BBQ question (Mobile, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa: home, stores, food)

[sunshine girl]

Coming to Huntsville in a few weeks on another relocation preview trip. Have a BBQ question for y'all....forgive me natives.....is the dominant/preferred BBQ of the area pork or beef? Fingers are crossed for pork......... And does the sauce have a kick or is it the sweet sticky stuff? And what one place must we try, please. And thank you.

[Keeper]

You must try chicken with the white BBQ sauce, I like it on pork too. It is unique to this area and has been featured on Paula Dean's food network show. She went to Gibson's on the show. It is made with mayo, vinegar and pepper. They also sell it in the grocery stores here. Some places don't really have a good tomatoe sauce IMO, too vinegary. I am sure others here can recommend some good BBQ places that are very good.
If you haven't tried 'fried green tomatoes' put those on your list.

[Southlander]

Pork is predominant. Don't even THINK of getting BBQ beef here. Personally, my favorite is Whitt's, a small family-owned chain of take-out drive-thru places. Gibson's in Decatur has the best chicken. bb perrin's in Decatur does good ribs. If you must, go to one of the Greenbriars (waitress: "Whaddya want?" said with snarl).

[Historic Bessemer]

Bob Sykes BBQ.............Best!

[rnc76]

Pork and Chicken are BBQ around here.

The "Old" Greenbriar off exit 3 on I-565, about two miles north of the interestate at the intersection of Greenbriar Rd and Old Highway 20 has incredible pulled pork and hushpuppies. Greenbriar has your choice of a sweeter, tomato based sauce, a spicy vinegar based sauce or a great white sauce. I can't speak for the "Original" Greenbriar BBQ right next to interstate. I went to the "Old" one because that was what was recommended to me and I haven't looked back because it is awesome.

Thomas Pit on Highway 72 in West Huntsville/Madison area has incredible pork ribs. My wife LOVES their potato salad. Their sauce is a spicy, pepper filled vinegar based sauce that goes great with ribs. However, I wish they had the sweeter sauce for pulled pork. The place gets packed on the weekends, with lines backed up out into the highway to get to the drivethru.

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by Historic Bessemer

Bob Sykes BBQ.............Best!

Sorry, Bessemer, old buddy, you are sadly deceived. Bob Sykes is made with tomato sauce (shudder). North Alabama BBQ is quite different, more like North Carolina style, made with lots of hickory smoke and a vinegar-based sauce.
It's OK - you just don't know no better, LOL! C'mon up here, we'll educate you!

[Historic Bessemer]

Originally Posted by Southlander

Sorry, Bessemer, old buddy, you are sadly deceived. Bob Sykes is made with tomato sauce (shudder). North Alabama BBQ is quite different, more like North Carolina style, made with lots of hickory smoke and a vinegar-based sauce.
It's OK - you just don't know no better, LOL! C'mon up here, we'll educate you!

yuk..........don't like the vinegar based sauce.........I have been all over the country.....Bob Sykes is def the best, alot better than anything I ate in Memphis, the Carolina's especially.........def don't like Gibsons at all. I drove all the way up there, what a waste of time!

[HipLib]

Pork for sure. To me the better sauce is vinegar based. The must try place would have to be the original Dreamland in Tuscaloosa.Dreamland has sold franchises in recent years and they are good, but for real down home BBQ go to the original place. Archibald's is also good. Both places use a vinegar based sause which is thin, tangy and not at all sweet.

[sunshine girl]

Many thanks to all of you for taking the time to answer. We will be arriving next week, and cannot wait to try ALL the places you all suggested. And I'm glad to hear it's pork all the way, with chicken as a choice too. We usually prefer the vinegary and/or tangy sauces, but occasionally the sweet smokey ones are good too. We used to have huge 4th of July shindigs where we bought a few hogs and finished them out a month or two before the party. My husband and our good neighbor would put the shoulders and ribs on in the early morning and slow cook/smoke them all day long. Never an exact art....seemed to be dependent on how far they got into the beer keg. Anyway, good times and BBQ go together for us, so it's a primary comfort food for us!! Mmmmmm........

[Dragynwing]

can't let a BBQ thread go by without mentioning The Brick Pit. if you're ever in Mobile and need BBQ, go to the Pit. it's been top rated in several magazines and it is nothing short of phenomenal. and get a double serving of the potato salad. it's almost as good as the ribs and that's saying a lot for the ribs!