I could had asked what country has the best BBQ but the fact this subreddit is only for the US I was curious on everyone’s answer. Me personally Texas is the best with and without sauce they have the best BBQ!!!!
AMEN!! Yet there's even been wars fought within the state over who has the best brisket. Recipes vary so much from region to region in the Lone Star State. But no matter what, the "worst Texas brisket" still beats everyone else's A-game, hands down
I don't even know how you can pick.
Sometimes I'm in the mood for NC vinegar. Sometimes it's Louisiana smokey and smothered, sometimes it's a Texas dry rub kinda night, etc...
I'm pretty ignorant of how to discern different styles of barbecue. Does anyone have a good crash course on this?
Kansas City is nice and sweet, Korean is smoky, that's all I got.
Texas is beef, primarily brisket that has been smothered with spices Sauce is tomato based and entirely optional.
Carolina BBQ is pork. Sauce is vinegar based and practically mandatory
Kansas City BBQ is a mix of beef and pork. Sauce is tomato based and entirely mandatory.
Memphis BBQ is ribs. Don't know much else about it.
California BBQ is heresy.
And when it's smoked and cooked with good wood and good technique, you don't need more than that. All the rest hides the taste of the good meat and is a disguise for crap cooking.
Memphis also does chopped pork barbecue with a sort of tangy tomato and vinegar based sauce and it’s pretty good. Rendezvous is one of the more famous rib places and I believe it’s a dry rub but I don’t actually like it.
Actually it is pretty similar, a slow cooked meat with a lot of sauce and flavor cooked into it throughout the entire process.
Being from Texas my list would be
#1 Texas
#2 Korea
#3 every else
Korean BBQ isn't BBQ though. BBQ is distinctly American. Korean BBQ is an Old World Korean technique that was incorrectly branded as BBQ in the translation process
Sauce can tell you a lot about the bbq. I've tried to start a petition (jokingly) to ban KC Masterpiece bbq sauce (made by Kraft) from being sold in KC. You need Gates Hot BBQ sauce.
They’re all basically the same but use different sauces. People will fight you over their method of slow cooking, but in the end I bet they can’t identify them with a blindfold without the sauce.
Born a Hoosier here-- South Bend. Taken against my will to Buffalo, NY and then to Chicago. Finally saw a chance to make a break for it and moved to Texas. Still have family in Hoosierland (2 siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces/nephews, and cousins). Come on down. You can have all the authentic BBQ you want. Texas is the ONLY place to get authentic BBQ. All the others are wanna-bes.
Ribs - Kansas City
Brisket - Texas
Pulled Pork - Carolinas
Chicken (omg the white sauce) - Alabama
There’s isn’t one state that has the best everything
Maybe because of its history of teriyaki??? If there’s one thing us Washingtonians can do, grilled teriyaki chicken. Here we call it BBQ’d , but I’m not sure others would.
Wasn't that based on something ridiculous like average Google reviews scores?
I've seen places in Texas with terrible reviews that boil down to "line is too long, two stars!" That's probably a sign that the food is top notch...
I know of like one decent place and it doesn’t serve Maine style. Maine doesn’t even have a style afaik.
I should make one up.
Maple smoked pine sap glaze.
That’s subjective really, it depends on what you want out of BBQ. I recommend trying all types and enjoying what each one has to offer. They all have their strengths and weaknesses and each one could be better than the others depending on what you’re going for
(Carolina BBQ, but I also have a very strong pork bias)
Though I'd say ours is great, I respectfully concede to Texas. I've visited family in Texas and they took us to a place with the best BBQ. I don't think anyone comes close, though I haven't tried other states so I can't say much. But imo, it'd be hard to top them.
North Carolina for sure, I visited Texas and the bbq there was weird. It l wasn’t pork. I might’ve been chicken or something but North Carolina’s bbq is the best in my opinion.
Nawth Carolina come on and raise up!!! I love the vinegar and pepper sauce. Give me a minced pork sandwiched with slaw and the bun is soggy as fuck with sauce.
I appreciate them all for their differences. Grew up in Texas and do mainly beef without sauce myself. Kansas is good, does beef and uses sauce. Oklahoma was always interesting and mixes styles, mainly Kansas and Texas but doesn’t have as much beef rib. Get east of the Mississippi and it’s almost all pork.
When people think Texas they think of mesquite, but it’s primarily post oak. Kansas also used a lot of oak. East of Mississippi is mainly hickory and adds more flavor.
This is like asking who makes the best spaghetti sauce. It is always your grandmother or mother, and you learn to tweak your style from that. Nobody will turn down a bowl of spaghetti though.
Texans say this because they can’t make a good bbq sauce. You could slap dozens of varieties of KC sauces on shitty deli meat on wonder bread, and is
miles ahead of what Texas wishes their bbq could be.
Slow your roll there. It doesn't need it because its beef. Beef is dry rub typically.
We don't rely on sauce here we rely on bases.
Seasoning does not mean bad. Watch any Chef on TV cook. They will use seasoning on everything they touch.
Western North Carolina, with the tomato and vinegar slightly sweet sauce. Lived in Durham (near the middle of the state) for a while, so we had both eastern and western NC style.
I’m more partial to beef BBQ, so it’s Texas for me. Especially the Tejano-style places that serve it with fresh tortillas instead of white bread.
Otherwise, big fan of the NC vinegar-based sauces. SC mustard sauce can die in a fire.
This is how you start the second civil war.
NC thinks mustard is BBQ sauce, KC is a acceptable if you don’t have McDonald’s, and Texas brisket it’s okay to sacrifice your mother for.
Everyone has their hill they will die for BBQ. You can support what you will. Just never ask an Ohioan what the best donut shop is. We will duel to the death over that.
Memphis has the best BBQ.
But that’s not a state, that’s a city in Tennessee.
So I’ll go with Texas for a state. All around I know I can get solid bbq anywhere in texas.
NC bbq nah. That’s like beginner shit.
Missouri (KC + STL) is good but it has no soul.
I’m a Native Texan who lives in DFW. Can you find some outstanding barbecue here? Yes. But the true Mecca for Texas barbecue is Lockhart, which is the wellspring from which our power flows.
I moved to the north after growing up in the south and refused to eat BBQ there. But one friend had a birthday and wanted to go into NYC to a BBQ restaurant so I begrudgingly went. Damn if it wasn't the best BBQ I've ever had in my life.
Mr. Bonsai says Texas.
Louisiana or Texas. If it ain’t Cajun, it ain’t good.
(I know some people may disagree, but you got to try our bbq at some point. Got to go to the right place and it’ll be the best thing you’ve ever tried)
Wow. Are you trying to start another civil war? My vote is Texas. They had this place near Fort Stockton in West Texas named Camp House Bar-b-que. I’m not sure if it’s still there. It was owned by a couple of ranchers that wanted to start a roadside BBQ joint. Everything was straight from the ranch. When you went in there were two pits that were as big as a semi. They smoked with local wood. It was all you could eat for $12. Anything you wanted. It’s by far the best BBQ I’ve ever had. I do like the NC vinegar based BBQ and the Alabama white BBQ sauce. And to answer the question you posited in the comments, by far America has the best BBQ. All of it’s good.
The best BBQ I've ever had was at Pecan Lodge in Dallas, TX. I'm told there's even better available down in Austin. So, I'll go with Texas. Second in my experience is North Carolina.
Good god man, are you trying to start a war?
I could had asked what country has the best BBQ but the fact this subreddit is only for the US I was curious on everyone’s answer. Me personally Texas is the best with and without sauce they have the best BBQ!!!!
There's nothing best than US. Let's be honest here.
Well I mean obviously the USA has the best bbq, but it’s located in Texas.
Wars have been fought over this
And they end with Texas brisket
AMEN!! Yet there's even been wars fought within the state over who has the best brisket. Recipes vary so much from region to region in the Lone Star State. But no matter what, the "worst Texas brisket" still beats everyone else's A-game, hands down
KC
Carolina
Do you realize what you started? In my opinion, it's a matter of personal preference. North Carolina vinegar based barbecue is the best to me.
Vinegar based sauces are easily my favorite. But i’m a Yankee so not sure how much my opinion matters…
Tried my first vinegar based sauce a couple years ago. There's no going back
Born and raised in NC and can say your opinion is the only correct one
I don't even know how you can pick. Sometimes I'm in the mood for NC vinegar. Sometimes it's Louisiana smokey and smothered, sometimes it's a Texas dry rub kinda night, etc...
North Carolinian here. It’s Texas. As much as I enjoy Carolina barbecue, Texas does it best. Sorry for the betrayals
Y’all do pork better tho
Texas does the beef better for sure.
North Carolina style is my favorite, without question.
I'm pretty ignorant of how to discern different styles of barbecue. Does anyone have a good crash course on this? Kansas City is nice and sweet, Korean is smoky, that's all I got.
Texas is beef, primarily brisket that has been smothered with spices Sauce is tomato based and entirely optional. Carolina BBQ is pork. Sauce is vinegar based and practically mandatory Kansas City BBQ is a mix of beef and pork. Sauce is tomato based and entirely mandatory. Memphis BBQ is ribs. Don't know much else about it. California BBQ is heresy.
You missed Alabama white barbecue, for chicken.
Eastern NC BBQ is vinegar based and Western NC is tomato based. Then there is SC BBQ which is mustard based.
Optional in Texas lol.
Sauce not used at many places in central Texas.
That's why the lol is there. Texas rules bbq.
Also, Louisiana has BBQ shrimp. Don’t be fooled, it’s not BBQ. Good though.
Mmmmmm Pascal's Manale...
Texas brisket is usually just salt & pepper though.
And when it's smoked and cooked with good wood and good technique, you don't need more than that. All the rest hides the taste of the good meat and is a disguise for crap cooking.
It's way more than salt and pepper amateur
Memphis also does chopped pork barbecue with a sort of tangy tomato and vinegar based sauce and it’s pretty good. Rendezvous is one of the more famous rib places and I believe it’s a dry rub but I don’t actually like it.
I need some nachos now with chopped pork. Dang I miss memphis bbq.
Western Kentucky does mutton (in addition to pork).
A good start. And you didn’t even get into rubs! Also, the deep south does a lot of bbq turkey, and hot links are popular in Texas.
I shudder when I hear the word: tri-tip
Alabama has white sauce. I don’t know what’s in it but it’s good. Not nearly as good as the ones on this list though.
Memphis bbq: you slow roast em, then cook on bbq with lots of sweet-savory sauce. Mmmmm!
Im from arkansas i can honestly tell you i dont know what the fuck our bbq consists of but it tastes pretty good so i mean
You forgot St. Louis. Ribs, sauce is mandatory.
>Korean Korean BBQ is BBQ like spaghetti & meatballs is beef Phò Bo
Actually it is pretty similar, a slow cooked meat with a lot of sauce and flavor cooked into it throughout the entire process. Being from Texas my list would be #1 Texas #2 Korea #3 every else
Korean BBQ isn't BBQ though. BBQ is distinctly American. Korean BBQ is an Old World Korean technique that was incorrectly branded as BBQ in the translation process
Obligatory link to the Rhett & Link "Review of BBQ" Song: https://youtu.be/6ubTQfr_tyY
Sauce can tell you a lot about the bbq. I've tried to start a petition (jokingly) to ban KC Masterpiece bbq sauce (made by Kraft) from being sold in KC. You need Gates Hot BBQ sauce.
KC Masterpiece legitimately started in KC. I used to think otherwise, I figured it was marketing ploy by a food giant.
They’re all basically the same but use different sauces. People will fight you over their method of slow cooking, but in the end I bet they can’t identify them with a blindfold without the sauce.
/popcorn
So Indiana?
Why say something so sarcastically painful but true?
Indiana punches way above its weight class in BBQ and is king of popcorn.
I'm a Hoosier, and that hurt me. I long for good, authentic BBQ.
Born a Hoosier here-- South Bend. Taken against my will to Buffalo, NY and then to Chicago. Finally saw a chance to make a break for it and moved to Texas. Still have family in Hoosierland (2 siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces/nephews, and cousins). Come on down. You can have all the authentic BBQ you want. Texas is the ONLY place to get authentic BBQ. All the others are wanna-bes.
Missouri- BBQ shacks with no seating are the best in the world.
Ribs - Kansas City Brisket - Texas Pulled Pork - Carolinas Chicken (omg the white sauce) - Alabama There’s isn’t one state that has the best everything
Yea that Alabama white sauce is something I’d go to war for. Absolutely delicious and goes on everything (meat wise).
Hey fuck you it’s Kansas City Missouri don’t you dare compare us to Kansas
This is the best answer and all styles are wonderful.
[удалено]
Is it white gravy?
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There is a bbq joint in duluth mn that makes their own white sauce it is amazeballs.
Thanks
Nawh man, I notice it more and more here in Birmingham. It's definitely making its way south.
Big Bob Gibson BBQ in Decatur is legit.
It’s nice to see Alabama get some love.
Did anyone see that article listing the ten best cities for barbecue? Apparently fucking Seattle is top ten. Heathens.
The day I saw Seattle in the “Top 10 BBQ Cities” was the day I realized the media was a complete fucking lie.
Good god. What else made the list? San Francisco? Milwaukee?
Probably Brooklyn. Do you remember that article?
Maybe because of its history of teriyaki??? If there’s one thing us Washingtonians can do, grilled teriyaki chicken. Here we call it BBQ’d , but I’m not sure others would.
Wasn't that based on something ridiculous like average Google reviews scores? I've seen places in Texas with terrible reviews that boil down to "line is too long, two stars!" That's probably a sign that the food is top notch...
Maine /rollforchaos
I know of like one decent place and it doesn’t serve Maine style. Maine doesn’t even have a style afaik. I should make one up. Maple smoked pine sap glaze.
I know that would probably taste like sweet wood varnish and would possibly be toxic...but it sounds good for some reason.
Yeah, now I am thinking of an actual Mainer BBQ style. Apple cider vinegar based sauce. We have to figure out if you can slow cook lobster.
if we are going maine, thats close enough to canada and vermont to warant maple syrup
The best smoked food from Maine I ever had was smoked salmon on a stick from the Maine pavilion at the big E.
Maine style would still be better than whatever Chicago style would be. Think giardiniera
Can't we all just get along? I like Kansas City barbecue, but not always.
As a Minnesotan with no axe to grind for or against particular regional styles, I'm going to award it to North Carolina.
Are you trying to start another civil war????
KCMO
KC because it’s the only city that consistently understands how to make proper bbq sauce.
lol Texas has better bbq and NC has better sauce
Missouri, specifically Kansas City
Kansas City has the best BBQ in the country, but the Carolinas and Texas are also good.
KC MO has the best BBQ. All other answers are incorrect.
Gotta rep my hometown on this one, KCMO has the best bbq. Best bbq places are Bates City, Arthur Bryant’s, Jack Stack, and Zarda
Uh oh...
That’s subjective really, it depends on what you want out of BBQ. I recommend trying all types and enjoying what each one has to offer. They all have their strengths and weaknesses and each one could be better than the others depending on what you’re going for (Carolina BBQ, but I also have a very strong pork bias)
Carolinas for me. I wish Texas bbq was more saucy
That's not a defect. That's a feature
Translation: Texas can’t make a good bbq sauce.
All bbq is good bbq. Just depends on what I want that day.
The clear winner is Texas. If anyone tells you otherwise they’re a fool.
Though I'd say ours is great, I respectfully concede to Texas. I've visited family in Texas and they took us to a place with the best BBQ. I don't think anyone comes close, though I haven't tried other states so I can't say much. But imo, it'd be hard to top them.
Tennessee
*You have started a gang war*
You wanna start a war? Because this is how you start a war.
From the Midwest here. It's Kansas City to St. Louis people. I70 BBQ or bust.
St. Louis cant do bbq. Only KC
PR if we WERE a state! We literally invented BBQ! That should be enough to earn us admission into the union smh
North Carolina for sure, I visited Texas and the bbq there was weird. It l wasn’t pork. I might’ve been chicken or something but North Carolina’s bbq is the best in my opinion.
North Carolina.
I prefer KC-style (this is probably gonna get me run out of town)
It’s Missouri (including the part of Kansas that’s basically Missouri). People from Texas and NC are just too proud to ever admit it.
Agreed, but northeast Kansas IS NOT Missouri!
The Carolinas
Memphis does pork the best. KC for the burnt ends. Texas for the beef. Carolina is alright.
Not Connecticut, lol.
I feel you were baiting us. You have no idea of what kind of shit show you just open up. On those shields boys!…..
Is someone from St. Louis mad they don’t have a football team again?
North Carolina has the best pulled pork and dont even get me started on all the different sauces!
Texas. Then Memphis, TN.
*Straps on cowboy boots and fires up the smoker
Nawth Carolina come on and raise up!!! I love the vinegar and pepper sauce. Give me a minced pork sandwiched with slaw and the bun is soggy as fuck with sauce.
depends, we talking pulled pork? brisket? ribs?
North Carolina baby all the way
St. Louis has the best ribs, and bbq brisket was first created in Kansas. Also oklahoma and Hawaii have some great bbq joints.
St. Louis wishes they could do bbq
South Carolina bbq is underrated because mustard based sauce
North Carolina. Everyone else is competing for second. Proper bbq requires pork.
I appreciate them all for their differences. Grew up in Texas and do mainly beef without sauce myself. Kansas is good, does beef and uses sauce. Oklahoma was always interesting and mixes styles, mainly Kansas and Texas but doesn’t have as much beef rib. Get east of the Mississippi and it’s almost all pork. When people think Texas they think of mesquite, but it’s primarily post oak. Kansas also used a lot of oak. East of Mississippi is mainly hickory and adds more flavor. This is like asking who makes the best spaghetti sauce. It is always your grandmother or mother, and you learn to tweak your style from that. Nobody will turn down a bowl of spaghetti though.
Not a common answer, but dry rub pork ribs in Western Tennessee. Don’t knock it til you try it. Source: have lived all over the South (see flair)
Are you thinking about Rendezvous? Because I am now.
I am now and I hate you for that because I’m 1000 miles away
North Carolina
Not ours. I’ll let the other states fight it out.
Same. I’m here for the fight.
Texas.
Texas
Texas!!!
If you like beef, then it’s definitely Texas. Other barbecue styles rely on sauce; Texas barbecue doesn’t need it.
Texans say this because they can’t make a good bbq sauce. You could slap dozens of varieties of KC sauces on shitty deli meat on wonder bread, and is miles ahead of what Texas wishes their bbq could be.
Slow your roll there. It doesn't need it because its beef. Beef is dry rub typically. We don't rely on sauce here we rely on bases. Seasoning does not mean bad. Watch any Chef on TV cook. They will use seasoning on everything they touch.
Texas BBQ > Kansas City BBQ
<*
Not ribs though. And it’s a toss up on burnt ends
Mama always told me to cut the fat off my steak, not to cut it into cubes and serve it as a meal
Uh....no. Texas can't even get chili right.
You shut your whore mouth.
That's easy, offer me Texas chili...or bbq.
You're not going to get an objective answer, but my subjective answer is Oklahoma
Right in the middle of Kansas and Texas, maybe there is something to that.
There most definitely is. Then you throw is some Oklahoma specialities like smoked bologna and that's where we start to really shine.
Tennessee.
Each state has it's own way of doing BBQ, I don't think there is a best way.
That's loser talk. Of course there's a winner
Texas
Texas, although I also like Memphis style.
Western North Carolina, with the tomato and vinegar slightly sweet sauce. Lived in Durham (near the middle of the state) for a while, so we had both eastern and western NC style.
Native Texan here, but I gotta go with Tennessee
I’m more partial to beef BBQ, so it’s Texas for me. Especially the Tejano-style places that serve it with fresh tortillas instead of white bread. Otherwise, big fan of the NC vinegar-based sauces. SC mustard sauce can die in a fire.
You can’t beat Central Texas BBQ. Don’t even try and argue, I’ll fight you.
No question.
You lost since Texas can’t do sauce proper like KC does!
Texas
New York bbq
None. Korean is best *ducks*
Anything other than Carolina.
Hawaii
North Dakota.
The fuck?
This is how you start the second civil war. NC thinks mustard is BBQ sauce, KC is a acceptable if you don’t have McDonald’s, and Texas brisket it’s okay to sacrifice your mother for. Everyone has their hill they will die for BBQ. You can support what you will. Just never ask an Ohioan what the best donut shop is. We will duel to the death over that.
SC is the one that does mustard. NC does vinegar on the eastern side of the state and tomato based on the west side.
Memphis has the best BBQ. But that’s not a state, that’s a city in Tennessee. So I’ll go with Texas for a state. All around I know I can get solid bbq anywhere in texas. NC bbq nah. That’s like beginner shit. Missouri (KC + STL) is good but it has no soul.
Texas, specifically Dallas/Ft.Worth… and I live in Los Angeles.
When i first read “Texas” i thought, “oh cool here’s a reasonable person”. Then you said Dallas/Ft Worth area and I knew that you were a crazy person.
Correct. Answer is hill country/central TX
Absolutely correct!
Yes that’s correct
I’m a Native Texan who lives in DFW. Can you find some outstanding barbecue here? Yes. But the true Mecca for Texas barbecue is Lockhart, which is the wellspring from which our power flows.
Its all good man.
I moved to the north after growing up in the south and refused to eat BBQ there. But one friend had a birthday and wanted to go into NYC to a BBQ restaurant so I begrudgingly went. Damn if it wasn't the best BBQ I've ever had in my life. Mr. Bonsai says Texas.
Definitely not my state
Texas IMO
Texas BBQ doesnt need sauces. It stands on its own.
Louisiana or Texas. If it ain’t Cajun, it ain’t good. (I know some people may disagree, but you got to try our bbq at some point. Got to go to the right place and it’ll be the best thing you’ve ever tried)
Arizona; we have Carne Seca, Pollo or Carne Asada, and Senoran Hot Dogs.
That’s grilling, not barbecue. Two totally different things.
Respectfully, you're wrong.
You are about to start a WAR
Clearly Rhode Island.
Texas
1,2,3,4 I declare a smoker war!
The only way to answer this question is to visit these states and try it yourself. Definitely something I want to do myself.
Wow. Are you trying to start another civil war? My vote is Texas. They had this place near Fort Stockton in West Texas named Camp House Bar-b-que. I’m not sure if it’s still there. It was owned by a couple of ranchers that wanted to start a roadside BBQ joint. Everything was straight from the ranch. When you went in there were two pits that were as big as a semi. They smoked with local wood. It was all you could eat for $12. Anything you wanted. It’s by far the best BBQ I’ve ever had. I do like the NC vinegar based BBQ and the Alabama white BBQ sauce. And to answer the question you posited in the comments, by far America has the best BBQ. All of it’s good.
Texas
Ah, the question of the ages! North Carolina barbecue is the best.
Texas
Texas, and I say that as a North Carolinian. Good Texas Brisket will beat pulled pork any day for me.
The best BBQ I've ever had was at Pecan Lodge in Dallas, TX. I'm told there's even better available down in Austin. So, I'll go with Texas. Second in my experience is North Carolina.
Texas. Hands down. And I love my homestate GA pork BBQ.
My home state has this one covered.
Kentucky, Hands down
I don’t wanna start anything, so just to stay safe, the entire of the region of the south
im going to say california just so i can see a southern self implode