I have ALWAYS based my opinion of a BBQ Joint by the sausages they put out.
To me this defines good places from mediocre to bad.
If the sausage isn't up to standard I kind of pass going back again.
What do you all look for to judge a Q joint?
3rd on the brisket, then the ribs, its kinda hard to screw up pulled pork
Sides are important too, a good tater salad can save a meal. If your serving me canned beanz you better be a good liar.
I agree that we don't see much in the way of sausages at BBQ joints here in Alabama either, and very few serve brisket. It's more pulled pork, ribs and chicken in these parts.
"I love good pulled pork. I never order it in a BBQ joint because I am there for ribs and brisket."
That's exactly how I feel about BBQ restaurants, Love pulled pork, but if I'm going to a pitmaster, give me the ribs and Brisket.
North of Boston, I like Rusty Can which is a great spot right off of 95 in Byfield.
In Cambridge, The Smoke Shop is great for ribs and brisket.
In Boston, Sweet Cheeks by Fenway is about as good, but the pork belly there to me is my favorite BBQ dish in Boston
It really depends on my expectations of how good the place is. If I have my doubts, I'll just get pulled pork because even mediocre pulled pork is pretty good. Otherwise, I will go for whatever they are supposed to be really good at. That might be brisket or ribs.
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For me, it’s brisket and sausage. But, to be honest, there aren’t many BBQ joints where I live so I really only go to a chain called Rudy’s. There are a few others I’ve been to and I wasn’t impressed, they just didn’t do anything for me and I haven’t been back.
But, with this thread and thinking about it, I need to hunt down a few of these locations and give them a try.
Depends on what they bill themselves as. If you say Texas barbecue and can't make brisket, well then. Same with Carolina-style and pulled pork. If it's just a generic BBQ joint, then I'll probably judge it on the pork ribs.
Depends. I certainly wouldn’t cross Payne’s BBQ in Memphis off my list. Their pork bbq sammiches are the best. Love everything about it, the crispy bark in the chopped pork, mustard slaw, toasted bun and slushy coca-cola from the makeshift fridge(freezer). The atmosphere was perfect. I don’t even recall them having sausage on the menu. But as others have said, it kinda depends on what their specialty is and what region they’re located.
If they have Texas in t heir name, they better have great beef. Here in central VA pork is king. I almost never order ribs out, so I'm looking for a good pulled pork sammie. I want it neked to start, and I want it to taste sooo good that I think it doesn't need anything else. But then I want the sauce to take it to another level.
in new england its finding the brisket. my since closed local joint used to have perfect brisket 1 of five trips in. but we don't have a lot of options up here so I was eating a lot of pot roast looking for that one perfect brisket!
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Brisket. I don't consider myself an accomplished bbq cook but I most often believe my bbq easily beats what I get in a restaurant. That being said, I live a long ways from the states and places that are known for bbq.
Agreed. I’m in SE WI and I’m tired of getting disappointed, granted I don’t get out too much. Maybe someone else from the area can chime in with a hidden gem.
And I’m in the same boat that WI isn’t known for great BBQ but when I go somewhere the brisket is the test and more often than not it fails the test. Granted I don’t know how well mine would hold up in a restaurant setting either.
I'm in Missourah, and before the pandemic I was a travelling consultant to... Dallas, OK City, Lincoln, Toronto, NYC, and on vacation I've got TN as one of my usual spots (fishing).. so,
It's the SLAW. I can usually figure out which meat to pick, but as I am on two quests - the best Slaw and how I should make my own Mac N Cheese, the sides really get my interest.
In Canada, it's the poutine; in Manhattan, it's the food truck with the biggest line.
My in-laws had a place at the lake in North AL. There’sa place up there called Pop’s. He had the best "hot" slaw. Just enough bite to remember, but not too much to keep from getting seconds. His cabbage was always crisp. Went perfect on a pork sammich. Can’t miss it, big ol chicken statue out front.
10-4 I didn't mention slaw in my post.
Does depend on the dressing though whether its cream or vinegar based.
Which one you prefer is another post, but it can be a razors edge thing of too little or too much dressing
The first thing I look for is the pit. I drive around back to see if they even have signs of a pit and a wood pile. If they don't, then I move on down the road. If they do, then good brisket is what I hope for.
As a Texan living in Oklahoma, I have been disappointed too many times with the brisket here. I have only found good brisket a couple of times in OK. I want it SLICED, tender, juicy, tasty, and naked. I don't want it chopped, ground up, pulverized, or floating in sauce. Good spicy beans and simple potato salad round out a good BBQ menu.
On the other hand, Oklahoma does have better football than Texas!
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