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Other States BBQ


Neonmoon

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Y’all violated rule one: Never order beef barbecue of any type or cut east of the Mississippi. No rib, brisket, shoulder clod, any of it. Beef is not part of their barbecue foodways; it is all centered on pork. And except for KC I’m not fond of pork barbecue west of the Mississippi Delta. ( east Arkansas and Louisiana count as pork territory.). Texas and Southern barbecue are so different in the cultures that evolved them that they really deserve different names. Both are excellent cuisines when done right but very different.

I’m a Texan that grew up in Memphis and learned everything about pork barbecue. Memphis barbecue culture is far more intertwined in the city’s culture than anywhere else.

In Carolina you have eastern, western, and South Carolina styles. All are whole hog finely chopped with depending on region vinegar, tomato, or mustard based sauce. I’m not a fan as I prefer my hog butchered and cooked in the best manner for each part. They also eat a stew they call “hash” dumped on rice which is made of a variety of pig guts. Of their sauces I like the South Carolina mustard sauce the best.

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I’ve lived in NC for almost two years and I still haven’t had it. Someone ordered in from a barbecue place for lunch at work but it was all fried chicken and macaroni.

I do know that the whole thing is eastern vs western bbq in this state, with people seeming to prefer the eastern stuff.

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The pulled pork was okay. They talk it up, but it’s nothing extraordinary. 

Alabama white sauce is garbage too. It is mayonnaise and vinegar. There is nothing redeemable about their BBQ. The ribs are passable. Everywhere east of the Mississippi is still doing BBQ from the 90s

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1 hour ago, Texzilla58 said:

Y’all violated rule one: Never order beef barbecue of any type or cut east of the Mississippi. No rib, brisket, shoulder clod, any of it. Beef is not part of their barbecue foodways; it is all centered on pork. And except for KC I’m not fond of pork barbecue west of the Mississippi Delta. ( east Arkansas and Louisiana count as pork territory.). Texas and Southern barbecue are so different in the cultures that evolved them that they really deserve different names. Both are excellent cuisines when done right but very different.

I’m a Texan that grew up in Memphis and learned everything about pork barbecue. Memphis barbecue culture is far more intertwined in the city’s culture than anywhere else.

In Carolina you have eastern, western, and South Carolina styles. All are whole hog finely chopped with depending on region vinegar, tomato, or mustard based sauce. I’m not a fan as I prefer my hog butchered and cooked in the best manner for each part. They also eat a stew they call “hash” dumped on rice which is made of a variety of pig guts. Of their sauces I like the South Carolina mustard sauce the best.
 

Just go to Lewis in Charleston.  It’s good by Texas standards.

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The pulled pork was okay. They talk it up, but it’s nothing extraordinary. 
Alabama white sauce is garbage too. It is mayonnaise and vinegar. There is nothing redeemable about their BBQ. The ribs are passable. Everywhere east of the Mississippi is still doing BBQ from the 90s

You’re trying to put all barbecue into a single entity. The four primary bbq types in the country, Texas, Memphis, Carolina, and KC developed from different traditions and cultures. They are all valid in their ways.

Memphis barbecue overall is the best of any city; it is endemic throughout the city with hundreds of different kinds of joints all over town. I would never order beef in Memphis except a place like Melissa Cookston’s Memphis Barbecue Company. Memphis barbecue has numerous splits: wet vs dry ribs, black vs white, day vs night, brownies vs white meat. There are stands that basically serve pulled pork sandwiches, always with slaw on them, and rib joints that serve only ribs on white tablecloths. The Traditions come from black folks who did pig pickings, Greek grocers and diner owners, and Swift Co which started giving away ribs back in the 20’s to drive sales of a waste product. And they all intermingled to make a pervasive barbecue culture.
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A lot of the product made in other states is still better than Dicky's...for whatever that's worth.

I don't walk in thinking it's gonna remotely approach properly prepared Texas style brisket.  If it's in KC, it's gonna be a damned good pulled pork sandwich, most likely. If it's in NC, it's gonna also be some decent hog-meat with some mustardy sauce.

Okay.  I'll take it.  I don't expect it to be like the stuff we get in Texas though.

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I used to live in Chicago and liked to hang out at Old Crow BBQ in Wrigleyville before Cubs games. One time I was about 5-6 Coors Lights in and got hungry and ordered the "brisket plate".

What I got was a massive dry ass piece cut against the grain and slathered in BBQ sauce. Make Dickeys seem like Franklin in comparison.

So the comment abt avoiding beef bbq outside of TX is generally accurate.

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13 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

Y’all violated rule one: Never order beef barbecue of any type or cut east of the Mississippi. No rib, brisket, shoulder clod, any of it. Beef is not part of their barbecue foodways; it is all centered on pork. And except for KC I’m not fond of pork barbecue west of the Mississippi Delta. ( east Arkansas and Louisiana count as pork territory.). Texas and Southern barbecue are so different in the cultures that evolved them that they really deserve different names. Both are excellent cuisines when done right but very different.

I’m a Texan that grew up in Memphis and learned everything about pork barbecue. Memphis barbecue culture is far more intertwined in the city’s culture than anywhere else.

In Carolina you have eastern, western, and South Carolina styles. All are whole hog finely chopped with depending on region vinegar, tomato, or mustard based sauce. I’m not a fan as I prefer my hog butchered and cooked in the best manner for each part. They also eat a stew they call “hash” dumped on rice which is made of a variety of pig guts. Of their sauces I like the South Carolina mustard sauce the best.
 

Whole hog with vinegar sauce and some hot sauce is good eating if done correctly. I went to an excellent spot outside of Charlotte once. The name escapes me. 

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13 hours ago, Celery Man said:

I’ve lived in NC for almost two years and I still haven’t had it. Someone ordered in from a barbecue place for lunch at work but it was all fried chicken and macaroni.

I do know that the whole thing is eastern vs western bbq in this state, with people seeming to prefer the eastern stuff.

Correct on the eastern thing in NC. 

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1 hour ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Whole hog with vinegar sauce and some hot sauce is good eating if done correctly. I went to an excellent spot outside of Charlotte once. The name escapes me. 

This is true. I lived in Raleigh for two years and recall some pretty damn good places for pulled pork. The state’s reputation for that particular BBQ is well deserved.

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This was my combo plate from Oklahoma Joe’s, widely considered one of the best BBQ joints in KC.

The brisket was so tough, they cut it on a deli slicer set at 1. It be tasted like it had been parboiled before going on the smoker. The sausage was horrific and wasn’t even Hillshire Farms quality. Not shown is the potato salad that was diced potatoes swimming in mayonnaise soup.

This was a definite step up from Arthur Bryant’s. I gave up on KC BBQ after those two.

66eff2198e39d6f7765d0240e86d288b.jpg

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3 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Whole hog with vinegar sauce and some hot sauce is good eating if done correctly. I went to an excellent spot outside of Charlotte once. The name escapes me. 

Headed back to Charlotte for 2 weeks late July. Wouldn't mind that name if it pops up randomly 

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Q39 is my place in KC. They do excellent beef and pork, and it’s more a sports bar/tavern, and have a varied gastro pub style menu focused on the barbecue.

Many of you are too young to remember when Texas barbecue was way less popular and quality far less consistent. Most towns outside central Texas often just had a stand out on the highway. Tough dry brisket was what I usually had in the 60’s/70’s when we ate barbecue when we came home. It’s why Spring Creek, Colters etc we’re able to get so much traction. We rarely got it, choosing Tex Mex joints instead.

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16 hours ago, closetohumping said:

Nothing touches Texas.  Colorado BBQ is especially bad.  I think their version of brisket is shredded beef.  KC bbq is overrated too.

KC brisket tastes like low grade Arby's.  Rudy's would own the BBQ market in Colorado

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Horne BBQ in Oakland, Kinsmoke in Healdsburg, Odell craft BBQ in Redding all do great brisket. ZZQ in Richmond Va is outstanding, the brisket and their house made habanero and fontina sausage are delicious and Lewis BBQ in Charleston does a great brisket

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The other trend is that you can find different regional barbecue all over the country. These days with internet, books, videos, and internships and ‘cue schools one can spend a few weeks in Texas or Memphis and figure it out and go back to Illinois or Seattle, buy a pit, and make respectable barbecue.

My beliefs about bad beef east of the Mississippi really are about old style joints adding it without knowing how to do it. And vice versa for old pits adding pulled pork without really knowing how to cook a shoulder.

Ribs are something else. Memphis has the best ribs hands down because it’s a focus of the culture and there are different styles and philosophies on them. They will always be small, peeled, trimmed, chine bones removed, and have just a bit of resistance on the bone. Too many Texas joints serve large ribs with the membrane, with the chine bones and all those nasty gnarly bits, and overcook them and under season them.

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20 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

The pulled pork was okay. They talk it up, but it’s nothing extraordinary. 

Alabama white sauce is garbage too. It is mayonnaise and vinegar. There is nothing redeemable about their BBQ. The ribs are passable. Everywhere east of the Mississippi is still doing BBQ from the 90s

Agreed.  I had some pulled pork at a little place in Raleigh once.  It was okay, mustardy though it was.  On the other hand, when we were traveling through Tennessee last year, we picked up some BBQ (I got ribs), but my older kid really wanted a brisket sandwich (sliced).  I had a bite.  Heavy on the hickory, which I don't mind, but it wasn't terrible.  Again, on a sandwich.  But as for NC BBQ, I wasn't impressed.

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5 hours ago, 66BUFF said:

KC brisket tastes like low grade Arby's.  Rudy's would own the BBQ market in Colorado

There's a Rudy's in Colorado Springs but I've not tried it yet.

My lone BBQ experience here was at that smokehouse in downtown Golden . It was a dry shredded up mess. I guess they tried to make chopped brisket an failed miserably. 

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9 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Whole hog with vinegar sauce and some hot sauce is good eating if done correctly. I went to an excellent spot outside of Charlotte once. The name escapes me. 

This.  North Carolina is about pulled pork sandwiches with the vinegar sauce.  Not that lame mustard sauce South Carolina uses.

 

There used to be a place on Hatteras Island called Bubba's.  Outstanding pulled pork sandwiches with the vinegar sauce.  RIP Bubba, you fat bastard.  You could cook.

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1 hour ago, Smax said:
2 hours ago, DalTxHornFan said:
Then there is the whole thing about smoked bologna that passes for 'cue in Oklahoma.  Egads.

Smoked bologna is pretty good

 

1 hour ago, CooterBrown said:


Yeah, I thought there’s no way that could be good and dislike bologna. But, it’s freaking delicious.

I'll ask my wife's Bible study to pray for y'all.

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Then there is the whole thing about smoked bologna that passes for 'cue in Oklahoma.  Egads.

Do you eat sausage at barbecue joints? What’s the difference with barbecue baloney? In Memphis it and “rib tips” are very common as the cheap alternative in a lot of bbq joints. I ate it about once or twice a week in college, with a lot of slaw and sauce. It’s delicious. Some places also smoke a whole salami and it’s tits.

Real barbecue is not about prime meats but about using smoke, technique, and spice to make scraps and cheap cuts into delicious food.
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16 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:


Do you eat sausage at barbecue joints? What’s the difference with barbecue baloney? In Memphis it and “rib tips” are very common as the cheap alternative in a lot of bbq joints. I ate it about once or twice a week in college, with a lot of slaw and sauce. It’s delicious. Some places also smoke a whole salami and it’s tits.

Real barbecue is not about prime meats but about using smoke, technique, and spice to make scraps and cheap cuts into delicious food.

I get all of that about snout to tail eating -- I just don't like the mouth feel of finely ground meat like what is in bologna (and even in hot dogs, for that matter).  Coarsely ground sausage is more in my strike zone.

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3 hours ago, 6th Street said:

There's a Rudy's in Colorado Springs but I've not tried it yet.

My lone BBQ experience here was at that smokehouse in downtown Golden . It was a dry shredded up mess. I guess they tried to make chopped brisket an failed miserably. 

I didn't even know there was a Rudy's here until I drove past it on a trip down to the Springs last summer. Stopped in and it was by far the best BBQ I've had here. Would definitely stop in more often if I lived closer. I've tried quite a few in the Denver area (Brothers, Jabos, Yazoo, and Smokin Yards) and they are all pretty terrible.

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Found a pic of the meal at noble Smoke in Charlotte. Ribs ok, turkey not good and I loved smoked turkey, pulled pork was meh but they had 5 different sauces so I just mixed it up with that. The pickled shit in the middle was not good at all. 

Screenshot_20220530-232616_Photos.jpg

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12 hours ago, 6th Street said:

There's a Rudy's in Colorado Springs but I've not tried it yet.

My lone BBQ experience here was at that smokehouse in downtown Golden . It was a dry shredded up mess. I guess they tried to make chopped brisket an failed miserably. 

Owlcue on Larimer wasn’t bad but it closed. Supposedly the pitmasters are independently reopening it 

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I didn't even know there was a Rudy's here until I drove past it on a trip down to the Springs last summer. Stopped in and it was by far the best BBQ I've had here. Would definitely stop in more often if I lived closer. I've tried quite a few in the Denver area (Brothers, Jabos, Yazoo, and Smokin Yards) and they are all pretty terrible.

When we lived in Broomfield Brothers was our go to but we moved back to Ft Worth in 07. Their pork was better than the beef. JTs was ok but inconsistent. Bbq restauranting is hard work and a beat down. Shame Brothers has declined, but it can be perspective.
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On 5/29/2022 at 10:32 PM, Texzilla58 said:


You’re trying to put all barbecue into a single entity. The four primary bbq types in the country, Texas, Memphis, Carolina, and KC developed from different traditions and cultures. They are all valid in their ways.

Memphis barbecue overall is the best of any city; it is endemic throughout the city with hundreds of different kinds of joints all over town. I would never order beef in Memphis except a place like Melissa Cookston’s Memphis Barbecue Company. Memphis barbecue has numerous splits: wet vs dry ribs, black vs white, day vs night, brownies vs white meat. There are stands that basically serve pulled pork sandwiches, always with slaw on them, and rib joints that serve only ribs on white tablecloths. The Traditions come from black folks who did pig pickings, Greek grocers and diner owners, and Swift Co which started giving away ribs back in the 20’s to drive sales of a waste product. And they all intermingled to make a pervasive barbecue culture.

I'm going to stop at one place in Memphis for barbecue in a couple weeks.  What place to you recommend? 

Currently looking at Central BBQ, Interstate BBQ, and Elwood's Shack.

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I moved from Austin to Missouri about 8 years ago and for some reason have eaten at BBQ places here a few times.  To further add to my bad decision history, I ordered brisket each time.  I have since started to learn how to smoke my own brisket and it's currently below average to average based on standards back home, but it's still the best I have had in Missouri.

ETA:  I did go to KC once and got some ribs there that were excellent...  brisket, not so much.

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