Best Barbecue (BBQ) Restaurants in New Jersey

Discover the Best Barbecue Restaurants in New Jersey and learn about the types of BBQ style cooking.

New Jersey is not known as a state for having lots of BBQ restaurants and does not have a BBQ style of it's own. However, because of this, it does have a a number of very good BBQ restaurants with different BBQ styles of cooking.

Styles of BBQ Cooking

Kansas City BBQ is mostly pork spare ribs or beef brisket and it's the sauce that distinguishes it from other styles. It is very thick, just enough to stay on the meat and not fall to the bottom of the pit, and is largely tomato based.

Memphis BBQ Mostly ribs. The sauce is similar to Kansas City Style, but spicier and dry rubbed.

North Carolina BBQ is mostly a roast of the entire pig or major parts of it, and then the different parts are chopped up and mixed together before adding the sauce. The sauce is vinegar based, more so in the Eastern part of the state, and not too sweet and is shaken before applying it to the meat.

Texas BBQ is mostly beef brisket and is cooked slowly smoking with a spicy thick, tomato-based sauce.

Portuguese BBQ (Churrasco). In a churrascaria restaurant, they serve up a wide variety of different cuts of beef, pork, and poultry that are slowly roasted in specially designed charcoal grills to preserve the natural flavors with little or no sauces added. They are usually served on skewers and carved at table side.

The Best Way to Cook BBQ Ribs

Rib meat, when properly cooked, should easily be removed off the rib bone with a gentle bite. Some restaurants advertise that their rib meat easily "falls off the bone" ---- beware as they are serving BBQ ribs that have been overcooked. Rib meat should be cooked slowly to allow the meat fibers to become tenderized. Rib meat should be soft and moist, not mushy, and not overly chewy. The meat should be able to be pulled off the rib bone in one piece, the same size as the length of the rib bone.

Best Barbecue (BBQ) Restaurants in Northern Jersey

Cubby's BBQ, Hackensack - This is a Hackensack BBQ eatery that is family-friendly in a cafeteria-like atmosphere and a menu that covers the full range of BBQ food. The service is fast, the portions are huge, and the price is reasonable.

28 BBQ, Bound Brook- This small Portuguese (churrascaria) restaurant serves up tasty seafood, fish, and BBQ meats at very reasonable prices. They are especially noted for the BBQ cooking prepared on real wood charcoal. The style and atmosphere are not your typical BBQ roadhouse down home setting. It's a great value!

The Wood Pit Barbecue, Montclair - The BBQ and brisket is served up sliced and cooked in an Old Hickory smoker that smokes meat at 250 degrees with indirect heat --- no open flames --- using pignut and sweet hickory giving off a more flavorful taste than mesquite. Chef Hackney's sauce is vinegar-based and is taken from recipes from his mother and grandmother who grew up in North Carolina.

Best Barbecue (BBQ) Restaurants in Central Jersey

Big Ed's BBQ, Old, Bridge - Driving up to this place makes you think your are no longer in New Jersey. The roadhouse setting resembles a scene from the south and mid west. It's a great place to take the family or with a group of friends watching a football game with a beer and ribs. They have a bar with over 20 TV's and 9 HD Flat Screens.

Grub Hut Unique BBQ & Mexican Grill, Manville - Serves up good slow cooked BBQ and Taqueria coastal Mexican style food.

D and L BBQ, Bradely Beach - This new Bradely Beach Southern Country-Caribbean fusion restaurant serves good southern style BBQ chicken and ribs

Famous Daves, Hillsborough and other NJ locations - This BBQ chain with 5 locations in New Jersey is popular with families and people who love good BBQ served with large portions, and a beer to go along with it at a reasonable price.

Best Barbecue (BBQ) Restaurants in Southern Jersey

Christines House of Kingfish Barbeque, Shamong - If you are from the rural south and have a longing for some in expensive, down home, country style BBQ, than this is the place for you.

Rude Hawgs Pit BBQ, Bellmawr - This very good BBQ eatery serves up a large variety of Kansas City BBQ and Nah Lins style food at a reasonable price.

Texas Roadhouse, Millville - The popular restaurant meets the expectations of a well run chain serving up BBQ, steaks, and ribs --- it's rustic, has peanuts on the floor, with a western feel, and is noisy and energetic.

---

---

The Best Pizza In New Jersey - One of the few states with an abundance of excellent pizza restaurants. With a large Italian population and bordered by New York on the northeast and Philadelphia on the south west, both cities with large Italian populations, New Jersey lies in the heart of what is affectionately known as the "Pizza Belt".

---

The Best Hot Dogs in New Jersey - Find out what is the most representative of a "New Jersey hot dog" and where they can be enjoyed.

 

 

---

The Best Burgers in New Jersey - Find the best destination restaurants places for a good burger

 

 

 

---

Find The Best Pizza in New Jersey - With a large Italian population and bordered by New York on the northeast and Philadelphia on the south west, both cities with large Italian populations, New Jersey lies in the heart of what is affectionately known as the "Pizza Belt".

---

New Jersey Leisure Guide Home Page

Return from The Best Barbecue Restaurants in New Jersey to New Jersey Restaurants