Southern Living has just released their hard-to-not-read list: The South’s Best Butt: 20 of the Best Barbecue Joints in the South. They’ve scoured the South and picked their 20 favorite joints. Congrats to Dallas’ Pecan Lodge. Here is Southern Living’s take:
Pecan Lodge
Dallas, Texas
In a state known for barbecue, Dallas is rarely a player. But Pecan Lodge has reset ‘cue expectations with killer pulled pork developed to satisfy the owners’ Carolina nostalgia. Get the ‘Cue-pon: Bring in the June issue of Southern Living, and get a free signature Tumbleweed cookie with the purchase of a pork sandwich.
UPDATE: Also, Will Fleischman of Dallas’ Lockhart Smokehouse was named one of the top 10 pitmasters in the South.
Full list of winners below.
A&R BAR-B-QUE, Memphis, TN – “The star is the sloppy chopped pork sandwich, twitching with tangy slaw and bathed in a sauce thatdoesn’t obscure the robust smokiness of the meat,” reports Southern Living.
ALLEN & SON BBQ, Chapel Hill, NC – “If a foreigner was studying for a barbecue exam, the Allen & Son flash card would surely get a workout,” according to Southern Living. The restaurant borrows from both traditions of western and eastern Carolina ‘cue.
THE BAR-B-QUE SHOP, Memphis, TN – The smoked pork shoulder sandwich has won accolades for its accouterments, including a mustard-tinged sauce, a fiery hot sauce and sturdy Texas toast.
BBQ BARN, North Augusta, SC – South Carolina is the only state with four distinct sauce regions, and BBQ Barn offers them all, including the thick mustard variety rarely found beyond Palmetto state borders.
BOZO’S HOT PIT BAR-B-Q, Mason, TN – Long famed for its treatment of pork shoulders which emerge moist and tender from the pit, bearing the faintest trace of smoke.
THE BRICK PIT, Mobile, AL – Serving succulent pulled pork slathered with a thick tomato sauce.
BUNN’S BARBECUE, Windsor, NC – Bunn’s minced Boston butt is sandwiched between two flaps of crisp cornbread.
GEORGIA PIG BAR-B-QUE, Fort Lauderdale, FL – Wayne Anderson chops oak-smoked meat and crunchy bits of bark and adds his tangy original sauce, reports Southern Livng.
JIM ‘N NICK’S BAR-B-Q, multiple locations across the South – Produces a phenomenal pork shoulder with traditional methods some many have written off as too time-consuming.
JIMMY’S BBQ, Lexington, NC – A prickly red slaw tops the pork shoulder at Jimmy’s, a Lexington mainstay that specializes in chewy, hickory-scented meat.
LEIGH’S BARBECUE, Kevil, KY – Terrific hickory-kissed pork shoulder is chopped to order and sauced with vinegar.
LEXINGTON BARBECUE, Lexington, NC – The defining Piedmont barbecue joint…chops its shoulders and slaw into an extraordinary mixture of sweetness and smoke, reports Southern Living.
MARTIN’S BAR-B-QUE JOINT, Nolensville, TN – Patrick Martin’s open-faced sandwich, what he calls a Redneck Taco, piles hickory smoked pork, slaw, and Piedmont-style tomato sauce atop a plate-size hoecake.
NEELY’S, Marshall, TX – An 85-year-old establishment serving ground smoked shoulder with mayonnaise, lettuce, and the signature sauce on a hamburger bun.
PAPA KAYJOE’S, Centersville, TN – The flat disks of cornbread that bookend Papa Kayjoe’s pork sandwich are fried to order in lard.
PAYNE’S BAR-B-Q, Memphis, TN – The pork sandwich is graced with smoke-tinged bark, a robe of tomato-based sauce and mustard slaw as yellow as a buttercup, according to Southern Living.
PECAN LODGE, Dallas, TX – Killer pulled pork developed to satisfy the owners’ Carolina nostalgia.
RED BRIDGES BARBECUE LODGE, Shelby, NC – Sandwiches can be requested “outside brown,” the dark chewy bark that lends textural zing and a woodsy demeanor to chopped meat.
SAUCY’S WALK-UP BAR.B.Q., Petersburg, VA – Meat smoked according to low-and-slow traditions, then swabbed with sauces such as mustard-jalapeno.
SIMS BAR-B-QUE, Little Rock, AK – Known for great ‘cue and their tangy, brown Sims sauce.
