a

A LOT!
State tourism officials reckon
that Alabama boasts the most

BBq
barbecue joints per capita in

ABCs of
the country. They once asked
folks to nominate local favorites
online and received more
than 300 unique entries. Had
the contest allowed voting by

The
mail, organizers estimate that

a
number may have doubled.

Alabam b
BARK
The flavorful crust that forms
where spice meets smoke
is prized on pork shoulders.
Direct-heat cooking in Alabama
pits make for even chewier,
more delectable edges.

d c
Civil
At family-run icons such as Lannie’s
Smoky, savory, and downright sacred—there’s not much the Yellowhammer DIVERSITY
Some states and cities are
Bar-B-Q Spot in Selma and Brenda’s
State holds in higher regard than its pit-fired meats. “Barbecue is right up
synonymous with a single Bar-B-Que Pit in Montgomery
there with football,” says historian and associate lecturer at the University
of Chattanooga Mark A. Johnson. He’d know. He literally wrote the book
style—Kansas City means a (pictured), Black pitmasters fed the

ts
molasses-and-tomato sauce,

h
civil rights movement at its most

ig
on the art form in Alabama. “Every small town, every neighborhood of
for example. But Alabama

every big city has its local place,” he says. “It’s where the community remains a microcosm of
gets together. It’s something to rally around.” It’s also a lot of ’cue. If the the South’s Barbecue Belt,
state’s dizzying array of flavors, sauces, superstar pitmasters, and iconic drawing influences from its
institutions has you feeling overwhelmed, don’t be. Just loosen that belt, tastiest traditions. In the
strap on a bib, and get back to basics with the ABCs of Alabama BBQ western reaches, St. Louis–
style spareribs come mopped
(please note our list includes only the tastiest letters in the alphabet).
with vinegary sauces typically
found in North Carolina ’cue.
BY JESSICA FENDER In Birmingham, tomato-based
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARY FEHR sauces like those found in
Tennessee take center stage—
with spices added by the Greek
immigrant community. And
that’s not counting the state’s
own unique flavor contribution
(see the entry for M).
R
critical points—and provided other
essential resources, too. Incidentally,
both of these historic eateries
also scored spots in the Alabama
Barbecue Hall of Fame.
FESTIVALS
There are plenty to choose from. Some, like the
upcoming Railyard BBQ Brawl in Madison and the
epic Poosa Q in Montgomery, give attendees the
chance to see pro teams duke it out in Kansas City
Barbecue Society–sanctioned competitions. More laid-back
cook-offs like the Cahabaque at Birmingham’s Cahawba
Brewing Company are just good places to eat great ’cue.  

28 | AAA EXPLORER OCT/NOV/DEC 2023 AAA.COM AAA.COM OCT/NOV/DEC 2023 AAA EXPLORER | 29
 m
h
HICKORY
May o
It’s the signature ingredient in the tangy
white sauce invented in 1925 by the
It’s the hardwood of
patriarch of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in
choice for smoking meat
Decatur. Our state’s biggest contribution
across the state.
to America’s barbecue sauce lexicon still
coats the family-run institution’s whole
smoked chickens, though it’s just as good
drizzled over other fresh-from-the-pit

i
goodies.

“AN IRRESISTIBLE
HISTORY OF
ALABAMA

g
BARBECUE”
Johnson’s tome digs
into the history and

den
culture around the

Gol
craft—from smoked
meat’s impact on prewar
politics and the civil
rights movement to the
private, rural barbecue

Rule
clubs that keep old-
school ’cue traditions
alive today.

OPEN PIT

o Texans sing the praises of “low and slow,” or using closed

L
smokers and offset heat boxes for their 14-hour-plus briskets.
Opened in 1891, But peek in on many Alabama pitmasters and you’ll see
someone hustling. Direct cooking over hot coals means little downtime.
Irondale’s Golden We’re talking pork shoulders in as little as 3 or 4 hours and ribs in 90
Rule Bar-B-Q and LEGENDS minutes. They’re turning meat, rotating it through hot spots, and sweating
Grill is the oldest Truly, there are too buckets. “It’s a lot of work,” says Johnson. That also means Alabama ribs,
many to count, including for example, are more satisfyingly firm than fall-off-the-bone, he adds.
continuously operating “When you bite in, you see the toothmarks.”
many already mentioned
restaurant in Alabama. elsewhere in the
And according alphabet. From longtime

P
to the University pillars of the state’s
barbecue community—
of Chattanooga’s think Van Sykes of
Johnson, it’s possibly Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q in

PORK
the oldest barbecue Bessemer—to more
recent rock stars like
joint in the U.S. Whether it’s pulled in Birmingham
Mike Wilson of SAW’s, the
or ribs in Tuscaloosa, the state’s
state has no shortage of
specialty is decidedly porcine.
talent to choose from.

30 | AAA EXPLORER OCT/NOV/DEC 2023 AAA.COM AAA.COM OCT/NOV/DEC 2023 AAA EXPLORER | 31

q
QUICK
Barbecue was Alabama’s first
convenience food. And while many of
the state’s ubiquitous mom-and-pops
now seem “off the beaten path,”
that’s only because the beaten path
changed. Pitmasters originally hung
their shingles along major roadways
and around mills and industrial sites
to serve crowds of busy diners.   regional highlights.    “100 Dishes to Eat” list.
W
r
ROAD TRIP
Those looking for a DIY
meat-centric tour of the
s
SIDES
Slaw, beans, and potato salad? Sure.
But it comes as no surprise that a W hole Hog
With most pit-bound meat parceled out
state have their work state that nails the meat-and-three
by shoulders, slabs, and butts these days,
cut out for them. For serves up side dishes with a bit more
some call whole-hog cooking a dying
a top-down approach, panache. Both the sweet potato fluff
start with the North at Pruett’s Bar-B-Q in Gadsden and art. Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ aims
Alabama BBQ Trail, the famed half-moon cookies at Full to keep that craft alive. The restaurant’s
which neatly maps out Moon Bar-B-Que are on the state’s eponymous South Carolina–raised
pitmaster (pictured)—only the second

T
barbecue pro to win a James Beard

a
Best Chef title—revived the practice on

o os

COURTESY RODNEY SCOTT’S WHOLE HOG BBQ

sc al
Birmingham’s restaurant scene in 2019

Tu
(with the help of homegrown ’cue royalty
Nick Pihakis of Jim ’N Nick’s fame).

Travel pro and amateur foodie JESSICA FENDER

Talk about having it all. Two titans of Alabama ’cue— once beat her kid brother at a brisket-smoking
Dreamland BBQ (pictured) and Archibald & Woodrow’s competition and still brags about it to this day.
BBQ—were born in the Tuscaloosa area. And many of the Follow her adventures at travelerbroads.com.
state’s most popular chains—think Jim ’N Nick’s, Moe’s
Original, and Full Moon, among others—have outposts
in Druid City, too. Bonus: You can find the biggies within Back
about a mile of each other, as the crow flies. FR E E by
N O R T H A M ER I CA’S
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