BBQ Ribs
Slow-smoked pork or beef ribs with a deeply caramelized bark, falling-off-the-bone tender meat, and a tangy-sweet barbecue sauce that varies dramatically by region — from Kansas City's thick molasses-based sauce to Texas's pure smoke-and-meat philosophy to Carolina's vinegar tang.
foodDetail.ingredients
foodDetail.mainIngredients
- pork spare ribs or baby back ribs (or beef short ribs)
- dry rub (paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, cayenne, black pepper, salt)
- wood chips (hickory, oak, apple)
- barbecue sauce (varies by region)
foodDetail.whereToEat
Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, Kansas City
Franklin Barbecue, Austin, Texas
Rendezvous, Memphis, Tennessee
Bludso's BBQ, Los Angeles
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, New York
foodDetail.priceRange
foodDetail.restaurant
$18-45 per rack
foodDetail.tips
- Kansas City, Memphis, Texas, and Carolina BBQ are the four main American regional styles — each is worth experiencing on its own terms
- True BBQ is slow-cooked over wood smoke for 4-8 hours — 'fall off the bone' can actually mean over-cooked; a slight pull is preferred by purists
- Many top BBQ joints sell out by early afternoon — arrive early
foodDetail.culturalNotes
American BBQ (barbecue) is one of the country's most passionately regional foods — a cooking technique with African American roots from the antebellum South that has evolved into distinct regional traditions. The Kansas City, Memphis, Texas, and Carolina styles each have devoted adherents who will argue endlessly about which is superior. BBQ competitions draw tens of thousands of participants across the country, and the culture around slow-smoking meat is a genuine American tradition.