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The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America
Skylight Inn is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

1. Skylight Inn

8.5
4618 Lee St, Ayden, NC
BBQ Joint · 25 tips and reviews

EaterEater: The large whole hog tray is a checkered paperboard vessel containing tangy, minced slaw totters atop a rectangle of cornpone, which in turn rests on another cardboard tub piled with long-smoked meat. Read more.

Lexington Barbecue is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

2. Lexington Barbecue

8.7
100 Smokehouse Ln, Lexington, NC
BBQ Joint · 58 tips and reviews

EaterEater: When ordering the coarse-chopped BBQ tray, it’s vital to request plenty of "outside brown," the burnished, perfumed crust that forms on the shoulders’ exterior during smoking. Read more.

Scott's Bar-B-Que is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

3. Scott's Bar-B-Que

7.6
2734 Hemingway Hwy, Hemingway, SC
BBQ Joint · 17 tips and reviews

EaterEater: The pulled pork is energetically seasoned with salt, red and black peppers, and Accent while cooking; the skin is offered in its smoky state or after it's plunged in the deep fryer as cracklings. Read more.

Southern Soul Barbeque is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

4. Southern Soul Barbeque

9.1
2020 Demere Rd (Brunswick Avenue), St. Simons Island, GA
BBQ Joint · 97 tips and reviews

EaterEater: Out of the myriad versions of Brunswick stew across Georgia, the nuanced take at Southern Soul stands out. At special events, the cooks go old-school and even add smoked squirrel. Read more.

Heirloom Market BBQ is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

5. Heirloom Market BBQ

9.0
2243 Akers Mill Rd SE, Atlanta, GA
BBQ Joint · 167 tips and reviews

EaterEater: The spicy Korean pork sandwich is Heirloom Market's loftiest achievement: pork rib meat soaks in sweet, gently fiery gochujang chile paste before smoking over hickory and oak. Read more.

Saw's Soul Kitchen is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

6. Saw's Soul Kitchen

8.7
215 41st St S (3rd Ave S), Birmingham, AL
BBQ Joint · Forest Park · 78 tips and reviews

EaterEater: The smoked chicken wings are coated in peppery dry rub before being smoked, tossed in a not-too-sweet red sauce, and then drizzled with the regional triumph — North Alabama-style white sauce. Read more.

Archibald Drive Inn is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

7. Archibald Drive Inn

1211 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Northport, AL
Restaurant · 1 tip

EaterEater: The archetypal example of barbecued spare ribs — tender-taut, fleshy, and speckled with char marks from the grill — can be savored at this tiny white building just outside of Tuscaloosa. Read more.

Peg Leg Porker is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

8. Peg Leg Porker

9.0
904 Gleaves Street, Nashville, TN
BBQ Joint · 143 tips and reviews

EaterEater: The dry ribs are swabbed with an acidic, finely tuned baste, and then dusted over a potent spice blend that riles the taste buds into a frenzy yet never detracts from the redolent meat underneath. Read more.

Payne's Bar-B-Q is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

9. Payne's Bar-B-Q

8.3
1762 Lamar Ave (at McLean Blvd), Memphis, TN
BBQ Joint · 32 tips and reviews

EaterEater: For her chopped pork sandwich, chef Payne smokes pork shoulders and then dices hunks to order, incorporating plenty of outside brown bits for contrast. Read more.

Cozy Corner is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

10. Cozy Corner

8.8
745 N Parkway, Memphis, TN
BBQ Joint · North Memphis · 64 tips and reviews

EaterEater: Fetchingly singed at the tips of its wings, the Cornish hen arrives with a fresh veneer of sweet and vinegary red sauce, which pools around the bird and glosses the meat when you start feasting. Read more.

Helen's Bar-B-Q is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

11. Helen's Bar-B-Q

7.3
1016 N Washington Ave, Brownsville, TN
BBQ Joint · 11 tips and reviews

EaterEater: For her pulled pork sandwich, chef Turner offers the pork chopped or pulled; the latter furnishes ropy, gratifying chunks that she’ll thwack a few times with a cleaver to create manageable bites. Read more.

Old Hickory Bar-B-Que is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

12. Old Hickory Bar-B-Que

9.0
338 Washington Ave (Frost Ave), Owensboro, KY
BBQ Joint · Wesleyan - Shawnee · 25 tips and reviews

EaterEater: Get the combination plate — including mutton ribs as well as "off the pit" meat chopped and sliced from the hind quarter. Hint: The lean sliced option will taste the mildest. Read more.

LC's Bar-B-Q is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

13. LC's Bar-B-Q

8.1
5800 Blue Pkwy (at Sni-A-Bar Rd), Kansas City, MO
BBQ Joint · 49 tips and reviews

EaterEater: The burnt ends are the scrappy, fatty-crisp, glorious shards that burnt ends were meant to be. One warning: They come liberally doused with sweet, potent sauce. Ask for it on the side. Read more.

Adam's Smokehouse is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

14. Adam's Smokehouse

8.1
2819 Watson Rd (Sulphur), St Louis, MO
BBQ Joint · Clifton Heights · 23 tips and reviews

EaterEater: Generous amounts of black pepper and other spices riddle the mix (70 percent pork and 30 percent beef), but one twist is especially key to the uniqueness of their smoked salami: smoked garlic. Read more.

Honey 1 BBQ is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

15. Honey 1 BBQ

6.8
746 E 43rd St (Cottage Grove), Chicago, IL
BBQ Joint · Grand Boulevard · 30 tips and reviews

EaterEater: From a custom aquarium smoker, the father and son team pile crackly, chewy, brawny rib tips into a paperboard tub, glazed with exactly the right amount of sticky, vinegar-kissed sauce. Read more.

Smalls. is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

16. Smalls.

4009 N Albany Ave (at W. Irving Park Rd.), Chicago, IL
BBQ Joint · Albany Park · 28 tips and reviews

EaterEater: Joaquin Soler draws on his Filipino lineage as inspiration for his ribs: marinade of soy sauce, banana ketchup, and Jarritos lime soda imbues the meat with piquant sweetness. Read more.

Franklin Barbecue is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

17. Franklin Barbecue

9.1
900 E 11th St (at Branch St), Austin, TX
BBQ Joint · 353 tips and reviews

EaterEater: The brisket deserves the queue. It’s a feat of meat uncanny in its poise between salt and smoke and in its utter, irrefutable pleasure. Read more.

Louie Mueller Barbecue is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

18. Louie Mueller Barbecue

8.6
206 W 2nd St (at Vance St), Taylor, TX
BBQ Joint · 53 tips and reviews

EaterEater: The short rib — near-molten meat contained by a crust of black pepper and still attached to an imposing bone — still sets the standard for Lone Star barbecue every single day. Read more.

Snow's BBQ is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

19. Snow's BBQ

8.3
516 Main St, Lexington, TX
BBQ Joint · 27 tips and reviews

EaterEater: Lifelong pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz's pork steak is resolutely meaty, with the upfront brashness of a rib steak, but tempered with a sweeter flavor and smoky finish. Read more.

City Market is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

20. City Market

8.6
633 E Davis St, Luling, TX
BBQ Joint · 45 tips and reviews

EaterEater: The sausage casings pop; black and red peppers kindle the flavors in the ground meats, a mixture that’s 95 percent beef and five percent pork. The ratios of leanness and fat have no equal. Read more.

Burn Co. BBQ is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

21. Burn Co. BBQ

1738 S Boston Ave (18th & Boston), Tulsa, OK
BBQ Joint · 51 tips and reviews

EaterEater: Among the breadth of menu items — including a construct called "the Fatty," essentially sausage meatloaf surrounded by a lattice of bacon — the smoked bologna is exemplary. Read more.

Hometown Bar-B-Que is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

22. Hometown Bar-B-Que

9.2
454 Van Brunt St (at Reed St), Brooklyn, NY
BBQ Joint · Red Hook · 349 tips and reviews

EaterEater: Our panel zeroes in on the outstanding baby back ribs and their West Indian-esque zing. Unexpected flavor comes in the form of a picante jerk rub that evokes Jamaica, redolent with cloves and chilies. Read more.

Little Miss BBQ is one of The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America.

23. Little Miss BBQ

9.4
4301 E University Dr (btwn S 42nd & S 44th St), Phoenix, AZ
BBQ Joint · South Mountain · 52 tips and reviews

EaterEater: The marvel that left a lasting impression was a weekend special of smoked lamb neck. The thought of "neck" may be daunting, but slow cooking tames the meat into soft, pot-roasty strands. Read more.