Pulled, chopped, sliced, drenched, dry, or even covered in cheese (blasphemy!), the barbecue sandwich is experiencing a renaissance
Peter Frank Edwards
From classic pulled pork in North Carolina to traditional Texas brisket to Kentucky mutton, here are twenty-one of the best BBQ sandwiches you’ll ever eat.
Taylor Mathis
12 Bones Smoke House (pictured here)
Where: Asheville, North Carolina; 12bones.com
What to order: Hogzilla. This audacious sandwich is a mountain of pig: pliant sausage, thick strips of sugar-cured bacon, and shreds of exquisite smoked pork on a toasted sub roll.
Alamo BBQ
Where: Richmond, Virginia; alamobbqva.com
What to order: Pulled Chicken Sandwich. Luscious pulled chicken – shuddering with just the right amount of smoke – and vinegary cabbage slaw, plunked on a lightly toasted bun.
Peter Frank Edwards
Bunn’s Barbecue (pictured here)
Where: Windsor, North Carolina; 252-794-2274
What to order: Barbecue Sandwich on Cornbread. An unorthodox foundation for a sandwich of satiny pulled pork and shredded green cabbage, spritzed with a sheer sauce of vinegar and red pepper.
Bear’s Restaurant
Where: Covington, Louisiana; 985-892-2373
What to order: Barbecue Beef Po’boy. French bread is freighted with an unruly quantity of peppery slow-roasted beef, sliced as thin as butterfly wings then drenched with a tangy house-made sauce.
Brian Woodcock
Heirloom Market (pictured here)
Where: Atlanta, Georgia; heirloommarketbbq.com
What to order: Spicy Korean Pork Sandwich. Made with Berkshire hogs, the smoked pork is marinated in gochujang chile paste and served on a glazed potato bun with a wig of kimchi.
Bunyan’s Bar-B-Que
Where: Florence, Alabama; 256-766-3522
What to order: BBQ Sandwich. The spicy mustard slaw that Bunyan’s plops atop its white-sauced pulled pork sandwiches is so extraordinary that area home cooks compete to produce the best knock-of version.
Peter Frank Edwards
Jackie Hite’s Bar-B-Que (pictured here)
Where: Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolin
Penny De Los Santos
Mustang Creek Bar-B-Q (pictured here)
Where: Louise, Texas; 979-648-2600
What to order: Bohemian Special. Wedges of smoked sausage are piled atop fatty flaps of sliced brisket, served on a soft white hamburger bun and offset by the snap of raw onions and crimpled dill pickles.
Hickory Pig
Where: Gainesville, Georgia; 770-503-5235
What to order: Pulled Pork Sandwich. Impossibly tender pulled pork is served gently sauced and piled with pickles.
Caroline Allison
Old Hickory Pitt Bar-B-Q (pictured here)
Where: Owensboro, Kentucky; 270-926-9000
What to order: Chopped Mutton Sandwich. Smoke sheep shoulder is finely chopped and anointed with vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and allspice.
Meshack’s Bar-Be-Que Shack
Where: Garland, Texas; 214-227-4748
What to order: Sliced Beef Sandwich. Heaped with slices of pecan-smoke brisket, sporting a dusky crust and picture-perfect smoke ring.
Caroline Allison
Papa Kayjoe’s BBQ
Where: Centerville, Tennessee; 931-729-2131
What to order: Hoecake Sandwich. Cornmeal pancakes are cooked on the griddle for this shredded-Boston-butt sandwich. Pickles or slaw can be added, but the pure swine version is recommended.
Payne’s Bar-B-Que
Where: Memphis, Tennessee; 901-272-1523
What to order: Chopped Shoulder Sandwich. Pork shoulder chopped to order is topped with a mustard-based slaw that waltzes with pork’s smoke then wrapped in wax paper.
Rob Culpepper
Petty’s BBQ (pictured here)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi; 662-324-2363
What to order: BBQ Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Hickory-smoked pork is shoehorned with lettuce and American cheese between two slices of Texas toast and then grilled.
Railhead
Where: Fort Worth, Texas; railheadbbq.net
What to order: BBQ Bologna Sandwich. The droopy pork makes an ideal match for the stinging vinegar-based sauce.
Porky’s Bayside
Where: Marathon, Florida; porkysbaysidebbq.com
What to order: Cuban Barbecue Pork Sandwich. Pulled pork that has been marinated in a chiles and citrus juices.
Taylor Mathis
Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge (pictured here)
Where: Shelby, North Carolina; bridgesbbq.com
What to order: BBQ Sandwich. Pork shoulder is chopped, slathered with a tomato-based vinegar sauce, and capped with red slaw.
Ridgewood Barbeque
Where: Bluff City, Tennessee; 423-538-7543
What to order: Pork Sandwich. Thinly sliced hickory-smoked ham is finished with a mahogany-hued sauce that harnesses the best of vinegar and ketchup traditions.
Peter Frank Edwards
Wilber’s Barbecue (pictured here)
Where: Goldsboro, North Carolina; wilbersbarbecue.com
What to order: Big-Que Sandwich. The chopped whole-hog meat is varnished with a vinegar-based sauce and served with lacy slaw.
Southern Soul Barbecue
Where: St. Simon’s, Georgia; southernsoulbbq.com
What to order: Pulled Pork Sandwich. The signature pork derives its profound flavors from fourteen hours spent luxuriating in oak smoke and a secret “soul seasoning.”
Peter Frank Edwards
Bunn’s Barbecue in Windsor, North Carolina
Rob Culpepper
The menu at Petty’s BBQ in Starksville, Mississippi
Peter Frank Edwards
Hard at work at Jackie Hite’s Bar-B-Que in Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina
Peter Frank Edwards
Stoking the fire at Wilber’s Barbecue in Goldsboro, North Carolia
Caroline Allison
Mutton by the pound at Old Hickory Pit Bar-B-Q in Owensboro, Kentucky
Caroline Allison
Getting down to business at Papa Jayjoe’s in Centerville, Tennessee
Taylor Mathis
Craving ribs instead? Choose from Blueberry Chipotle flavor to “Nekkid” salt and pepper rub at 12 Bones Smokehouse in Asheville, North Carolina.
Taylor Mathis
Step inside Red Bridge’s Barbecue in Shelby, North Carolina
From classic pulled pork in North Carolina to traditional Texas brisket to Kentucky mutton, here are twenty-one of the best BBQ sandwiches you’ll ever eat.
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