Everyone has a favorite place for barbecue, and we couldn’t possibly list all the worthy spots out there. But these fifty joints below the Mason-Dixon line, which serve everything from pork to beef to mutton to mullet, are all worth any serious barbecue lover’s time.

Archibald’s BBQ

Northport

Established: 1962

In the same smoke-stained cinderblock building where his grandfather cooked fifty years ago, Tray Archibald glazes ribs with a tangy, rust-colored barbecue sauce. 205-345-6861

Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q

Decatur

Established: 1925

Big Bob Gibson invented white barbecue sauce at the backyard predecessor to his first brick-and-mortar restaurant. Nowadays, it’s slathered on smoked chicken all over Alabama. bigbobgibson.com

Miss Myra’s Pit Bar-B-Q

Vestavia Hills

Established: 1984

The pork and beef are fine, but the chicken is the main attraction—a tender, crisp-skinned testament to Alabama-style barbecue, best with plenty of white sauce. 205-967-6004

Saw’s BBQ

Birmingham

Established: 2009

It’s a young joint helmed by a classically trained chef, but the smoky atmosphere and no-frills ribs, pulled pork, and chicken are timeless. sawsbbq.com

Craig’s Bar-B-Q

Devalls Bluff

Established: 1947

Stop by in winter and chances are you’ll see plenty of duck hunters enjoying pork sandwiches, soaked with a proprietary sauce that most definitely includes a few secret ingredients. 870-998-2616

Jones-Bar-B-Q Diner

Marianna

Established: 1910

More than a century of accumulated wisdom goes into the pulled pork at Jones Bar-B-Q Diner, still operated by the same family that founded the place. 870-295-3802

McClard’s Bar-B-Q Restaurant

Hot Springs

Established: 1928

McClard’s can count former president Bill Clinton among the many Hot Springs residents past and present who have fallen in love with the restaurant’s ribs and secret-recipe sauce. mcclards.com

Pearl Country Store & Barbecue

Micanopy

Established: 2002

It’s a gas station, a convenience store, and a highway-adjacent barbecue joint with surprisingly tasty chopped pork, ribs, and sides. pearlcountrystore.com

Ted Peters Famous Smoked Fish

South Pasadena

Established: 1951

Mullet, German potato salad, coleslaw, a pickle wedge, a lemon wedge, a slice of tomato, and a slice of sweet onion. That’s the smoked mullet dinner, unchanged for generations. tedpetersfish.com

Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q

Atlanta

Established: 2007

Twins Jonathan and Justin Fox may have moved east, but they haven’t lost their Texas swagger, manifested in chicken-fried pork ribs, chili-smothered tater tots, and thick-cut brisket. foxbrosbbq.com

Heirloom Market BBQ

Atlanta

Established: 2010

When a barbecue-loving Georgia boy and a former Korean pop star cook together, they produce the likes of Heirloom Market’s popular gochujang-marinated pork sandwich. heirloommarketbbq.com

B’s Cracklin’ Barbeque

Savannah

Established: 2014

Bryan Furman serves locally sourced meats dressed with a peach-mustard barbecue sauce at his unassuming roadside joint. bscracklinbbq.com

Gary Lee’s Market

Brunswick

Established: 1968

Less than two miles from I-95, Gary Lee’s is a barbecue purist’s dream: a family-owned grocery store offering superb smoked chicken, brisket, pork ribs, and sausage by the pound. 912-265-1925

Southern Soul Barbeque

St. Simons Island

Established: 2007

Maybe Virginia has the better claim on Brunswick Stew, but Southern Soul near Brunswick, Georgia, has some of the best in the South. Tasty pulled pork, too. southernsoulbbq.com

Marion Pit Bar-B-Q

Marion

Established: 1972

Regulars line up for pit master Jack Easley’s seventeen-hour-smoked pork. There aren’t many places to sit, but that’s okay. Your takeout container probably won’t last long anyway. 270-965-3318

Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn

Owensboro

Established: 1949

Aficionados visit this famous spot to check two rarities off their bucket lists: Kentucky burgoo and mutton barbecue, served with an umami-rich black sauce. moonlite.com

Johnson’s Boucanière

Lafayette

Established: 1937

Boudin meets brisket at Johnson’s Boucanière, known for both its barbecue and its grilled cheeses, stuffed with sausage and smoked meats and pressed until warm and gooey. johnsonsboucaniere.com

The Joint

New Orleans

Established: 2004

There isn’t really such a thing as New Orleans-style barbecue, but a combination platter that weds spicy chaurice sausage and pulled pork makes a case that maybe there ought to be. alwayssmokin.com

Walker’s Southern Style Barbecue

New Orleans

Established: 2004

Wanda Walker plays a little loose with the term cochon de lait, which usually refers to a slow-roasted suckling pig, but the pork in her cochon po’boy is equally as tender and flavorful. cochondelaitpoboys.com

Chaps Pit Beef

Baltimore

Established: 1987

Baltimore’s answer to low-and-slow barbecue is pit beef: Charcoal-cooked bottom round, sliced thin and served on a roll with horseradish sauce. Chaps is a Charm City institution. chapspitbeef.com

Abe’s Bar-B-Q

Clarksdale

Established: 1924

The pits smolder at the same crossroads where blues legend Robert Johnson supposedly made his bargain with the devil. Make an easier choice: get a pork plate and a bundle of hot tamales on the side. abesbbq.com

Lamar Lounge

Oxford

Established: 2012

The nineteenth-century bar by the front door is impressive, but the centerpiece at Lamar Lounge is the patio-side barbecue pit, built to cook whole hogs—and draw a crowd. citygroceryonline.com

Leatha’s Bar-B-Que Inn

Hattiesburg

Established: 1974

With a tin roof, plywood floors, and mismatched chairs, Leatha’s is a no-frills joint. The focus is on the food: pulled pork and chicken, ribs, grilled ribeyes, and classic sides. 601-271-6003

12 Bones Smokehouse

Asheville

Established: 2005

True to its laid-back mountain surroundings, 12 Bones serves freeform barbecue with creative twists. The local favorite: baby back ribs glazed with a blueberry-chipotle sauce. 12bones.com

Allen & Son Barbeque

Chapel Hill

Established: 1970

Diners go to Allen & Son for chopped pork, dressed with an eastern North Carolina–style vinegar-pepper sauce, but they linger after dinner for the scratch-made pie and ice cream. 919-942-7576

B’s Barbecue

Greenville

Established: Late 1970s

There’s no phone, and the joint closes when the smoked pork and chicken run out. Even locals line up for a taste. 252-758-7126

Bar-B-Q Center

Lexington

Established: 1955

Your order at one of the oldest joints in a barbecue capital: chopped pork, red slaw, crinkle-cut fries, and a banana split, heaped with ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. 336-248-4633

Lexington Barbecue

Lexington

Established: 1962

Wayne Monk might be the most famous pit master in the North Carolina Piedmont, and his chopped pork shoulder still sets the standard in one of the state’s barbecue capitals. lexbbq.com

Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge

Shelby

Established: 1949

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That old mantra keeps the hickory burning at Red Bridges, where Debbie Bridges-Webb makes sure the pork and red slaw remain up to her father’s standards. bridgesbbq.com

Skylight Inn

Ayden

Established: 1947

Skylight Inn is a window into the nineteenth-century origins of barbecue, serving chopped hog dressed with salt, pepper, vinegar, and hot sauce in the eastern North Carolina style. skylightinnbbq.com

Smokies BBQ

Broken Arrow

Established: 2012

Out west, smoked bologna also goes by the tongue-in-cheek moniker Oklahoma Prime Rib. Some of the best in the Sooner State comes from the unusual concrete cooker at Smokies. smokieshickoryhouse.com

Hite’s Bar-B-Que

West Columbia

Established: 1957

Locals lust after the rib cut, a bone-framed rectangle of tender meat carved from a whole hog and backed by crisp, mustard-lacquered skin. Hash and rice on the side. hitesbbq.com

McCabe’s Bar-B-Que

Manning

Established: 1982

How about sides of fried chicken and black-eyed peas with your pulled pork? Ninety-three-year-old Jessie McCabe still oversees everything but the smoker at her family’s buffet. 803-435-2833

Scott’s Bar-B-Que

Hemingway

Established: 1972

First, the boll weevil killed the cotton crop. Then, tobacco went out of style. These days, pit master Rodney Scott keeps little Hemingway on the map with his famous whole hog barbecue. thescottsbbq.com

Sweatman’s Bar-B-Que

Holly Hill

Established: 1977

Takeout is an option, but regulars generally spring for the all-you-can-eat buffet, stocked with everything from mustard-sauced pork to green beans to banana pudding. sweatmansbbq.com

Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous

Memphis

Established: 1948

Decades of cooks have tried to copy the dry rub that Charlie Vergos devised to coat ribs in his basement restaurant more than fifty years ago. It’s still a closely guarded secret. hogsfly.com

Cozy Corner

Memphis

Established: 1977

This Memphis stalwart’s temporary closing due to fire damage has likely caused conniptions among the devoted patrons who go starry-eyed over its smoked cornish hens and barbecue spaghetti. cozycornerbbq.com

Helen’s Bar-B-Q

Brownsville

Established: 1996

Helen Turner has worked in a cloud of hickory smoke since her barbecue pits melted the fans she bought to clear the air. You can taste the smoke in every bite of her hand-cleaved pork shoulder. 731-779-3255

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint

Three locations in Tennessee and Morgantown, West Virginia

Established: 2006

Pulled pork, barbecue sauce, and coleslaw—all great individually and, even better when heaped together on a freshly griddled hoecake to make one of Pat Martin’s Redneck Tacos. martinsbbqjoint.com

Peg Leg Porker

Nashville

Established: 2013

In a brick bunker of a barbecue joint, Carey Bringle serves some of Nashville’s finest ribs, dusted with a tomato-red dry rub that testifies to his roots in the western part of the state. peglegporker.com

Ridgewood Barbecue

Bluff City

Established: 1952

Call it Appalachian-style barbecue. At Ridgewood, smoked and shaved ham comes doused with a thick, sweet, and top-secret sauce. 423-538-7543

Franklin Barbecue

Austin

Established: 2009

Although Aaron Franklin has only been in the business for six years, his brisket has already earned him some of the culinary world’s highest honors. franklinbarbecue.com

Kreuz Market

Lockhart

Established: 1900

One of the original Texas barbecue temples, Kreuz is still marvelously minimalist. No forks, sauce, or plates. Just great flavor. kreuzmarket.com

La Barbecue

Austin

Established: 2012

Pit master John Lewis is a lanky, bespectacled perfectionist who welds his own barbecue pits, stuffs his own sausage, and holds his brisket to exacting standards. labarbecue.com

Pecan Lodge

Dallas

Established: 2010

Like many Texas joints, Pecan Lodge is all about the meat: Brisket, pork and beef ribs, pulled pork, and sausage, served glistening with fat and accompanied by pickles and raw onion. pecanlodge.com

Snow’s BBQ

Lexington

Established: 2003

Brisket, pork ribs, chicken, pork steak, and sausage. Saturdays only, starting at 8:00 a.m. Show up around noon, and 79-year-old pit master Tootsie Tomanetz might already be sold out. snowsbbq.com

Vera’s Backyard Bar-B-Que

Brownsville

Established: 1955

Texas health codes have been hard on traditional cow’s-head barbacoa, cooked on mesquite coals in an underground pit. Luckily, Vera’s has been grandfathered in—ojos and all. 956-546-4159

Barbeque Exchange

Gordonsville

Established: 2010

Barbeque Exchange’s encyclopedic menu of smoked meats could drive an indecisive diner to madness. Relax and order the pork belly, with collard greens and a pumpkin muffin. bbqex.com

Pierce’s Pitt Bar-B-Que

Williamsburg

Established: 1971

The name came from a sign painter’s mistake, according to legend. Nowadays, plenty of diners pull up under the curiously misspelled logo for piled-high pork sandwiches and sides. pierces.com