Best Barbecue For Different Types of Meat: South Carolina vs. Kansas City Style - John Mulls Meat Company (2024)

FAQs

Best Barbecue For Different Types of Meat: South Carolina vs. Kansas City Style - John Mulls Meat Company? ›

In general, Kansas City BBQ is best for beef and Carolina BBQ is best for pork. Kansas City style barbecue is slow cooked with a sweet sauce made from tomato soup or ketchup mixed with sugar, vinegar, and spices.

South Carolina is home to several distinct styles of barbecue characterized by different cuts of meat, types of barbecue sauce and preparation. It is particularly well known for the heavy emphasis on pork and the popularity of a mustard-based barbecue sauce in the central part of the state.

While the wide variety of barbecue styles makes it difficult to break them down into regions, there are four major styles commonly referenced, North Carolina and Memphis, which rely on pork and represent the oldest styles, and Kansas City and Texas, which use beef as well as pork, and represent the later evolution of ...

Kansas City–style barbecue is a slowly smoked meat barbecue originating in Kansas City, Missouri in the early 20th century. It has a thick, sweet sauce derived from brown sugar, molasses, and tomatoes.

Kansas City BBQ sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. It's rich from the molasses, bright from the acidic tomatoes and vinegar, and has just the right amount of heat from the chili powder. It's a classic, ketchup-based BBQ sauce that is a must-have for chicken, ribs, and more!

For example, Kansas City BBQ typically features a sweet tomato-based sauce with a tangy taste. There are many different barbecue styles, but two of the most popular are Kansas City and Carolina. Carolina BBQ typically is spicier and uses vinegar as a base for their sauces.

The Carolinas BBQ

This BBQ style has two camps: North and South Carolina. Proponents of both styles favor pork as the main meat. In North Carolina, the pork is typically brushed with a spice-and-vinegar mop as it's cooking. It's then portioned out and served with a ketchup-based sauce on the side.

Burnt Ends

The smoky, crispy-yet-juicy dish cut from the brisket tip has been a KC staple since Arthur Bryant's started passing pieces out for free while customers waited in line.

Other noteworthy institutions, now closed, were Penn's Barbeque and Johnny's BBQ. Though not quite uniform throughout the state's different regions, today's Arkansas barbecue style can loosely be defined as pork—either sliced, chopped, or pulled—piled onto either a bun or two slices of plain white bread.

Tennessee is known for Memphis-style BBQ which means they use a combination of “wet” and “dry” ribs, the later meaning they are rubbed with spices and herbs while “wet” refers to the basting that goes on while the ribs are cooking. Those wet ribs are also served with a tomato-based sauce.

What is Missouri style barbecue? ›

St. Louis–style barbecue is characterized by its process of grilling and then saucing the meat. The cooking time for St. Louis–style barbecue is faster than other styles because it does not require smoking the meat for hours or applying a dry rub.

Kansas City is also famous for its burnt ends, which are crispy, flavorful chunks of meat cut from the point end of a smoked beef brisket. You'll also find succulent pork ribs, tender pulled pork and smoked sausages on the menu.

A lot of people have made a big deal about how South Carolina has four different barbecue sauces, but in practice there are really just two main ones: the tangy and sweet yellow mustard-based sauce of the Midlands and the fiery, fundamental vinegar/pepper sauce of the Pee Dee.

BBQ is beloved across the US, especially across the South. There's the succulent, vinegar-dressed pulled pork popular in the Carolinas, the juicy and tender sliced brisket in Texas, and the sweet-and-tangy smoked ribs dripping with sauce you'll find in Missouri and Tennessee.

Kentucky Style BBQ just isn't as well known. In Kentucky, we cook Lamb/Mutton. Lamb and Mutton are essentially the same thing. Mutton is usually just an older sheep.

South Carolina is home to four barbecue sauces: mustard, vinegar and pepper, light tomato and heavy tomato. The sauces are sometimes mopped on during the cooking process or can be served on the side, a subject of much debate among barbecue pit masters.

South Carolina has one of the oldest barbecue traditions in the United States, and it is home to two distinctive barbecue styles and several other sub-variations. In the Midlands you'll find the unique bright yellow mustard-based barbecue sauce along with the classic side dish hash-and-rice.

In the age-old competition between East and West, Eastern-style barbecue has an undeniable tart flavor with a little spice. It's quite different than ketchup-based styles in Western states. Some supporters of the 'cue will say that even Western-style North Carolina barbeque is too saucy and sweet by comparison.