Barbecue in America is not one cuisine. It is a map of arguments — about wood, about sauce, about whether the hog goes on whole. Each guide below is a city or region we’ve walked joint by joint: the style, the thing to order, and the pit houses that earn the line out the door. New cities land here as the series grows.
| Memphis, TN | Memphis Barbecue: The Dry-Rub Gospel, and the Shoulder Underneath ItPork, almost exclusively. Rib slabs and whole shoulder do the work. |
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| North Alabama | The White Sauce Trail Through North AlabamaSmoked whole chicken, pulled pork shoulder, pork ribs |
| Austin & Lockhart, TX | Inside the Beating Heart of Central Texas BarbecueBeef brisket, hot guts (sausage), pork ribs, shoulder clod |
| The Carolinas | The Carolinas, Where Barbecue Still Means Whole HogWhole hog (east); pork shoulder (Piedmont); pork shoulder and whole hog (SC Midlands/Lowcountry) |
| Chicago, IL | The South Side's Hidden Barbecue LegacyRib tips and hot links (not full slabs) |
| Kansas City, MO | Kansas City Barbecue Worth the DriveBurnt ends (brisket point, cubed and re-smoked) |
| Owensboro, KY | The Mutton Capital of the World |
| Santa Maria, CA | Santa Maria, the Barbecue California Forgot to Brag AboutWhole tri-tip, skewered top block sirloin |
| St. Louis, MO | St. Louis and the Cut That Named a Rib StyleSt. Louis-cut spare ribs, pork steak (shoulder blade steak), pork snoot |
Cooking instead of travelling? Start with the regional BBQ styles guide and the regional sauce guide — they map the same territory from behind your own pit.
