Best BBQ in Charlotte North Carolina at 16 Barbecue Joints
Are you team eastern-style or team western-style?
From whole-hog to pork shoulder, burnt ends to brisket, smoked wings and a few racks of ribs in between, this comprehensive list of Queen City bbq joints highlights the best bbq in Charlotte and the surrounding areas.
Looking for other Charlotte North Carolina dining guides? Check out the best wings in Charlotte, the best pizza in Charlotte, the best patios in Charlotte, and the best brunch in Charlotte.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT STYLES OF BBQ IN NORTH CAROLINA?
There are two main styles of North Carolina barbecue: Eastern style and Lexington (or Piedmont) style.
The difference between the two comes down to the part of the pig used and the style of sauce. Eastern-style barbecue is “whole hog” barbecue with a vinegar based sauce. Lexington style uses the meat from the pork shoulder and a vinegar and ketchup or tomato based sauce.
WHAT ARE THE FOUR REGIONAL STYLES OF BBQ IN THE UNITED STATES?
Beyond North Carolina ‘cue, there are four distinct styles of barbecue across the United States that you can find in and around Charlotte.
South Carolina has a distinct style of barbecue, but nationally, the Carolinas are often lumped together as a category. South Carolina barbecue is distinct from North Carolina’s Eastern style or Lexington Style because while they also use the whole hog, South Carolina barbecue uses mustard in either the rub, the sauce, or both.
Texas-style barbecue is all about meat with a simple salt and pepper rub. With Texas-style barbecue you’ll find a variety of meat like brisket, ribs and sausage. The meat is cooked low and slow over oak or pecan wood for 10 hours or longer.
Kansas City has a history as a meatpacking hub; Kansas City style features different cuts of meat are coated with a spicy rub and cooked over hickory smoke and served with a sweet and tangy tomato and molasses based BBQ sauce.
Memphis style barbecue features pulled pork and pork ribs dry rubbed with a variety of spices featuring prominently paprika and garlic. After the meat is rubbed, it is cooked in a big pit with not glaze or sauce applied throughout the cooking process. Memphis style barbecue sauce is a tangy tomato based sauce.
THE BEST BARBECUE RESTAURANTS IN CHARLOTTE NC
JON G’S BBQ
If you are a bbq lover, listen up!
Here me out: you can get the best bbq in the Charlotte area, dare I say maybe in the state of North Carolina, in a small counter service restaurant in the middle of nowhere in Anson County. And, you’re going to have to line up a few hours ahead of opening in order to get the good stuff.
Why the long wait? Well Jon G’s is only open on Saturdays from 11am to sell out and it’s a local favorite.
So don’t worry about the line; it’s part of the experience. Barbecue has always been a communal event, so the wait at Jon G’s is less like a line, and more like a party.
The line starts to form on Saturdays in Peachland around 8am, and is definitely established by 9, two hours before the restaurant opens at 11. Bring a few chairs, a few beers and settle in for cold ones, music and community.
Once you get to the front of the line, get ready to order, and I recommend getting a little bit of everything from the Texas style menu. The menu items are split up into four categories: meat, sandwiches, sides and specials, and we usually order enough to eat in the small space or at one of the picnic tables out back, and then pack up the rest to go and eat the rest of the weekend.
If you can’t make the pilgrimage to Peachland, you can find Jon G’s food truck at a variety of pop ups around Charlotte at breweries and bottle shops. But make sure you get to those early too…there is always a line!
MIDWOOD SMOKEHOUSE
Restaurateur Frank Scibelli visited barbecue joints throughout Texas before debuting his popular concept, Midwood Smokehouse, on Central Avenue (Midwood has multiple locations across the Charlotte area including Park Road Shopping Center, Ballantyne, and Birkdale Village in Huntersville).
Midwood’s cooks go to professional brisket school where they learn tricks of the trade (including how to burn hickory logs 24 hours a day) to slow smoke the restaurant’s Texas-style brisket and burnt ends. Sides that aren’t to be missed include the bacon wrapped jalapenos, mac n cheese and collards.
MAC’S SPEED SHOP
Named after the guy who used to work in the old transmission shop that’s now home to the South Boulevard location, Mac’s Speed Shop serves Carolina-style pulled pork, dry rubbed beef brisket and a menu full of distinctive Southern fare.
Wash your pulled pork down with a side of cold craft beer; the hometown chain (with locations at Concord Mills, Lake Norman, Matthews, South End and Steele Creek) boasts over 60 beers on tap and sponsors a beer club.
SWEET LEW’S BBQ
Looking for authentic North Carolina barbecue in Charlotte? Look no further than Sweet Lew’s in the Belmont neighborhood. S
Sweet Lew’s is home to the only true smoker in all of Charlotte and uses a mix of local hickory, peach, and pecan wood to smoke their meats.
Sweet Lew’s calls an old service station turned smoke shack home, where they’re serving classic North Carolina chopped pork, smoked brisket, bbq chicken, pork ribs, Brunswick stew and wings with all the fixings ‘til sell out: mac n’ cheese, collard greens, boiled peanuts, baked beans, and slaw. Don’t forget banana pudding for dessert!
MCKOY’S SMOKEHOUSE AND SALOON
McKoy’s Smokehouse and Saloon is a true family operation down to its name–after owner Namon’s father. McKoy’s serves up award-winning St. Louis style ribs, smokehouse wings and other barbecue favorites with a side of service that make guests feel like their dining in McKoy’s home.
BAR-B-Q KING
A West Charlotte treasure since 1959, this historic drive in on Wilkinson Boulevard still serves barbecue sandwiches curbside.
Come to Bar-B-Q King for an authentic drive-in experience and an order of their famous fried chicken dunked in barbecue sauce, which was featured on Food Network’s Diners Drive ins and Dives.
BOBBEE O’S BBQ
Originally from Rowland, North Carolina, Bob Roberts always loved helping his mom in the kitchen. His love for cooking carried on into adulthood when he started perfecting his homemade barbecue and sauces.
While you can’t go wrong with any of the choices at Bobbee O’s BBQ, the pulled pork with Bobbee O’s signature sauce is the most popular menu item, because just as their slogan says, “It’s all in the sauce!”
BUBBA’S BARBECUE
Bubba’s has been a long time Queen City favorite since its original concept, Jackson and Spoon’s opened in 1963. Bubba’s uses a 33-hour process to cook the whole hog and bring customers some of the finest Eastern style swine in the state.
THE IMPROPER PIG
Leave your regional barbecue debates at the door and become a barbecue explorer at The Improper Pig (with two locations in Fort Mill and Rea Farms), where barbecue from all over the country and world is celebrated.
The menu is a combination of classics like Carolina pork and St. Louis style ribs, with new influences such as Southern egg rolls, Korean barbecue salmon and even a vegetarian “no pig” portabella mushroom sandwich.
THE Q SHACK
If you’re looking for pork in a pinch, look no further than the fast casual Q Shack in the Promenade on Providence. The small, regional chain’s Charlotte location (the original is in Durham) will satisfy your ‘cue cravings with a hickory smoked pork butt sandwich or a chile rubbed beef brisket.
JIM ‘N NICK’S
Jim ‘N Nick started smoking pork when dad and son duo, Jim and Nick, reclaimed an old pizza parlor in Birmingham, Alabama.
Today, Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q boasts 34 restaurants across seven states (their two Charlotte locations are in Concord and Steele Creek) where they teach local owners, cooks and pitmasters the recipes, techniques and flavors of Southern barbecue with the focus on a variety of low and slow smoked meats including pulled pork, pulled chicken, beef brisket, turkey breast, pork hotlinks and baby back ribs.
R&R BBQ
Bob Critz and Rob Emore share more than just a name, they also share a love for true Eastern-style, vinegar based barbecue.
With a shared initial, the two opened a restaurant next to the railroad tracks in Concord in 1998 serving up Easter style ‘cue with all the fixings.
OOOWEEE BBQ
“You name it, we smoke it,” is the motto of one of Charlotte’s favorite food trucks, OooWee BBQ. With sandwiches, plates, barbecue egg rolls and sundaes loaded with mac ‘n cheese, baked beans, coleslaw, barbecue sauce and your choice of meat, OooWee BBQ has a little bit of something for everyone.
THE SMOKE PIT
Since opening their doors in December 2014, The Smoke Pit has been serving nearly 700 people a day. Their big portions and flavorful meats have not only garnered a large following but have won them the honor of one of Concord’s best restaurants. They now have three other Charlotte area locations in Salisbury, Monroe and Gastonia.
RED BRIDGES BBQ
Barbecue runs in the Bridges’ family. Red and Lyttle Bridges opened their family’s first barbecue joint in Shelby in 1946 serving pit cooked pork and classic Southern sides.
Seventy years later, Red and Lyttle’s grandchildren run Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge where they’re still serving customers the signature “Shelby style” hickory smoked, slow cooked barbecue (Shelby style is a cross between Western and Eastern styles with a ketchup-vinegar base).
RAY’S COUNTRY SMOKEHOUSE-GRILL
Barbecue is king at this Gastonia hidden gem. Serving old-school smoked barbecue and classic sides, Ray’s has plenty of pig to pair with their homemade vinegar-based sauce.
Or skip the pig and order one of Ray’s most praised dishes, beef brisket and potato salad.
ROCK STORE BAR-B-Q
What started in 1936 as the only gas station for miles now serves some of the best barbecue to both locals and visitors in Stallings, NC. All of Rock Store’s meats are smoked overnight with a blend of hickory and cherry wood, and then are hand pulled to ensure high quality product.
We recommend the sandwich combo; for just nine dollars you get your choice of sandwich, side and drink, and as the locals like to say, a little taste of home!
