Our Barbecue Absolutes



Photo by Pinar Ozger at Flickriver

There are tons of different BBQ styles and flavor profiles in the U.S. For sauces you have the vinegar in North Carolina, the mustard in South Carolina, the tomato and vinegar in Memphis, the tomato and pepper in Texas, and the tomato and brown sugar in Kansas City. Not to mention all the different types of woods you can use while cooking: pecan, hickory, red oak, white oak, mesquite, apple, cherry, and endless others. There are a ton of different barbecue flavor possibilities out there...and none of them are wrong. It's one of the things that makes trying BBQ exciting.
But there are a couple BBQ absolutes that should never be deviated from no matter where you're at. We believe in these.


low.


slow.


juicy.


tender.


flavorful.


Competitive BBQ teams will tell you that it doesn't matter where you're competing in the United States, the way you cook your BBQ shouldn't change. That goes the same for restaurants. It shouldn't matter if you're in Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, or Illinois; your meat should be cooked low and slow and be juicy, tender, and flavorful. If you're not doing those things, then you've probably got some sub-par BBQ on your hands. Sauces, rubs, and the woods used are constantly changing and one of the things that makes places unique. I would never rate a BBQ joint badly because I'm not a fan of mustard sauces or vinegar based sauces. I will however, if they serve dry, tough, bland, or old meat.
At the core of each good BBQ restaurant, they'll all have the same things in common with their meats: low, slow, juicy, tender, and flavorful.


These are the things we look for and these are things that will never change.