Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

Better than any bbq place I have been to

9 (10.8%)

Better than 90% of the bbq places I have been too

43 (51.8%)

Better than 50% of the bbq places I have been to

28 (33.7%)

Not as good as most bbq places I have been to

3 (3.6%)

Total Members Voted: 78

[Fire708]

I’m in the 50% crowd. I have chicken and pork chops down pretty solid. Ribs I’m working on. Once I stopped wrapping them I don’t over cook them anymore and they are getting quite nummy.
I think it also depends on the place I visit. There’s a couple Mom and pop places around me that I can’t touch. Just wonderful food.  Corporate restrauants, well, MEH! They serve meat with sauce but Im Not sure about the low and slow part that makes it BBQ.

[MysticRhythms]

I'm a 50%er.
My ribs are better than any I've had in any restaurant, at least more to our liking.
Brisket on the other hand, most good BBQ places smoke me on that (pun intended).

[Big Bear]

I opted for 90% of places I have been to.  The problem is that when I find one of the 10% they soon seem to disappear from the marketplace. Makes me wonder if those places doing good Q can't survive because good Q is a "Labor" of love, and the others survive because they shortcut their so called BBQ. Then again maybe my tastes in Q are sQed.

[SparkyLB]

. . . . Then again maybe my tastes in Q are sQed.

LOL I saw what you did right there.   

[Bentley]

Yes, I do.

[Phrett]

I checked th 50% boxfor several reasons.  Many BBQ places I’ve visited had problems with their meat being over or under cooked.  However, just as many have had spices and sauces that made the meat very good.  I usually don’t have problems with texture but tend not to use a ton of spices.

[Chris__M]

I live in the UK. There are actually a number of very fine BBQ restaurants here, but the majority of places that claim to have BBQ are either selling pre-prepared food they have bought in, or stuff that has never seen a grill.

I would say that the following stuff I do is better than most establishments I have visited here: Burgers, Chicken, Steaks, Pulled Pork. I'm still working on my Brisket.

[Ralphie]

My answer is "sometimes" with "some things".  My answer and explanations pertain only to the meat.

Pulled Pork (simply called BBQ in North Carolina)

Eastern Carolina BBQ - Restaurants are better.  The thing with this style is that it's chopped whole hog and of course vinegar sauce.  I can't replicate that style with butts.  But this style is probably my favorite (1A).  I grew up with it and live in the region.

Lexington (NC) Style BBQ - Restaurants are better.  smoked (lightly imo) pork shoulders typically with only salt & pepper, chopped and/or sliced with a thin vinegar sauce with a significant tomato/ketchup component.  This style is my 1B favorite for pork.  I've tried to replicate it but mine is always smokier, which is tasty, but not the same.

General Pulled Pork from butts/shoulders (what you may find in most parts of the country these days) - mine is better every time.  I attribute that to knowing my preferences for smokiness, wood, seasonings, sauce, and freshness..IE: I pull, I eat. 

Ribs

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  I think my best ribs are better than the other "bests", but I don't consistently make them better than several rib joints I come across.

Chicken

Mine is better.  Frankly, I think all smoked or BBQ'd chicken is better when it's homemade, regardless who makes it.

Sausage

Restaurants are better.  I just haven't nailed a good sausage recipe from scratch compared to most restaurants that do that.

Brisket

Most states...mine is better.  In North Carolina...mine is better than any restaurant I've come across from the mountains to the coast.  I guess it's a culinary culture issue.  Most truly local places (where the chefs are native) just don't get it with brisket.  Some places with transplant chefs do a better job.  But freshness/juiciness is always tricky with brisket. 

However, I've yet to make brisket better than any of the handful of places where I've had it in Texas.  A nicely smoked Texas brisket is my gold standard of BBQ.



 

[grilltreats]

They do like their vinegar in NC.  I moved to Fayetteville and it was the first time I experienced coleslaw put on chopped BBQ sandwiches.  I did like the coleslaw on top, but am not a vinegar fan.  Wasn't a big fan of chopped either, but not a huge deal.

[Bentley]

I will put my sausage up against just about anyones and say it is better.  But there are so many different regional flavors that come into play, many could make the same comment.

I see one site I visit calls waht I would call Sweet Italian, Sicilian.  And their Sweet Italian has no hit of Annis, or Fennel or Star Annis, a must for Sweet Italian for me...

Another thing...I know folks that like sausage in their meatloaf, me too!  Problem is, I want a Hot Italian, they want a Jimmy Dean Breakfast...Makes no sense to me..I digest!  Many ways to skin a cat! 

[okie smokie]

Ribs I would say mine are better than 90% and the rest about better than 50%.  Every now and then you can mess up anything or the meat may not be satisfactory before you cook.  Some of the worst however, have been at the BBQ comps, at least the ones the public get to taste. We have a big Bixby Rotary comp here and maybe 75 or more competitors.  After the judging, there are lots of ribs, brisket, PP and chicken served for the $10 sample plates.  Sometimes a chore to find some really good bbq.  Most of the professional competitors do not provide q to the public.  They just win and move on. 

[TravlinMan]

I voted 90 because that’s what the wife and kids would say. I know I’m not a fabulous cook by any means, but my BBQ is fresher, more consistent and tuned to our tastes after years of practice. I’ve had some fabulous BBQ in a restaurant, but also had more expensive rotten meals in BBQ joints than any other type of restaurant. I would say by a mile, but ordering steaks out is something I’ll only do at a couple local joints anymore for the same reasons.

I get so disappointed when I order a $25 combo of brisket and ribs and get dry brisket that’s been sitting in a warmer forever and ribs that still have silver skins and are slathered in a sauce that doesn’t fancy me. So, we usually only do BBQ restaurants if we are dining with others that want it...and when we do, I’m usually in the same boat as others above and are judging their sides and sauces more than the meat.

I agree With Glitchy, our cooking at home has been 'refined' to our tastes.

It so often when we try other 'BBQ' it is saturated in sauce, either dry or under done, chunks of fat or gristle, belching creosote after taste, or something else not to our tastes..

Once in a while, we stumble across a jewel of a restaurant and have an excellent meal, we like to let them know how well we liked their food and try to visit their establishment when we are in their area again..  The not so good ones - just never go back.

Not that we are BBQ snobs or perfect by any means - just 'meat and taters' kind of people, but hanging around here (and a few other haunts) has opened our tastes, and we like what we like, not what some 'liquid smoke' and a some time rookie 'Pitmaster' calls BBQ. (some are very good - quite a few are fly by night)

We have been to far too many 'catered' events with some 'Pitmaster' BBQ, just to quietly dispose of the plates with the supposed 'Q', enjoy some of the standard side dishes and try to wash the bad taste from the pallet with the corresponding beverage at the event..

While we are always open to something new, our family favorites are tried and true..
(always looking for another 'family favorite' to add to the list!)

...

[silverbullet]

To be modest I voted 50%. I'm pretty good at what I do & rarely eat out @ a BBQ joint because of the quality of mine & the cost of theirs. Nice to try someone else's once in a while.

[kruz805]

A lot is based on your location.  In MI, there are very few places that have really good bbq.  Most places are good at one of two things but not all around. 

[kruz805]

I'm hit and miss.  I've made bbq that is sometimes better and sometimes not as good as restaurants I've been to.  I have never gotten ribs right, but I keep trying.  My first attempt at a brisket was tasty, but had absolutely no smoke flavor.  I'm doing another one this weekend with a smoke tube, so hopefully things go better this time around.

I am on my third or fourth year with my Rec Tec and I have figured out a few things.  Start low and end high.  Use cold meat and smoke at very low temps (say 190 or what your pit will put out).  The reason for this is pellets are very good, efficient heat source.  They do not smoke well unless they are burned at lower temps.  So, once you have several hours of smoke, crank it up to 250 and let the meat cook.  For ribs I do 2.5 hrs low and 2.5 to 3 hrs high (I do not wrap).  For larger cuts, several hours to bring it up to 150 to 160 and then wrap to final temp while raising the temp.