How to Tell the Difference Between Texas and Carolina BBQ
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.
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.
This post was updated July 1st, 2025, to reflect additional information.
