Southern-style barbecue—the low-and-slow cooking process that transforms tough cuts of meat into meltingly tender morsels of rapture—is uniquely American. And, as the early Americans moved westward, barbecue accompanied them and changed dramatically in the process.
Barbecuing, or cooking in a smoker, is very different from grilling in terms of heat intensity and technique. Smoking woods are chosen for their regional availability and ability to complement the flavors of the meat.
Today, there are four predominant regional styles of Southern barbecue, and numerous sub-styles, spreading East to West. As you follow the barbecue path, the sauce changes from thin and vinegary to sweet and tomatoey the farther West you go.
Carolina Style
Various cuts of pork are most commonly cooked by first applying a dry rub, or spice mixture, to the raw meat. Once in the smoker the meat is basted, or mopped, with a thin, spicy, vinegar-based sauce.
Subsets of the Carolina style include additions of mustard and brown sugar in South Carolina and tomato in the Western Carolinas. The smoked meat is usually served with sauce on the side.
Memphis Style
This style also primarily features pork. Within this style rages a debate over whether wet or dry ribs are better. Wet means the meat is cooked with applications of sauce before and during cooking. Dry means the ribs are given a dry rub before it smokes. The ribs are mopped periodically with a thin vinegary sauce.
The mopping sauce or other barbecue sauce is then served on the side. When barbecuing pork shoulders or pork butt for pulled pork, the meat gets a dry rub and then is mixed with a thick, tomato-based, spicy sauce.
Kansas City Style
This style is most noted for two primary attributes: the variety of meats that are barbecued and the sweet and tangy sauce that accompanies. While ribs and pork butt have their place, beef, veal, lamb, poultry, and fish find their way into the local pit masters smokers.
Kansas City sauces tend to be thick, with spice and tomato, and a distinctive sweetness owed to the use of molasses, rather than sugar.
Texas Style
Here, brisket is king and the sauce is sweet, thick, and sticky. Texas style is also known for the variety of meats, particularly beef. Roadside barbecue stands are most likely to offer a selection that includes a couple types of beef, as well as sausage, pork ribs, and turkey.
Sauces vary somewhat within several Texas regional sub-styles. This style of barbecue is also defined by the regional preferences for smoking woods: oak and pecan in Central Texas, hickory in East Texas, and mesquite in West Texas.
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