Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
A CNN article here details TripAdvisor's top 10 BBQ joints and the top 10 BBQ states, based on the number of reviews and quality rating of the reviews.
Good to live in St. Louis. Bogart's and Pappy's are good. McClards in Hot Springs Arkansas beats them both in my opinion. Thats what makes these articles so much fun. I will have to get busy to try all the others.
seems very subjective! Also odd that Tennesee and TX are #1 and #2 but between the two of them they only had 1 restaurant on the top 10 list (Franklins @ #9). Oh well, just a list!
Sometimes I want to meet the people who come up with this crap and punch them....
Florida, California, Virginia, and New York make the list...*
but
Alabama, Illinois, and Kentucky don't????
*no disrespect meant to any pitmasters from said areas... just not what I would consider as a top 10 state when BBQ comes to mind. There are always exceptions.
I can't comment on any except Hog's Head Cafe, and I was not that impressed with it. It's been some time since I have been there, and I don't remember what I ordered, but I do remember thinking there was no reason to go back.
Hi, my name is Darrell. I'm an OTR truck driver for over 25 years. During my off time I love doing backyard cooks. I have a 48" Lang Deluxe smoker, Rec-Tec pellet smoker,1 Weber Genesis 330, 1 Weber Performer (blue), 2 Weber kettles (1 black and 1 Copper), 1 26" Weber kettle, a WSM, 8 Maverick Redi Chek thermometers, a PartyQ, 2 SnS, Grill Grates, Cast Iron grates, 1 ThermoPop (orange) and 2 ThermoPens (pink and orange) and planning on adding more cooking accessories. Now I have an Anova sous vide, the Dragon blower and 2 Chef alarms from Thermoworks.
Grill/Smoke/Roast = SnS Grills Kettle + SnS Deluxe Insert & Drip n' Griddle
Grill/Smoke/Roast = Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish with HB rotisserie and Grill Grates
Smoke = Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Pizza = Blackstone Propane Pizza Oven (Stacy's, but she let's me use it sometimes)
Indoor Cooking = LG Studio 30" gas range
Camp Cooking = Coleman 2 burner white gas stove
Thermometer = FireBoard FBX2 with 2 ambient and 6 meat probes
Thermapen Mk IV = Light blue
Thermapen Mk IV = Black
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Auber 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 1 fan)
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Fireboard 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 2 fan)
Knives
Wusthof Classic Ikon set: 9" carving knive, 2X 8" Chef's Knife, 7" Santoku and three utility knives
Kamikoto Kuro set: 7" Santoku, 6.5" Nakiri, 5" Utility
Amazing Ribs Brazilian Steak knife set
Favorite wine = whatever is currently in the wine rack
Favorite beer = Sam Adams Boston Lager or Shiner Bock
Favorite whisky = Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 16 year old single malt
Best Cookbooks - Meathead's "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book", Aaron Franklin's "Franklin BBQ"
Cookbooks to check out - Raichlen's "Brisket Chronicles" and anything by Adam Perry Lang.
Current fanboy cookbook - "Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant"
Grill/Smoke/Roast = SnS Grills Kettle + SnS Deluxe Insert & Drip n' Griddle
Grill/Smoke/Roast = Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish with HB rotisserie and Grill Grates
Smoke = Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Pizza = Blackstone Propane Pizza Oven (Stacy's, but she let's me use it sometimes)
Indoor Cooking = LG Studio 30" gas range
Camp Cooking = Coleman 2 burner white gas stove
Thermometer = FireBoard FBX2 with 2 ambient and 6 meat probes
Thermapen Mk IV = Light blue
Thermapen Mk IV = Black
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Auber 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 1 fan)
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Fireboard 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 2 fan)
Knives
Wusthof Classic Ikon set: 9" carving knive, 2X 8" Chef's Knife, 7" Santoku and three utility knives
Kamikoto Kuro set: 7" Santoku, 6.5" Nakiri, 5" Utility
Amazing Ribs Brazilian Steak knife set
Favorite wine = whatever is currently in the wine rack
Favorite beer = Sam Adams Boston Lager or Shiner Bock
Favorite whisky = Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 16 year old single malt
Best Cookbooks - Meathead's "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book", Aaron Franklin's "Franklin BBQ"
Cookbooks to check out - Raichlen's "Brisket Chronicles" and anything by Adam Perry Lang.
Current fanboy cookbook - "Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant"
I can't agree or disagree with their article because it's based on places that are visited on at least a semi-regular basis, here's what I mean. The best ribs I've ever eaten were from right here in my home town, a place called Jim's Rib Crib. A guy named Jim bought an old yellow school bus and parked it in a vacant lot deep in the ghetto. To order you had to knock on the school bus door, he'd slide it open just like a bus driver and you'd tell him what you wanted. He'd think about it for a minute or two and then holler out your price. If you agreed you'd pay him and he'd get them going in the back of the bus while you stood and waited in the absolute worst part of town.
He didn't last long, the city shut him down in fairly short order but his ribs were better than any that I've had anywhere. I'm sure there's joints like that all over the country but you're never going to read about them on TripAdvisor. While Jim's was a bit on the scary side those are the kind of joints that I love, they're off the beaten path and no one has ever heard about them.
Huskee, at least for their #1 pick I'm not in their stable. I've eaten at Joe's in Blue Ridge frequently(I do a lot of work up there so it's easy to drop in for a quick lunch) and his Q is good but not exceptional, IMHO(unless you compare it to the other BBQ restaurant in Blue Ridge in which case it's outstanding). I think Joe's biggest issue is that he doesn't cook on-site, what you get is reheated and that's never as good as off the cooker. I'm not knocking on Joe, I've eaten at his place before it opened but it's just lacking that freshness you get when the pitmaster cooks all night to serve lunch the next day hot off the cooker.
I can't comment on any of the rest of their Top 10 except to say that if they want to compare to places like Louis Mueller's, Memphis Barbecue Company and my personal local favorite Rib Country they better bring it in spades.
I don't see how anyone can come up with a Top 10 list anyway, good barbecue varies so much with regional taste. That's what makes it so interesting!
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