Few things beat sitting down at your favorite barbecue joint. But not everything on that
menu is a fantastic choice, from canned veggies to less than stellar hamburgers, here’s
everything you should avoid at a barbecue restaurant.
If you've had a fusion barbecue dish, you know they can be tasty and often creative.
Pulled pork mac and cheese, brisket tacos, smoked turkey enchiladas, and barbecue quesadillas,
just to name a few, are a delight for your tastebuds. They offer the flavors of barbecue
with a little something else.
There's no denying there are good examples of barbecue fusion cuisine. But if you're
stopping by a barbecue restaurant to try the meat, a fusion dish probably isn't your best
option. While it's possible they're made from fresh meat, it’s also possible they're made
from leftover meat that wasn't sold from the day before. Fusion dishes might also utilize
trimmings of meat from that day that didn't make the cut for regular barbecue plates.
So, what's your best bet if you're interested in these dishes? Feel free to try them out,
you may be pleasantly surprised, but maybe order them as a side instead. Ultimately,
don't plan on making a fusion dish your main meal, especially if you're visiting a new
barbecue spot for the first time.
There's a reason barbecue lovers line up in the early morning hours to get the best barbecue.
Towards the end of service hours, you might not be impressed by what's left. That's not
to say you'll face bad barbecue at the end of the day, exactly. But earlier in the day,
you'll certainly have a better selection. Later, you'll have to pick from what other
people decided they didn't want to order.
Remember that it often takes hours to barbecue, and restaurants generally don't barbecue all
day. Instead, they start at night or early in the morning and make all the meat they'll
plan to serve for the day. When it's gone, it's really gone, and you'll have to come
back another day if you want something that's extra popular.
Want to ensure the best selection? Arrive early. Yes, it may take some extra planning
and a bit of determination, but you'll be glad that you showed up promptly. At some
extremely popular barbecue restaurants, the reality is that you'll need to arrive hours
before you actually plan to eat. Some restaurants are so incredibly popular that you might want
to arrive as early as 6 or 7 in the morning if you want to eat around lunchtime and get
your pick of the best meats. If your local spot is as sought-after, be sure to plan ahead.
Smoked sausage is one thing, as most barbecue joints have at least one variety, and it's
a good idea to try it out. But shaped meats are something else entirely, and they're best
left at the deli counter. Generally speaking, when you're eating great barbecue, it's practically
always from straight-off-the-animal primal meat cuts such as brisket, pork loin, ribs,
or turkey breast.
Formed meat products take parts of meat, like trimmings and less desirable cuts, and then
shape it all together into one piece.
Sometimes, that's inside a casing, then sliced. Sometimes, whole cuts are smoked and thinly
sliced like deli meats, though it's important to note that this technique is different than
that used to make shaped meats.
While trying out some shaped meat at a barbecue spot could be tasty and a departure from the
norm of deli meats, this isn't where barbecue really shines. As with fusion options, this
might be worth a try in the right places, but at least make sure it's not the only thing
on your plate. Otherwise, you might feel like you've missed out on trying the best at a
great barbecue spot.
Barbecue sauce can be a regional thing. In some parts of the U.S., barbecue restaurants
are even rated based on the quality of their sauces. Kansas City-style sauce is what many
people think of as traditional barbecue sauce with a tomato base and sugar or molasses to
round out the acidity. Meanwhile, the Carolinas are known for tangier, typically vinegar-based
sauces.
But barbecue sauce isn't a major attraction everywhere. In fact, it can be somewhat offensive
to use in some parts of the country. For example, in Texas, it's considered an insult to the
pitmaster if you add barbecue sauce to a perfectly smoked brisket. The thinking here is that
the unique Texas barbecue style speaks for itself. If a pitmaster has done their job
right, the meat is already perfect, and adding sauce on top only takes away from the classic
smoky flavor. However, it's not unusual for pitmasters to use barbecue sauce as they cook,
adding it as a base or marinade. It just may be frowned upon to use it as a condiment once
the meat makes it to your plate.
It's safe to say that barbecue specialties have many variations across the United States.
What's popular and masterful in one region may not be what's typically sought after and
perfected in another. In the Carolinas, it would be a mistake to skip out on whole-hog
pork. Meanwhile, in Memphis and St. Louis, you don't skimp on the ribs. And in Texas,
you've simply got to try the brisket. Of course, Kansas City does a little bit of everything,
with its classic sauce added to it all.
That said, while you might find a beautiful brisket in the Carolinas, or a great rack
of ribs in Texas, don't make it your first order. At least initially, do a bit of research
and look for the regional specialty to see what the barbecue restaurant in question should
be able to do best, then go from there. You might even ask what their best dish is, order
that, and add on other meats. Just as long as you don't skip out on ordering the best
of the best.
In some parts of the country, bread is commonly served for free at barbecue restaurants along
with pickles, onions, and sometimes, jalapenos. It's a common garnish that can turn a barbecue
plate into a quick sandwich and add some crunch and zing. The bread is often basic sandwich
white bread, though you may find variations on this theme. Some barbecue joints even make
their own pickles in-house, while others serve up the huge gallon buckets of pickles and
fresh sliced white onions. And since these sorts of add-ins are free at many barbecue
restaurants, they can really stretch your dining out budget, too.
"No, Homer! Don't fill up on bread!"
"Oh right! The steak!"
While the pickles and onions can act as a foil to the fatty richness of some barbecue
meats, the bread is nothing more than a carbohydrate-heavy filler that, at best, acts as a meat delivery
system. Now, you might enjoy making a brisket or pulled pork sandwich with bread and garnishes
at your table, and there's nothing wrong with that. But be careful not to load up on the
freebies when you're really there for the meat.
Most people don't visit a barbecue restaurant thinking they're going to be eating healthy
food. However, at the same time, you want to avoid overdoing it. A barbecue plate loaded
with meats and sides can feel like a delightful mini-buffet, but exercise caution. A lot of
those classic barbecue sides can be really heavy, and if you're going to try them all,
they can start to add up and make you feel uncomfortably full. You may even feel too
full to enjoy the meat that you really came for.
A barbecue plate with all meat and no sides isn't appealing to everyone, of course. Just
remember that you need to choose your sides wisely. Maybe instead of fried okra, pick
up some lighter vinegar-based coleslaw. Perhaps some classic collard greens would work well
here, too. Or you can always limit how much you eat. Consider also how different ingredients
may treat you. Beans might not seem like much sitting there on your plate, but the fiber
will fill you up fast and make it difficult to focus on the meat.
Maybe, thinking about how that mac and cheese could get in the way of chowing down a good
brisket, you're now looking for a lighter side to pair with your barbecue. If green
beans are on the menu, that could seem like they fit the bill. But there's usually a reason
most barbecue restaurants don't have a lot of vegetables available as sides: They're
just not the best offering on the menu. In fact, those green beans may even come from
a can in some places.
The same goes for the seemingly simple corn on the cob.
You might enjoy them as you eat barbecue, but most likely, vegetables at a barbecue
restaurant aren't going to be anything special. And generally, if they're tasty in the world
of barbecue, they're going to be pretty loaded with butter, bacon, and other stuff that tastes
great but isn't exactly doing your health any favors. If you were thinking you'd be
saving calories picking something green, think again.
There are exceptions, of course. If a barbecue restaurant is known for a particular veggie
side, like, say, some barbecue creamed corn or fried okra, or if they use ultra-fresh,
local vegetables, you may be pleasantly surprised. But for the most part, if you're ordering
vegetables at a barbecue spot, prepare to be disappointed.
Pitmasters know meat, right? So it makes sense that they could knock it out of the park with
a hamburger any day of the week. But that's not their specialty, and you'll probably be
better off ordering something from the proper barbecue meat menu.
At a barbecue restaurant, the real talent lies in primal cut meat, not ground beef.
Typically, burgers are often on the menu to offer an alternative to guests who aren't
into barbecue but have somehow found themselves looking for a meal inside a barbecue joint.
This could well mean that the restaurant's heart isn't really in this particular dish.
If you're still craving a sandwich, most restaurants offer fresh chopped or sliced meat sandwiches
that could fit the bill pretty well while still drawing on their central offering of
barbecued meat.
If you walk into a barbecue restaurant and see tongs and steamer baskets filled with
meat, the sad truth is that you should probably just turn around and walk away. Your meat
should be sliced or shredded to order right in front of you, for one. In really excellent
barbecue places, you may even be asked about your preferences, like whether you want moist
or lean brisket. All told, it's a bad sign if your meat is ready and waiting before you
get there.
Why is pre-sliced meat bad? It's definitely not going to get better sitting there waiting
for you. Likely, the quality of the meal will only get worse. Yes, preparing the meat so
all that needs to be done is pick it up and put it on a plate can make service go faster
and makes things easier for the restaurant staff. But the quality of flavor is going
to start degrading as soon as the meat is cut and exposed to the environment. Once the
meat is sliced, it will start to oxidize and can lose moisture, too. This is one thing
that you can steer clear away from almost every time.
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