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Chef Ashley Christensen as soon as stated, “We don’t discuss politics, faith, or barbecue on the desk.” One’s barbecue preferences can finish friendships and stress familial relations. However whereas of us might spend hours arguing about tomato-based sauce vs. vinegar-based sauce, beef ribs vs. pork ribs, and who has the most effective brisket in all of Texas, there’s one matter that we might all agree on — the eating places, counters, and stands which have performed a task in transferring American barbecue ahead.
As a part of our 2025 World Tastemakers awards, we chosen an inventory of 10 must-visit barbecue spots across the nation. From old-school consultants serving the unique kinds we all know and love as we speak to new-wave pitmasters mixing tradition with custom, these barbecue makers are crafting specialties value touring for.
Franklin Barbecue (Austin, Texas)
Courtesy of Wyatt McSpadden for Franklin Barbecue
Credited with the rise of New Conventional barbecue, Aaron and Stacy Franklin’s spot in East Austin serves the standard suspects of Texas barbecue — turkey, sausage, and the occasional beef rib particular — together with some pork ribs and shoulder. However the brisket is the star right here and what made Franklin a vacation spot. Completely jiggly with a well-established and spice-rubbed bark, the brisket is an affidavit to the easy complexity of barbecue.
Rodney Scott’s Entire Hog BBQ (Charleston, South Carolina)
Courtesy of Angie Mosier for Rodney Scott’s Entire Hog BBQ
Rodney Scott grew up making complete hog barbecue at his household’s restaurant in Hemingway, South Carolina. Whereas complete hog smoked over oak coals is the specialty of his now eponymous restaurant, the menu additionally consists of particular person cuts of shoulder, ribs, brisket, and hen. All of Rodney Scott’s meats are glorious, and it is the entire hog pork (pulled meat from a whole-roasted hog), a Carolina staple, that is value a detour.
Southern Soul Barbeque (Simons Island, Georgia)
Courtesy of Andrew Thomas Lee for Southern Soul Barbecue
Situated on an island off of Brunswick, Georgia, Southern Soul Barbeque serves oak-fired pulled pork, ribs, brisket, hen, and turkey, which pitmaster and hog farmer Tank Jackson calls the “gold commonplace.” Don’t depart with out making an attempt the Brunswick Stew — it’s wealthy with smoked meat and each vinegar and mustard-based Carolina barbecue sauces, making a dish that’s tangy and by some means concurrently hearty and lightweight.
Joe’s Kansas Metropolis Bar-B-Q (Kansas Metropolis, Kansas)
Courtesy of Joe’s KC BBQ
Now with three areas throughout Kansas, the unique Joe’s operates out of a gasoline station, the place of us line up for signature objects like brisket, pulled pork, and smoked turkey. Folks love the ribs, and the Kansas Metropolis staple of burnt ends, however based on actor Paul Rudd, the true star is the Z-Man sandwich: brisket slices, smoked provolone, and onion rings on a kaiser roll.
Barb’s B Q (Lockhart, Texas)
Courtesy of Barb’s BQ
The brand new era of barbecue leaders pay tribute to custom however refuse to be certain by it. Barb’s B Q leans closely into the time-honored, Central Texas model of brisket, sausage, and turkey (that are all prime notch) and will get playful. Pitmaster Chuck Charnichart attracts from her Mexican heritage and South Texas upbringing with objects like Molotov pork ribs, basted with serrano syrup and dusted with lime zest, and cilantro and poblano-laden inexperienced spaghetti.
Pappy’s Smokehouse (St. Louis)
Courtesy of Pappy’s Smokehouse
St. Louis barbecue is often identified for its square-cut ribs, pork steaks, snoots, and turkey ribs, based on The Soul Meals Scholar, Adrian Miller. It’s a mashing of kinds from the Deep South and whereas typically served dry, locals sauce their meat on the desk. When two competitors barbecuers opened Pappy’s Smokehouse in 2008, serving Memphis-style, dry-rubbed ribs, they rapidly established themselves as a staple, widely known as having the most effective dry-rubbed ribs within the nation.
Huge Bob Gibson (Decatur, Alabama)
Courtesy of Huge Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q
Bob Gibson began hickory-smoking pork and hen in his yard in 1925 and rapidly gained a following. Via the subsequent century, his eponymous barbecue joint made historical past by creating the storied Alabama white sauce — a tart and spicy mayonnaise-based sauce that finishes Huge Bob Gibson’s smoked hen. The menu expanded to incorporate hickory-smoked brisket, turkey, and 5 forms of pies made in-house each day. Any of those pies maintain their very own in opposition to the barbecue, particularly the creamy, meringue-topped peanut butter model.
Cozy Nook (Memphis)
Since opening in 1977, Cozy Nook has served the Memphis specialties of spice-rubbed ribs and rib ideas. The menu consists of hickory-smoked hen, Cornish sport hen (nearly as well-known because the ribs), beef, bologna, and sliced pork sandwiches. Proprietor and pitmaster Desiree Robinson has the distinct honor of being the primary Black girl inducted into American Royal’s Barbecue Corridor of Fame and the primary Black particular person not inducted posthumously.
Louie Mueller Barbecue (Taylor, Texas)
Whereas it’s not the oldest smokehouse in Central Texas, Louie Mueller Barbecue has made an unmistakable mark on the model. This third-generation “cathedral of smoke” helped popularize the enormous beef ribs related to Texas-style barbecue. Beef is the point of interest, however the turkey is moist and scrumptious, the pork ribs are properly tender, and the sausage has the requisite snap that signifies a well-done hyperlink.
Lexington Barbecue (Lexington, North Carolina)
Courtesy of Anna Cook dinner for Lexington Tourism Authority
Piedmont-style barbecue is well-known for pork shoulders, and Lexington’s is the platonic superb. Merely known as a “BBQ Plate,” both sliced, chopped, or coarse-chopped, the tender pork shoulders are completed with a barely spicy tomato and vinegar “dip” that’s served heat out of glass espresso pitchers. Insiders know to ask for loads of “outdoors brown” (bark) for additional taste and smokiness.
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