American Barbecue Styles: A State-By-State Guide

In case you’re from a different planet, barbecue is a culinary technique that involves cooking meat for long periods of time at low temperatures with smoke from a wood fire. Barbecue pits add a distinctive smoky taste to the meat.

Clearly we’re not talking about what you do in your backyard on the Fourth of July with your Weber propane grill. We’re not talking about slapping a piece of thin, raw beef onto a hot electric mesh of metal either.

That’s grilling. Never confuse it with real deal barbecue, which involves smoking a massive carcass for days on end, and the low-and-slow roasting and/or constant basting and sauce-mopping of meats for hours and hours. No my friends. This is a whole different beast. Speaking of different beasts, there’s really no limit on what animals can be cooked in this style.

Related: Johnny Prime's Guide To Aged Beef

In the American south and midwest, however, barbecue has become more than just a cooking style. It’s a way of life, as is often said, and it varies greatly from place to place. Regions differ on things like sauce or no sauce, what type of animal or cuts of meat are used, and even what types of wood is burned. This article will serve as your guide to understanding these great varieties:

Texas

May as well start with the big one. Texas has regional styles within it’s own style. Central Texas "Hill Country" is known for its old meat markets, which were heavily influenced by German and Czech immigrants. Here, the focus is on the meat, so they use dry rubs (no sauce on the meat, or at least it is not a primary element to the food).

Beef brisket and ribs are king, and sausage links are also prominent, with pecan and oak wood being used in most smokers. East Texas barbecue is pretty much split 50/50 between beef and pork, but, similar to southern styles, what you get is usually chopped rather than sliced, and served sandwich style with a tomato- and vinegar- based hot sauce.

North Carolina

North Carolina, like Texas, has variations within: eastern style and Lexington style (not to be confused with Lexington Steele). Three unifying things you need to know about NC barbecue:

1. The meat is pork all the way.
2. Said pork should be brushed with a spice and vinegar mix while cooking.
3. Hickory or oak wood is used in the smoker.

Two differentiating things you need to know about NC barbecue:

1. Eastern NC is a whole-hog barbecue, using the entire animal, while Lexington favors just the pork shoulder and ribs.
2. Eastern style NC barbecue favors an apple cider vinegar-based sauce, while the west prefers a ketchup- and brown sugar- based sauce.

Related: Johnny Prime's Guide To Salumi

South Carolina

Here, it’s all about the sauce differences, otherwise it is pretty much the same as North Carolina. Central South Carolina is typically barbecue with a mustard-based sauce known as “Carolina Gold.” The coast is all about pepper and vinegar, and the far west and north are into ketchup- and tomato- based sauces. Preferred cuts across the state are pork butt and ham.

Kansas City

This info holds for both Kansas and Missouri versions of Kansas City, as they are neighbors. But because of its geographic location, KC barbecue has a mix of culinary influences from all regions. And given its history as a hub for the meatpacking industry, Kansas City style barbecue embraces all kinds of meats. Everything is done “slow and low,” as they say, and usually with hickory wood, although all woods are used. Burnt ends are big here, and smothered with a thick and sweet, molasses- and tomato- based sauce, because, well, in Kansas City, “sauce is boss,” as they say.

St. Louis

St. Louis-style barbecue consists of mainly pork dishes, a staple of which is the pork steak, which is sliced from the shoulder of the pig. However another item unique to the St. Louis area is crispy snoot. This nose and cheek cut is prepared by removing the nostrils and cooking until crispy. Similar to pork rinds, these can be presented many ways, but the two most common are either:

1. Covered in sauce, on a sandwich, or
2. Broken into pieces and dipped in sauce

Memphis

Pulled pork and pork ribs are both big for this style of ‘cue. The dry rub is usually paprika and garlic, but served with a thin and tangy tomato-based sauce. Wet ribs are also prominent as well. Hickory is the choice wood, although oak, cherry, pecan and apple are all used.

Alabama

Alabama tends to be a mixture of Texas and Carolina styles, but they’re big on sandwiches and coleslaw. They usually go with pulled pork or pulled chicken, but ‘Bama’s signature is the white sauce that they use as a topper, which is a mayonnaise and vinegar concoction.

Kentucky

The thing to know about Kentucky barbecue is their use of mutton: older lamb and sheep. Don’t think of the word “old” as a bad thing. Lamb comes from a sheep that is less than one year old. Mutton comes from a sheep that is more than one year “old.” Kentucky mutton usually comes with a Worcestershire dip as well. Pork is prevalent here as well, but the mutton is what makes this region unique.

Hawaii

Often overlooked is the luau, a Polynesian tradition and celebration where whole hog is cooked. The centerpiece of any luau is kalua pork, which is a whole pig that is roasted in an imu pit – an underground oven traditionally made with lava rock – that cooks the animal for several hours, low and slow. The pig is ceremonially wrapped in banana leaves to impart sweetness and lock in moisture before being placed onto the coals.

Note: I realize that many barbecue aficionados might find my overview above to be a bit rudimentary. There’s so much more to know. One of the most thorough and enjoyable resources I have come across for barbecue is a book called Be The BBQ Pitmaster, by Will Budiaman. This book is good for history, detailed discussions of the various regional techniques, tips for wood selection, smoking instructions, and even recipes from well known pit masters in each region.

For more specific meat recipes, check out my recipe page.

Carnivore connoisseur Johnny Prime is a New York City-based authority on steak, steakhouses and meats of all kinds. He's eaten at more than 100 different steakhouses, has reviewed steaks at hundreds of other restaurants on his blog and enjoys explaining how best to enjoy various cuts of beef at home. Johnny recently began selling high end beef, which you can get through his online butcher shop.

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