The Memphis BBQ Food Scene is very much a large part of The River City. A BBQ joint is seemingly on every corner and fills every nook and cranny of Memphis. Although larger cities probably have more BBQ places, Memphis certainly has the largest rib joint to per capita percentage in the nation. With just under one million residents in Memphis and surrounding suburbs, that is a bold statement, just like some of the sauces we tasted!
Just thinking about it can make your mouth water.superbly meat with a sauce that is just this side of heaven. Meat that literally falls off the bone, having been subjected to several hours of magical heat made possible utilizing the finest wood available. Such is the artistry of preparing barbequed ribs.
With great pride many states claim to have the best barbeque in the United States. And there is no shortage of debate on this topic. The top contenders in no particular order are Tennessee, Texas, Kansas, Georgia and North Carolina. We will hear about this as there are other states that make the claim as well, but hey..this is our blog! And we would enjoy hearing about it as we
Youll have to do your own U.S. road trip to determine which of these is your favorite. As we find ourselves with an extended time in Memphis, we decided to do weeks of intensive research to assist our readers when they visit Memphis. HonestIt is rough work and we are doing this for you! In some cases we went back multiple times to provide well informed opinions! Careful research yields great results..
Barbeque places are casual, affairs. Some are located in the most humble of surroundings. Picnic tables and a roll of paper towels are not and will create a perfect setting to grab a cold beer and glutenous in a very good way. There are many decisions to make which make this process The restaurants do not offer just barbequed ribs but also offer chicken, pulled pork, brisket, turkey, smoked turkey, smoked sausage, barbequed bologna (serioiusly), smoked hot wings, barbequed nachos, brisket chili, bbq spaghetti, bbq cornished hens and the list goes on depending on the restaurant.
death to make the best ribs in town. Slow cooking is the key 8 hours, 10 hours and more.. some cooking on the open grill, some brag about cooking in the smoker. Some chefs cook on gas, some on charcoal and some use only wood. At times different woods as oak or hickory are added to the charcoal. Secrets are kept as to whether they or steam the meat before slow cooking. Many mysteries of the BBQ will never be revealed. Dry rub, wet sauce and or of both, the grill masters bring the flavor!
Lets face it, the sauce is important to us. In general, Memphis BBQ sauce is tomato based and generally a bit thin, tangy and somewhat sweet. Balance is important. Youll see our below.
Once youve decided on your entre the impossible decision of narrowing down how many sides you can safely devour and which ones. So many choices! You can get dizzy from deciding among corn bread, hush puppies, turnip greens, slaw, potato salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, red beans and rice, fried green tomatoes, fried okra, fries, onion rings, corn on the cob, bbq
spaghetti, home cooked potato chips with blue cheese , pickles or fried pickles, stone ground grits and dont forget the catfish nuggets and filets.
When you a long list of restaurants, movies or anything it is easy to identify your top three favorites and probably your least three favorites. The ones in the middle are fuzzier and could move up or down a space or three on any given day. We want to state we didnt have any that we disliked. Well, maybe, the Commissary had really dry overcooked ribs so, yes, I guess we didnt like those. We did have some we would not visit a second time.
Please keep in mind we are tasting during the time of COVID so weve done carry out on all of these. We cant say how the drive home and reheating has impacted our views.
