Best BBQ spots in the American South: Chefs reveal the secrets

Fox News

29-03-2025

Barbecue is an American cuisine that offers an array of styles and flavors depending on its origin.
The best choices for barbecue in every state in the South were revealed recently in a survey by Southern Living. The survey yielded over 10,000 responses.
Fox News Digital spoke to three Southern chefs and a barbecue expert to get their thoughts on the standout pit stops.
Here's a list of the best barbecue stops, in alphabetical order by state.
Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q is celebrating 100 years of business in 2025. Founded in Decatur in 1925, Big Bob's barbecue "is like no other you're going to find anywhere," Florida chef Jason Smith told Fox News Digital.
"Big Bob's has been burning for so many years that they've got it down to perfection," Smith said. "But the thing that makes it outstanding is their sauce," he added. "Their sauce is totally different than any other sauce you're going to find anywhere."
Fifth-generation pitmaster Chris Lilly and his crew still cook on wood-fired brick pits. The legendary Alabama white sauce was created by the restaurant's founder and namesake to dress his smoked chicken, Southern Living reported.
Florida political consultant Josh Cooper, who moonlights as a "world champion pitmaster," knows Lilly from the competition circuit. "When you think Alabama barbecue, you think Big Bob Gibson for sure," Cooper said.
Jordan Wright left a corporate job at Tyson Foods in 2017 to pursue his dream of opening a barbecue restaurant. Wright's Barbecue became a reality when the original location opened outside of Fayetteville that same year.
"Each cut of meat is carefully selected, seasoned with our special blend of spices, and smoked low and slow over real wood to achieve the perfect balance of flavor and tenderness," according to its website. "From our signature brisket to our melt-in-your-mouth bacon burnt ends, every bite is a taste of tradition and craftsmanship."
Wright's Barbecue has four locations in Bentonville, Johnson, Little Rock and Rogers.
In 1968, the late Rev. John A. "Big John" Stephens opened Big John's Alabama BBQ in Tampa after moving to Florida from Eufaula, Alabama. Stephens operated the business until his death in 1994; his grandchildren took it over and Big John's is still smoking to this day.
Although Cooper hasn't been there himself, the Florida chef admitted Big John's has "a good reputation" among pitmasters.
Smith called Big John's "super good" but said that in his view, the "sauce is masking" the flavor of the barbecue. "You don't necessarily need the sauce to have great barbecue," said Smith.
Southern Soul Barbecue in St. Simon's Island is Georgia's No. 1 spot, according to the magazine survey.
"I go to Southern Soul every single time I'm in St. Simon's," Cooper said.
First opened in 2006, Southern Soul then "started from scratch" after a fire burned it down in 2010, owner Kitty Sapp told Fox News Digital.
Cooper said Southern Soul is "famous" for its Brunswick stew.
Erica Blaire Roby, an award-winning pitmaster in Texas, called Southern Soul "amazing."
Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn is "the epitome of a Southern barbecue that is known all over," Smith said.
Smith, who grew up in Kentucky, said Moonlite offers a wide variety of meats and combines the best of all styles of barbecue. "They take all those barbecues and put them into one place, so that when you're eating from the buffet at Moonlite, you're getting a taste of all of the South, not just one place."
Smith's favorite is Moonlite's brisket. "I love their brisket," he said.
Moonlite is famous for its Worcestershire dip, Smith said. "Just a little bit of that with that brisket makes it all worthwhile to take the trip to Moonlight Bar-B-Q."
The Joint in New Orleans "is a prime example of a modern neighborhood barbecue joint," according to Southern Living.
"Spend a whole day and order all of the sides," Roby of Texas recommended to anyone planning a visit.
The Joint's barbecue meats, said Southern Living, "are cooked low-and-slow on big metal pits and served on paper-lined platters or piled atop locally baked Gendusa French bread buns. They're joined by rotating specials like pastrami sandwiches and barbecue tacos on housemade flour tortillas."
The Shed, located in Ocean Springs, began in 2001 as a barbecue shack and has grown into one of the best-known barbecue spots in the South. Smith said The Shed is probably best known for its sandwiches.
"It is messy, but it's delicious," he said.
Cooper complimented The Shed's cooks for being great at barbecue competitions and the restaurant service industry. They've "figured out how to do both and do both really well," he said.
"Their whole hog is their specialty," Cooper said. "It's absolutely incredible."
The Shed also doubles as a live blues venue, providing an electric atmosphere. "It's the place to be," Cooper said.
It was once written that Arthur Bryant's Barbecue is "the single best restaurant in the world," so it shouldn't come as a surprise that it ranks high among barbecue establishments.
Arthur Bryant's has been serving barbecue lovers at the same location since 1949, but its roots can be traced to Henry Perry – dubbed the "father of Kansas City barbecue."
After Perry died in 1940, his protégé Charlie Bryant ran the business before brother Arthur Bryant took ownership, relocated it and sweetened the sauce — attracting such former presidents as Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, according to the restaurant's site.
There are "decades of seasoning on the pit and the beef sandwich is the better for it," Jonathan Bender, a food writer and founder of the Museum of BBQ in Kansas City, told Fox News Digital.
"Get burnt ends, the crispy, charred edges of the brisket, that were once given away for free to customers waiting in line at this Kansas City classic," Bender said.
Lexington Barbecue has been serving residents of the North Carolina city since Wayne Monk opened it in 1962.
"Lexington Barbecue carries the mantle of Western-style barbecue in North Carolina for good reason," Bender said. "You get a plate of roughly chopped pork that gets this great kiss of smoke from oak and hickory coals. The sauce is a piquant blend of tomato and vinegar that complements the pork shoulder."
Smith called it a "great place" for barbecue, though one of his favorites are the hush puppies — and "their pork shoulders are the best," he told Fox News Digital.
The first Oklahoma Joe's Bar-B-Que was established in Stillwater in 1995. It has since grown to expand throughout Oklahoma, with one location in Nebraska. Founder Joe Davidson started out participating in barbecue cooking competitions and building smokers as a college student in the 1980s, leading to the creation of Oklahoma Joe's Smoker and Grill Co.
Davidson eventually sold the smoker company and turned his attention to the restaurants, according to the website.
"Each restaurant combines the best low-heat, slow-cooking techniques with a unique blend of spices and sauces to create a taste that's world-class," the site says.
The signature sandwich at Oklahoma Joe's is the BarbeQulossal, made with sliced brisket, pulled chicken or burnt ends topped with smoked provolone cheese and onion rings.
Lewis Barbecue, with two locations in Charleston and Greenville, is "absolutely insane," Roby told Fox News Digital. She called Lewis Barbecue the home of "some of the best brisket you're going to get outside of Texas."
Maybe that's because founder John Lewis hails from the Lone Star State. Bender described it as "a little bit of Central Texas barbecue in South Carolina."
"They're the rare spot that offers thick-cut brisket in the Carolinas alongside pulled pork and a green chile cheddar sausage that might be the star of your plate," Bender said. "Get some tangy coleslaw, slow-cooked collard greens and a bite of banana pudding."
Charlie Vergos Rendezvous is the birthplace of the Memphis-style dry-rubbed ribs.
"They're a Memphis institution," Cooper said of the restaurant that has been in operation since 1948. "I think their rookie servers have only been there about 50 years or so."
Roby said she once ran down an alley and "fought people with elbows" just to get a spot in the takeout line while she was in Memphis.
"It literally tasted like my grandfather's barbecue," she said. "It was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had."
Smith told Fox News Digital he would recommend it to anyone traveling to Memphis. "It's a must. You're going to love the ambiance of the restaurant. You're going to love their food."
Founded by Aaron Franklin and wife Stacy Franklin as a barbecue trailer in 2009, Franklin Barbecue in Austin moved to its current location in 2011 and has since grown to become a dominant force in the Texas restaurant scene.
"Franklin Barbecue is a story of anticipation," Bender told Fox News Digital. "You wait in line as your excitement and hunger grow. And you hope that the brisket delivers on the hype. But Franklin's attention to detail and care produces thick slices of brisket that are tender and flavorful."
Pierce's Pitt Bar-B-Que in Williamsburg has been around since 1971.
Smith said his brother, who lives in Virginia, took him to Pierce's for the first time. "It's really good," said Smith.
But it's the sandwiches at Pierce's that stand out to Smith, who said they accent the tangy tomato sauce that "brings the meat to life."
"And there is plenty of meat on the sandwich" — so you'll need a fork to enjoy the "whole other meal" on your tray, Smith said.
Rollin' Smoke started out as a food truck — hence the name.
But in 2012, former owners Carl and Marsha Aplin "parked their smoker truck alongside the Elk River and built a barbecue restaurant around it," Southern Living wrote.
Located in Charleston, Rollin' Smoke specializes in smoked meats and barbecue-topped nachos and macaroni and cheese bowls, according to the publication.