If you want to start a fight among food lovers, especially in the South (most definitely including Texas) and parts of the Midwest, just say something about barbecue — anything other than the universally accepted “This sure tastes good.”
Barbecue — often abbreviated to BBQ or even just ‘cue — is long, slow cooking over indirect heat (as opposed to grilling over direct heat). It is also one of the foods people feel most passionately about, and there’ll be somebody to argue with or correct almost any statement anybody makes about it.
That said, what cannot be disputed is that around the country, there are numerous distinct styles of barbecue. Just how those should be broken down and differentiated, however, is definitely a matter of opinion — but as a starting point, it might be said that the Texas, the Carolinas, Kansas City, and Memphis each have distinctive overall approaches to ‘cue. Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, southwestern Illinois, St. Louis, and Chicago also boast their own BBQ traditions and specialties. (Here’s a list of the best BBQ spot in every state.)
In the broadest possible sense, it might be said that the two most definitive, and often copied and disseminated (around the nation), forms of barbecue are those of Texas and the Carolinas. Of course, those general categories must be broken down. The BBQ in the Central Texas Hill Country and environs is distinct from that found in East Texas and down near the Mexican border. And the ‘cue of the Carolinas is traditionally different in the eastern and western parts of North Carolina and in the central and eastern environs of its immediate neighbor to the south.
To compile a list of key differences between Texas and Carolina BBQ, 24/7 consulted numerous regional food websites, as well as those dedicated specifically to ‘cue.
The distinctions outlined here are generalities, of course. The fact is that these days almost (if not quite) every barbecue place in America serves many of the same dishes and offers at least one sauce that will be familiar to almost anybody But differences do remain. See our list — but feel free to dispute the specifics; it comes with barbecue territory.
Texas: Most common meat
- Beef
The Carolinas: Most common meat
- Pork
Texas: Definitive cut of meat
Culinary master class. Cropped shot of chef in black cooking gloves using knife to slice smoked beef brisket. (Culinary master class. Cropped shot of chef in black cooking gloves using knife to slice smoked beef brisket., ASCII, 110 components, 110 by
- Brisket
The Carolinas: Definitive cut of meat
- Shoulder, whole hog
Texas: Other meats
- Beef ribs, pork ribs, sausage (“hot links”), goat, offal (especially in South Texas)
The Carolinas: Other meats
- Pork ribs, beef ribs
Texas: Favored woods
- Post oak, mesquite (pictured), hickory, pecan
The Carolinas: Favored woods
- White oak, hickory (pictured), apple, cherry
Texas: Common seasoning
- Salt, black pepper
The Carolinas: Common seasoning
- Dry rub with such ingredients as salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne, brown sugar, and cumin
Texas: Typical sauce
- None in some places; otherwise tomato-based or molasses-based
The Carolinas: Typical sauce
- Vinegar-based or tomato-based (mustard-based in South Carolina)
Texas: Influences
- Native American, African-American, Mexican, German and Czech
The Carolinas: Influences
- Native American, African-American, German
Texas: Typical side dishes
- Coleslaw, pickled jalapeños, pinto beans, potato salad
The Carolinas: Typical side dishes
- “Red slaw” (with BBQ sauce instead of mayo), hush puppies, “hash” (pork and offal stew)