Love BBQ? Of course you do. Everyone does! The practice of smoking meat over an open fire has been around for as long as people have known how to summon the flames and needed to eat meat, but almost certainly, it was the good old United States of America that perfected it – and continue to perfect it. It’s an art – anything that is marinated and slow-cooked for anywhere between three to 14 hours has got to be an art, there is color and delicateness and an ecstasy involved in the process and consumption. There are centuries in the making, and recipes handed down from generation to generation, and it’s so good it very often doesn’t even need to be packaged, because it is truly of the people.
Welcome to America: here are ten fantastic barbecue cities for you to salivate over.
Brooklyn, New York. Nobody should be surprised that Brooklyn is on this list. Say what you want about hipsters, but they are thorough in their processes, innovative to carve their own way and very into small batch. What sets Brooklyn apart from their Southern barbecue buddies is that Brooklyn has a very specific mandate towards supporting a sustainable environment and forming partnerships with local farms. They also have a lot more money and a younger clientele.
Atlanta, Georgia. In Atlanta, big city slickers can have their fill of the smoked stuff too. Every year around August, about 50 teams from backyard barbies to professional restaurants gather at Atlantic Station and compete for the title of Atlanta’s Best BBQ. Atlanta might not have its own style, but their chefs come from all over the South to hack it in this large metropolis.
Nashville, Tennessee. Music and meat – that’s what you get in Nashville. Lesser known as a barbecue spot, there are a ton of diverse grill spots serving up everything from hand-pulled chicken topped with white BBQ sauce to smoked Boston turkey, St. Louis ribs and Tennessee pork shoulder.
Dallas, Texas. Dallas’ rough and tumble nature lends itself very well to its barbecue style, which sees beef and pork smoked over hickory, savagely cut and thrown on a bun with a tomatoey sauce. That’s just tradition, but as these things go, each restaurant throws in something new.
St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis has carved a name for itself in the world of barbecue – as far as American smoking styles go, their pork ribs are close to the holy grail and deep smoked pig snout (or a “crispy snoot”) is just regional standard fare.
Austin, Texas. Best known for music and barbecue, Austin is a can’t-miss on the barbecue trail. From fine-dining to truck stop, every smoker adds their own spin and style to the traditional sweet and tangy tomato-based sauce.
Lockhart, Texas. Thirty miles south of Austin is the little town of Lockhart, with only four barbecue joints – but those four places pack a punch. Seriously, no trip through Texas is complete without a stop in Lockhart.
Lexington, North Carolina. Pork is the game in Lexington, a small town just an hour’s drive northeast of Charlotte, where a regional favorite is the wood-smoked pork shoulder, coarsely chopped and topped by a mostly vinegar based sauce – those who know their way around a Lexington grill often order it with some outside brown, which means more flavorful extra bark from the meat) and sometimes extra dip, which is just the word for the thinner sauce. Another Lexington trademark is the Red Slaw, coleslaw that’s swapped out the mayo for BBQ sauce. There’s a lot to the Lexington scene, which is why the city throws an annual Barbecue Festival to celebrate it.
Kansas City, Missouri. Saying that Kansas City, Missouri, is a pretty good BBQ destination is like calling Beethoven a pretty good composer from the Romantic period. The ‘cue may not have originated in Kansas City, but certainly the style changed irrevocably as soon as Arthur Bryant set up shop blocks away from the Kansas City Blues and started the tradition of slow-cooking pork and beef ends over a mix of hickory and oak before a splash of the signature sauces. That was about a hundred years ago, and it’s still the respected pioneer of KC Style, which uses more molasses in the sauces and hickory smoke.
Memphis, Tennessee. Dry rubbed but never dry, Memphis has one of the most amenable while simultaneously distinct styles in American Barbecue. Sauce on the side, of varying bases (tomato, vinegar, or mustard depending on the place), ribs cut St. Louis style, nicely and neatly, mopped or thickly caked with rub, Memphis cooks to taste.
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