Ranking The Top 7 Signature BBQ Regions In The United States

The United States is a melting pot of cultures that have made it difficult to pin down a well-defined “national cuisine” you’ll find in places like France, Japan, and Mexico. However, BBQ would be a top contender when it comes to a style that is distinctly American, although it can be broken down into certain regions that are engaging in a constant battle for the crown.

Power ranking the best regional styles of BBQ in the United States

There are certain places in the United States where a “barbecue” refers to a gathering that revolves around burgers and hot dogs on a grill, as well as others where people would have to resist the urge to slap you in the face if that’s the food they encountered after arriving at what they’d refer to as a “cookout.”

Members of that second group tend to reside in a place where that term refers to various types of meat that have been smoked for an extended period of time, which is what you’ll encounter at most places that position themself as a BBQ restaurant.

American BBQ is frequently broken down into the regions that comprise the “Big Four”—Texas, Memphis, Kansas City, and the Carolinas—but things go a bit deeper than that.

As a BBQ connoisseur, I decided I’d deploy my knowledge to rank them against each other (and inevitably rile up plenty of people in the process). Before we dive in, I should dole out some honorable mentions to regional styles in places like Hawaii, Minnesota, and California’s Santa Maria Valley, but I ultimately narrowed down my choices to these ones.

7. Alabama

Alabama BBQ is mostly defined by the signature white sauce that was first whipped up by Bob Gibson, the owner of  Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decauter, in 1925. The sauce in question is a tangy, mayo-based concoction that’s usually thinned out with vinegar and lemon juice and gets a kick from ground pepper, horseradish, and cayenne.

It’s most commonly used to complement chicken (and occasionally pork) smoked with hickory, and while that can be a very tasty combo, it tends to be fairly one-note compared to the cuisines it’s going up against.

6. North Carolina (Lexington Style)

The Carolinas tend to get lumped together when it comes to discussing the “Big Four” regions. However, those two states are home to three fairly distinct takes on BBQ, and North Carolina is divided into two regions of its own.

The first one we’ll be discussing is popular in the western part of that state and derives its name from the city of Lexington (which is located in the heart of the Piedmont region that is also used to describe it). Unlike the whole hog approach that I’ll talk about in a bit more depth in a moment, pork shoulder (a.k.a. pork butt) is the main attraction and is usually chopped or sliced as opposed to being pulled once it’s ready.

The go-to sauce here is vinegar mixed with ketchup and some peppery spices, which is also used to coat the “red slaw” that’s a staple of meals that often boast the deep-fried corn fritters known as hush puppies.

That sauce would not be near the top of my power rankings, and Lexington also loses some points for the lack of meat variety you’re going to get in other places.

5. South Carolina

There is some crossover on the sauce front in certain regions of South Carolina, but the state is primarily associated with “Carolina Gold,” the mustard-based condiment that really sets it apart from the rest of the pack (and, in my humble opinion, is inherently superior to one that goes with ketchup instead).

That sauce, which is most popular in the central part of the state (other regions prefer ones with vinegar and tomato as a foundation), is a match made in heaven for the pork that is also the go-to meat in South Carolina.

It’s also incorporated into the “hash” that’s frequently ground with offal and made into a stew that contains onions and mustard and is served over rice, which is a fairly unique staple that’s worth seeking out.

4. Memphis

The BBQ in Memphis, Tennessee is all about pork in the form of the pulled variety and the ribs that are usually served”dry,” a modifier that should only refer to the rub that coats them as opposed to the actual meat.

I personally prefer a dry rub on my ribs compared to the “wet” ones slathered in sauce that are the norm across America, and Memphis takes an approach that really lets the hickory flavor of the wood that’s usually used to smoke them shine through.

They tend to be the main attraction, but many joints also serve up pulled pork shoulder with a tomato-based sauce

3. North Carolina  (Eastern Style)

I briefly mentioned whole hog while discussing South Carolina, but I wanted to reserve the bulk of the discussion for the one region that can really stake a claim to it: the eastern part of North Carolina.

As you can probably surmise from the name, whole hog involves slapping an entire pig over an open pit and slow-roasting it until the meat reaches a point where it falls right off the bone. It’s subsequently chopped and served with a simple vinegar sauce that contains some pepper for an added kick, a straightforward dressing that really lets the meat do the talking.

It’s usually served with a mayo-based coleslaw (and can be consumed as a platter or in sandwich form), and while I respect Lexington-style, I prefer what their neighbors to the east cook up.

2. Texas

As far as I’m concerned, brisket reigns supreme when it comes to the best cut of meat to barbecue, and there isn’t a single region that has mastered the art of cooking those massive slabs of beef more than Texas.

I’m also a big fan of the no-frills approach most pitmasters tend to take when it comes to serving it up. There are plenty of people who would tell you the perfect brisket doesn’t need any sauce (and I’d be inclined to agree with them), and if you forgo any sides, you’ll typically get a platter that features some onions, pickles, and slices of white bread.

However, most places do offer accoutrements like coleslaw, potato salad, and pinto beans that are designed to pair with the fatty goodness of their brisket, and it’s very, very hard to beat one that’s been done right.

1. Kansas City

Most BBQ places offer a fair amount of variety, but you aren’t going to get more options to pick from than what’s on the menu in Kansas City, which has a very viable claim to the title of the “BBQ Capital of the World.”

The condiment that most Americans simply refer to as “BBQ sauce” is the thick mixture of sugar, tomato, and molasses that can be traced back to Kansas City. The area doesn’t discriminate when it comes to meat—most places offer a sizable spread of various forms of pork, beef, and chicken— and it is also responsible for inventing the delectable brisket trimmings known as burnt ends.

Some people would argue that Memphis deserves credit for making Kansas City BBQ what it is when you consider that was where Henry Perry, the legendary pitmaster who arrived in the region at the start of the 1900s, first began to hone his craft.

However, K.C. currently reigns supreme.