pork, high-quality beef, and wood smoke; its dominance in Kansas City, Memphis, Texas and North Carolina; and the use of sweet sauces.
The four traditional American styles:
- Carolina-Style Barbecue – The tradition of cooking whole hogs over pits with wood coals goes back to colonial times. This style is most often associated with eastern North Carolina, where the meat is served with a vinegar-based sauce.
- Texas-Style Barbecue – Texas barbecue usually features beef brisket, sausage or ribs that are smoked over post oak or pecan wood for long periods of time.
- Kansas City-Style Barbecue – Kansas City barbecue is similar to Texas but uses a sweet tomato-based sauce.
- Memphis-Style Barbecue – Memphis barbecue uses pork shoulder cooked over high heat for long periods of time until the meat falls apart on its own.
Carolina Barbecue
A regional style of barbecue found in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. It’s not as famous as Texas-style barbecue or even Memphis-style barbecue, but it’s just as delicious.
Photo by Sebastian Coman Photography on Unsplash
Carolina-style barbecue is characterized by a vinegar-based sauce that’s both sweet and tangy, and often features a tomato base. The pork butt (actually, the pork shoulder – often referred to as a “butt” because is it butted up against the body, as opposed to the “shank” of the leg, out by the toes) is rubbed with spices, slow cooked over hardwood charcoal, and served chopped or sliced with a side of coleslaw and hushpuppies.
There are several different types of Carolina barbecue restaurants:
- Chop shops are the most common type found throughout the state. They’re modeled after traditional Southern meat markets where you can buy whole hogs and have them cut into slices by an employee behind the counter. These joints typically serve chopped pork sandwiches with slaw on white bread or hamburger buns.
- Hog roasts are another popular type of Carolina barbecue restaurant that serves pulled pork sandwiches along with other smoked meats like ham, chicken and turkey legs. You often find these types of restaurants near college campuses where students can get cheap meals at lunchtime instead of fast food chains like McDonalds or Burger King
Texas-Style Barbecue
The term “Texas barbecue” has no real meaning outside of the Lone Star State. However, it does refer to a type of cooking process in which meat is slow-smoked over indirect heat at low temperatures for several hours until tender and juicy. Like most types of barbecue, it can be made with beef, pork or both — though most Texans will tell you they prefer beef over pork in their smoked meats.
Photo by Israel Albornoz on Unsplash
The most common type of barbecue in Texas is beef brisket, which is rubbed with salt and pepper and then cooked over indirect heat for several hours. The result is tender, juicy meat that needs just a little bit of sauce to help cut through any residual fat.
Texas barbecue tends to be unseasoned, but it’s not uncommon for restaurants to offer a variety of sauces alongside their meats — red sauces tend to be sweeter while brown sauces have more bite.
Texas barbecue is usually served with sides such as potato salad, coleslaw and macaroni salad, but may also include beans and cornbread depending on where you buy your meat from.
Here are some of the top Texas style barbecue restaurants in the Dallas area:
- Smoke It Up BBQ – This restaurant serves up all kinds of smoked meats including ribs, wings and pulled pork sandwiches. The restaurant also serves up burgers, hotdogs and salads if you’re not in the mood for barbecue.
- Ray’s BBQ Shack – Ray’s BBQ Shack serves up traditional Texas style barbecue as well as Tex-Mex dishes like tacos and nachos. They also offer specials on drinks during happy hour every day from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m., so you can enjoy a cold beer along with your meal!
- Pecan Lodge – Pecan Lodge specializes in brisket but they also serve up ribs, sausage, pulled pork and other traditional Texas barbecue favorites like chopped beef sandwiches and beef tacos!
Kansas City-style barbecue
A regional style of barbecue that originated in Kansas City, Missouri. It is distinct from other Southern styles of barbecue because it uses a sweet tomato-based sauce instead of the vinegar and pepper sauces found in other regions. The sauce is usually served on the side so that people can add it to taste.
The term “Kansas City-style” refers to the way meat is prepared, not the type of meat used. However, pork and beef are popular meats for this style of cooking.
Usually served with an array of side dishes known as “fixins” (which may include coleslaw, potato salad, beans and corn). These ingredients are prepared separately from the meat so that people can create their own combinations known as “platters”.
Kansas City-style barbecue uses a variety of meats, such as beef brisket and ribs. The meat is smoked over hickory or mesquite wood, which gives it its distinctive taste. The sauce is tomato based with some molasses added for sweetness.
Here are four popular Kansas City barbecue restaurants:
- Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque – This restaurant is known for its famous “burnt ends,” which are meaty pieces of brisket that have been smoked a second time. The flavorful meat is served with Arthur Bryant’s signature sauce, which is tangy and slightly sweet. The restaurant also serves pork ribs, pulled pork sandwiches and other items.
- Cody’s Original Roadhouse BBQ – This restaurant serves Texas-style barbecue with brisket and sausage links as the main attractions. It also serves chicken wings, onion rings and other sides such as potato salad and coleslaw.
- Danny Edwards Big Apple Barbecue – This restaurant has been serving Kansas City barbecue since 1965. It offers beef brisket, pulled pork sandwiches and pork spare ribs among other foods on its menu.
- Jack Stack Barbecue – This establishment focuses on beef brisket but also offers pulled pork sandwiches as well as ribs. Jack Stack Barbecue also serves sides such as baked beans, coleslaw and cornbread muffins or cornbread sticks to accompany your meal when you visit this popular Kansas City barbecue joint
Memphis-style barbecue
A unique American cuisine that originated in the city of Memphis, Tennessee. It consists of pork ribs and chicken, smoked slowly over indirect heat for many hours. It is a subtle blend of sweet and spicy flavors, with a dry rub that is usually applied to the meat before smoking.
The dry rub for Memphis-style BBQ can be made from a variety of ingredients such as red pepper flakes and paprika, but the most important ingredient is brown sugar. Brown sugar helps give the meat its distinctive flavor as well as tenderizing it during cooking. The original Memphis Barbecue Sauce was developed by Leonard Heuberger in 1938 at his restaurant on Beale Street called Leonard’s Pit Barbecue.
Memphis is known for its barbecue. And here’s the thing: it’s not just about ribs and pulled pork. Memphis-style barbecue is a whole lot more than that, and it can be found all over town.
In fact, there are so many places to eat in Memphis that you’ll want to make sure you don’t miss any of these awesome barbecue joints on your next visit.
Here are some of our favorites:
- Central BBQ – This place has become a local institution since opening in 2004, and it’s easy to see why. Central BBQ serves up delicious sandwiches and sides, but their ribs are what stand out most for us!
- Cozy Corner – The Cozy Corner is another great stop if you’re looking for a casual lunch or dinner downtown. Their pulled pork is amazing, as well as their coleslaw!
- Hog Heaven – Hog Heaven has been around since 1999 and they’ve been serving up great BBQ ever since. Their ribs are fantastic (if you like them spicy), but we also love their pork sandwich!
- Paynes Bar-B-Q – Paynes serves up some of the best ribs in town (they’re even better than Central BBQ’s). If you’re looking for something else on their menu, try their catfish
Conclusion
I hope this has piqued your interest in all of these barbecue styles, and the regions that favor them. If you have the opportunity to try any of them, I highly recommend doing so. It’s always awesome to try something new and different, especially when it comes to food!
Photo by Scott Madore on Unsplash
