What Region Makes The Best Style Of Barbecue?

Ranker Food
Updated July 3, 2022
Ranked By
2.3K votes
540 voters

The best regional style of barbecue, much like the top regional pizza styles, is easily one of the most common arguments foodies face. Everyone has their own favorite style, be it one with a sweet, tomato-based sauce or another that only needs a good dry rub and some slow cooking to perfect. What's your favorite regional style of barbecue? Vote for it below!

There are four locations that most commonly come up in the barbecue wars conversations, the Carolinas, Memphis, Texas and Kansas City. While all involve cooking a large portion of meat, usually pork, beef or chicken, the processes and finishing touches are what set the style apart. In Eastern Carolina a whole hog is barbecued then topped with a vinegar-based sauce. Memphis has two styles, one wet with a tomato-based sauce and the other dry with a dry rub coating the meat before cooking. Texans aren't much for the sauces but they do make a mean slow-cooked barbecue seasoned to perfection with a dry rub rich in cayenne and black peppers. In Kansas City, the sauce is king with a sweet and thick sauce made from tomatoes and molasses the trademark.

But what about other best regional barbecue styles? They might not get the same recognition as the big four but they are certainly all yummy. In Central Carolina, for example, mustard is the key ingredient as it's mixed with vinegar to create a special barbecue sauce. St. Louis loves its sauces too with a tomato sauce that tops seared pork. The strangest, but definitely not the least delicious, is the Alabama style barbecue and the one-of-a-kind white sauce made from mayonnaise and vinegar.

BBQ lovers will argue all day about which regional barbecue style reigns supreme and in the end, they are all really scrumptious. Want to try these styles for yourself? Head over to the best BBQ joints in the country for suggestions on where to find the best smokey, saucy or both, barbecue food around.

  • 1
    293 VOTES
    Meat, like beef brisket and pork, is seasoned then slow cooked over indirect heat. No sauce is served.
    293 votes
  • 2
    288 VOTES
    Meat is smoked with a dry rub of spices and served with a sweet and thick sauce created from tomatoes and molasses.
    288 votes
  • 3
    220 VOTES
    Wet ribs are brushed with BBQ sauce before and after cooking. Dry ribs are coated with a spice blend before cooking.
    220 votes
  • St. Louis
    Photo: imgur
    4
    188 VOTES
    Pork is seared on a grill then served with a sweet, tomato-based sauce.
    188 votes
  • 5
    216 VOTES

    Eastern Carolina

    A whole hog is barbecued then the meat is chopped and slathered in a thin sauce made from vinegar, cayenne pepper and other spices.
    216 votes
  • 6
    155 VOTES

    Central Carolina

    Various meats are tossed in a "Carolina Gold" sauce consisting of yellow mustard, vinegar, brown sugar and spices.
    155 votes
  • 7
    128 VOTES

    Lexington, Tennessee

    A whole hog is smoked then served in a vinegar and pepper sauce.
    128 votes
  • Owensboro, Kentucky
    Photo: flickr / CC0
    8
    135 VOTES

    Owensboro, Kentucky

    Mutton, the meat from a mature sheep, is cooked, pulled, then tossed with a vinegar and tomato sauce.
    135 votes
  • 9
    136 VOTES

    Lexington, Carolina

    Pork shoulder is barbecued then a vinegar and tomato sauce is added.
    136 votes
  • 10
    126 VOTES

    Northern Alabama

    Chicken or pork is barbecued and topped with a special white sauce made from vinegar and mayonnaise.
    126 votes