[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by rambleonthruthefog

What i've been thinkin bout is.... other than location. what makes it Texas BBQ, or KC BBQ, or Memphis BBQ, or Carolina BBQ, etc.

I've spent most my life in TX, eatin' all my BBQ in TX, with the exception of two places. I've had plenty of good, and some great. I've always judged the BBQ here by and large by the chopped beef sandwich. if your sauce and chopped beef aren't delicious together, most likely i don't want any ribs or chicken. The other two BBQ joints i ate at were...

Arthur Bryants in KC. was there for my pilgrimage to Arrowhead
and a place called Corky's in Memphis. Was there for a Widespread Panic show.

I had some chopped beef at both joints and was not overly impressed, but the sausage sandwich i had at Arthurs was out of d*mn sight, it was hot, it was sliced nice and thin, and stacked high. it was great. prob the best sausage sandwich i've ever had. At corky's the ribs i had were great, i mean really really good. i didn't finish my chopped beef sandwich, but i did ask for some ribs to go. These two experiences blew my theory away.

i still think that the chopped beef makes or breaks you in TX, and most TX joints usually have some version of habanero sauce, or jalepeno sausage, and they all got pickles and onions, and most have banana pudding(preferably with nilla wafers), amd beans.

what makes it KC, Memphis, or Carolina BBQ?

It's the sauce.

KC is a heavy tomato sauce, often accented with molasses. Sweet. If you can smoke it, it's barbecue, including beef, pork, ribs, chicken, sausage.

Memphis is a thin tomato sauce. Pork and ribs. Ribs usually are dry.

Carolina is either vinegar/pepper or mustard. In the Carolinas, barbecue is also pork or whole hog. There is such a thing as barbecued beef and ribs, but when Carolinians talk barbecue, they're talking pulled pork or whole hog. Carolinians can't do brisket. They just can't. They suck at it.

Texas is generally dry rubs, no sauce. Brisket.