Where to go for BBQ in Memphis. Tennessee?

I am going on a casino chip collecting trip in January that will eventually bring me to Tunica, Mississippi. On the way there I want to stop in Memphis for some BBQ, where would you all suggest and why? I already have places I plan on eating in my other cities that I will be stopping in but I have never been to Memphis. Thanks in advance for the help!

Nobody is from or has been to the Memphis area?

Just came back...

The two generally best known BBQ places are Central BBQ ( there is a location right across street from the National Civil Rights Museum) and The Rendezvous, which is downtown.

I personally prefer Central BBQ.

(By the way, the National Civil Rights Museum is fantastic).

this would be a better question for a trip advisor forum. A lot of us have been to Memphis but probably have only had 1 or 2 BBQ.

Quote: GWAE

this would be a better question for a trip advisor forum. A lot of us have been to Memphis but probably have only had 1 or 2 BBQ.

I just figured here their are so many members from all over plus a lot of the members travel a lot so I thought I would ask for everyone's 2 cents.

I've had BarBQ at several places in Memphis. Some of our friends in the area first took us to Rendezvous Ribs downtown, saying it was the best. It was good but wasn't the style of BarBQ that I prefer, so chalk that up to a matter of taste/preferences. Later we went with them to Neely's BarBQ -- there is a little problem here, because there have been two chains of BBQ restaurants in Memphis using the Neely's name, each with multiple locations, and one of the chains is now closed. Unless I am confused, the one I am referring to is Jim Neely's Interstate BarBQ. I think we went to the one on S. 3rd Street, and I liked it very much. We also have been to B.B. King's on Beale Street, which ain't bad at all.

I have been to BB King's and ordered the ribs. I ordered the combo which had 4 wet and 4 dry ribs. I preferred the dry.

I really liked the ribs at Interstate BBQ. If you are not familiar with Memphis BBQ be prepared for a sauce with more vinegar and it isn't nearly as sweet as other types of BBQ.

If you only have one meal you might as well go to The Rendezvous, which is downtown. They've been around a long time and have a somewhat landmark, legendary status.

Dry ribs are a smoked, dryish style and cooked without heavy sauce. Wet ribs are heavily basted and served with sauce. People have a preference between the two styles and go from there. Sauces vary in sweetness/sourness. There is quite a bit of difference between the various styles. It's again a personal preference. You should at least try both wet and dry styles.

The other restaurants are just personal choices. Similar to pizza snobs squabbling about New York vs Chicago pizza.

I lived there for a few years in the early 2000s. I usually went to Corkys, a local chain, which conveniently had a BBQ buffet in Sams Town at the time.

If its your first time there my recommendation would be to check out beale street. There are quite a few rib places right there.

Thanks for all the help, my mouth is watering thinking of all the food. I think I will probably check out Rendezvous as it was recommended a couple times.

Elwood's Shack....In a parking lot by a Lowe's. Very small building which holds the best barbecue in Memphis. Maybe anywhere. Also open for breakfast. The barbecueing is done outside. The stuff is off the hook. You won't regret it and will remember it for the rest of your life. Dude who owns it is off the chain in his abilities.
Try the brisket. You don't need sauce at this place. I like tthe sauce but also find it a pleasure to just have a wonderfully smoked to perfection meat without the sauce.

Quote: MaxPen

Elwood's Shack....In a parking lot by a Lowe's. Very small building which holds the best barbecue in Memphis. Maybe anywhere. Also open for breakfast. The barbecueing is done outside. The stuff is off the hook. You won't regret it and will remember it for the rest of your life. Dude who owns it is off the chain in his abilities.
Try the brisket. You don't need sauce at this place. I like tthe sauce but also find it a pleasure to just have a wonderfully smoked to perfection meat without the sauce.

You might have just convinced me. That sounds amazing.

You will have to look up where it is. When following mapquest just remember you have to get into the Lowe's parking lot to find it. Very odd location but not a hassle if you know that in advance.

Quote: MaxPen

You will have to look up where it is. When following mapquest just remember you have to get into the Lowe's parking lot to find it. Very odd location but not a hassle if you know that in advance.

Perfect thanks Max, I will check out Rendezvous on the way there and Elwoods Shack on the way back north.

One word -- Corky's.

I've never been to Memphis (if I had been, I would have busted a gut and died there), but The Food Network rates One and Only BBQ as one of the top five in the country.

You know there is a simple solution to this, don't you? Go to Corky's, go to One and Only, go to Elwood's Shack. This is America, you can choose everything and still be right!


Memphis style is distinguished from KC and other styles in two ways:

First, as others have mentioned, Memphis ribs are rubbed, then vinegar mopped during cooking, then dry rubbed at the end, rather than rubbed, cooked, and sauced.

Second, Memphis style ribs are cooked hot and fast rather than low and slow. (Some places even parboil them first... let your taste buds be your guide, if they taste good it doesn't matter if they were boiled, baked, or deep fried.)

They should be awesome, no matter where you go.

I checked out the menus for the previous recommendations, interesting.
Well except Elwood's. If you're in the website design business, give them a call...;-)
Haven't been in Memphis for 50 years, need to get myself there.
No Brunswick Stew on menus?
Maybe Brunswick Stew is an East Coast thing... Or SE Coast thing....
Now I'm hungry..

Quote: Mosca

I've never been to Memphis (if I had been, I would have busted a gut and died there), but The Food Network rates One and Only BBQ as one of the top five in the country.

You know there is a simple solution to this, don't you? Go to Corky's, go to One and Only, go to Elwood's Shack. This is America, you can choose everything and still be right!


Memphis style is distinguished from KC and other styles in two ways:

First, as others have mentioned, Memphis ribs are rubbed, then vinegar mopped during cooking, then dry rubbed at the end, rather than rubbed, cooked, and sauced.

Second, Memphis style ribs are cooked hot and fast rather than low and slow. (Some places even parboil them first... let your taste buds be your guide, if they taste good it doesn't matter if they were boiled, baked, or deep fried.)

They should be awesome, no matter where you go.

So, Mosca, have you ever tried parboiling first, then spice rub, cooking in the oven 4 hours (suspended on a rack with drip pan underneath) medium heat using apple juice mop rather than vinegar, then finishing them on your BBQ with the sauce of your choice? Sweet, juicy, falling-off-the-bone, caked with cooked sauce wonder! My local butcher told me about doing it this way.

Your BBQ set-up in your pic is a really, really nice set-up. Perfect for the 2 of you rather than some super-grill to cook a cow you'll never need.

Quote: beachbumbabs

So, Mosca, have you ever tried parboiling first, then spice rub, cooking in the oven 4 hours (suspended on a rack with drip pan underneath) medium heat using apple juice mop rather than vinegar, then finishing them on your BBQ with the sauce of your choice? Sweet, juicy, falling-off-the-bone, caked with cooked sauce wonder! My local butcher told me about doing it this way.

Your BBQ set-up in your pic is a really, really nice set-up. Perfect for the 2 of you rather than some super-grill to cook a cow you'll never need.

Nope, never done that. Not out of any sense of purism, but because I found a way that works for me. I've used apple juice as a wrap in the 3-2-1 method, which is 3 hours over 225*, then 2 hours wrapped in foil with apple juice over 225*, then an hour unwrapped. You do 3-1-1 or 2-2-1 for baby backs, 3-2-1 for St Louis cut. But the last rack I just put over smoke for 6 hours @ 225*, and they were great. This was from last week.



Man, I'd have a huge supergrill if I thought I could get away with it! Really, though, I've thought about buying more stuff but it doesn't lead to better results. And at my age, not that I'm all that old, but at my age I have to consider how many more years of use I'd get, and what the girls (Mrs and daughter) would do with the stuff if I left them unexpectedly.

For years I parboiled, then grilled.
One of my best friends made fun of me, repeatedly, over the parboiling.
Father-in-law got one of the Green Eggs, cooked some ribs, very carefully.
Wow!
Except mine were now disappointing. I tried a couple of other methods, I quit.
If I want ribs, I call father-in-law. I ask, can I bring you some ribs to cook?
Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to call your wife's dad to cook your dinner?
Saw a green egg on sale in the multi-neighborhood web very local email alert thing last week.
I almost called, a few hours later it was gone, at about half price of retail.
I will look some more, I need my pride back...

Quote: TwoFeathersATL

For years I parboiled, then grilled.
One of my best friends made fun of me, repeatedly, over the parboiling.
Father-in-law got one of the Green Eggs, cooked some ribs, very carefully.
Wow!
Except mine were now disappointing. I tried a couple of other methods, I quit.
If I want ribs, I call father-in-law. I ask, can I bring you some ribs to cook?
Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to call your wife's dad to cook your dinner?
Saw a green egg on sale in the multi-neighborhood web very local email alert thing last week.
I almost called, a few hours later it was gone, at about half price of retail.
I will look some more, I need my pride back...

The BGE is great (I love mine), but you can use anything to make great ribs, even your oven.

I could pretend to be an expert, but the truth is that everything about cooking great bbq can be found at Amazing Ribs. I know how to bbq, but Meathead knows how to tell you how to bbq. There are other sites, but for best information in an easy to read form, and copious video showing technique, this one is The Mothership, IMO.

Quote: Mosca

I've never been to Memphis (if I had been, I would have busted a gut and died there), but The Food Network rates One and Only BBQ as one of the top five in the country.

You know there is a simple solution to this, don't you? Go to Corky's, go to One and Only, go to Elwood's Shack. This is America, you can choose everything and still be right!


Memphis style is distinguished from KC and other styles in two ways:

First, as others have mentioned, Memphis ribs are rubbed, then vinegar mopped during cooking, then dry rubbed at the end, rather than rubbed, cooked, and sauced.

Second, Memphis style ribs are cooked hot and fast rather than low and slow. (Some places even parboil them first... let your taste buds be your guide, if they taste good it doesn't matter if they were boiled, baked, or deep fried.)

They should be awesome, no matter where you go.

You guys are all making this very hard on me, I can only handle two of these places in the amount of time I will be there otherwise I see a heart attack in my future lol.
I used to bar-tend in a BBQ restaurant so I am familiar with Memphis style BBQ. As far as the boiling of the ribs, that is how my mom made them for the first 20 years of my life so I am very used to the method. Makes for some very good ribs!

I suggested The Rendezvous mostly because of its long time celebrity status and it is really the only one with a national reputation. US presidents, rock stars, etc. have been there. I personally preferred other places. Wiz and I like Corky's.

I haven't been to Memphis in over 10 years so I can't comment on recent developments.

Barbecue is funny. Most people have wildly different opinions, even about the same establishment. It is really all about the meat quality. Good barbecue needs no sauce. Larger establishments tend to lose quality due to having to meet demands and methods of production necessary, as well supplier issues.
That picture Mosca posted from his backyard looks and speaks quality, made with care, and attention to detail. It is this care and love for the process which produces outstanding results. Couple those things with a quality meat and you have nirvana.
It is for this reason some of the best in the world comes from the smoker towed behind a truck or tucked outside a shack.
I really consider myself an afficianado, having eaten barbecue all over the country. The best barbecuer in the USA in my opinion sets up on the weekends at a car wash parking lot on the weekends in Fredericksburg, Virginia on route 3 in the spring and summer months. Called McCoy's barbecue. This guy is so particular that he may or may not have brisket available depending upon whether or not the available for purchase brisket meets his standards. He will not put out anything less than perfection. This guy has an awesome reputation in the area and is always encouraged to open the brick and mortar establishment. Money is not the issue, as many have clamored to invest and fund. A brick and mortar establishment run by him would draw many, as the lot of the car wash can have upwards of 50 people at a time waiting for his masterpieces on the weekends.
Why doesn't he do it? He knows that he will lose the quality having to deal with certain government regulations. As well, he will have to come off the smokers at certain times. Good barbecue is truly an art and I love what the artists produce.

Well I know where I am going to eat next time I am in Virginia! I totally agree, there is a place in Detroit called Greedy Greg's that I would suggest to anyone who is in Detroit. Some of the best food that you will ever eat, He cooks the meat outside his house by the street on giant smokers and then you go into his house for all the sides. Home cooking at its finest. Check out the video from Anthony Bourdain's show, the video is only 90 seconds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-cR4iEmcUM

Here in Wilkes-Barre, on the first Thursday of the month from May through September the Elk's Lodge sets up several barrel smokers in the vacant lot on the corner of Hazle St and Pennsylvania Blvd. They sell rib racks and rib platters (beans and slaw) until it's all gone, usually around 3-4PM. That is great BBQ. They do it hot and fast, there's no time for a 6 hour cook when there are 30 people in line! Is it the best? I dunno, but it sure as hell is honest: old folks cooking, young folks playing music and dancing, kids throwing balls and playing tag, just a great time. Bring cash. And an appetite. It's a lot like Greedy Greg's, but on a downtown vacant lot.

I actually went to Greedy Greg's house a few years ago on a weekend. Was taken there by a friend from Detroit that is familiar with my love of barbecue. I actually stayed over an extra day for it, amongst others. He's one of those weekend warriors, at least he was then. I can only imagine what has happened to his family since the show. I primarily had the rib tips which were very on point. What really stood out to me was his mac and cheese. Straight up soul food made with love and appreciation is how I would describe it. Was kind of leery of the neighborhood though. Had I not been taken there, would have missed it for sure. Glad I didn't. I'll have to try and find an episode of that show and watch it. I can't believe he was on TV. Definitely deserves it though.
That guy needs to do a show on McCoy's. I would put Greedy Greg's up there in my top 10 barbecue experiences. I was expecting a KC style but his was more of a Louisiana style. I call it on point soul food.

Quote: MaxPen

I actually went to Greedy Greg's house a few years ago on a weekend. Was taken there by a friend from Detroit that is familiar with my love of barbecue. I actually stayed over an extra day for it, amongst others. He's one of those weekend warriors, at least he was then. I can only imagine what has happened to his family since the show. I primarily had the rib tips which were very on point. What really stood out to me was his mac and cheese. Straight up soul food made with love and appreciation is how I would describe it. Was kind of leery of the neighborhood though. Had I not been taken there, would have missed it for sure. Glad I didn't. I'll have to try and find an episode of that show and watch it. I can't believe he was on TV. Definitely deserves it though.
That guy needs to do a show on McCoy's. I would put Greedy Greg's up there in my top 10 barbecue experiences. I was expecting a KC style but his was more of a Louisiana style. I call it on point soul food.

You perfectly described Greedy Greg's IMO, Louisiana soul food. Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown Detroit episode is what you are looking for if you want to watch the whole episode.

Another amazing restaurant if you ever have a chance to eat there is Oohh's and Aahh's Soul Food in Washington, DC. I have travelled more than the average person so I have tried a lot of different foods from all over and this restaurant is in my top 5 EVER and maybe top 3. The food was as good as it gets, and the cook/owner is a awesome guy. Once the kitchen slowed down he came out and talked to me and my dad for at least 30 minutes. He wanted to know where we were from, how we found his place, everything. The guy's love of food and people is part of what makes his place so amazing. Also helps that the food is the best too.

I have 2 favorite Bar B Q places in Memphis, Rendezvous which is downtown and is of the dry rub variety and Interstate which has 3 or 4 small outlets, the one by the airport is a converted gas station.
Rendezvous is a larger restaurant and is a Memphis staple. I had avoided it because I didn't think that I would like a dry rub Bar B Q but I want to go back because I found that I really did end up loving it.
Interstate is a family run local chain and their places are smaller and they serve their fare on paper plates which my kind of place.
Corkies is also a smallish local chain and is pretty good too. I think Sam's town serves their Bar B Q in their Buffet.
I love Bar B Q and the fixins that go with it so living in the NW means that I have to make do but there are a couple of places that are OK but way below the Memphis restaurants.
I think that you could go to Memphis for a couple of weeks and eat at a different place every day and not be disappointed, in fact that is what I would recommend.