Asking for opinions about BBQ is much like asking which brand of AR is best, or the age old AR vs AK discussion. Different regions of the U.S. have very different styles of BBQ and folks like what they like.

There are 4 main regional styles of BBQ: KC, Texas, Memphis, and Carolinas. There are also other, larger regions which I disagree with like "Missouri" which tends to lump both KC & St. Louis together - faux pas. But you've also got Hawaiian & Californian which are okay, but not what I'd traditionally consider true BBQ. Virginia & "Southern" are usually some mix between Carolinas and other styles.

KC style is my personal favorite since I grew up in & around KC. My dad used to own a BBQ joint outside of KC. Ths style is characterized by a variety of meats (beef brisket, pulled pork, pork ribs, etc.), dry rubbed & smoked, with a thick sweet tomato & molasses based BBQ sauce just dripping off of everything. Most smoking is done with hickory.

Memphis is usually a spice rubbed dry BBQ on pork ribs & BBQ sandwiches. IMHO, without it swimming in sauce, it just ain't BBQ even if it is smoked & has spices. Typically, hickory & oak are used to smoke te meat.

Carolinas style (and most all "Southern") uses vinegar in their preparation & sauces which I despise. Most Carolinas style is pulled pork. Usually, hickory, oak, and various fruit tree wood is used for smoking.

Texas style is usually beef; briskets & beef ribs are most common. Most of the Texas BBQ sauces I've eaten are similar to KC styles so ths is my second favorite style. There are different Texas regional styles which also use mutton or barbacoa (cows head) and different sauce types. Most Texas smoking styles use mesquite for smoking.

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I can't speak for any of the Denver places (esp. the NW side), but I can outdo Famous Dave's in my sleep (at least the one in the Springs, I assume they're all relatively the same). The best BBQ I've found in CO so far has been Hickory House (but the Aspen location is better than the Parker location for flavor). In/near the Springs Rudy's is the best, but I'd still prefer to drive to Parker for Hickory House.

It sounds like I need to check out Big Hoss some time, but if Moe's is a Carolina style, I know I won't enjoy it; vinegar (malt) belongs on battered fish.

Just my $0.02.

Quote Originally Posted by Dave View Post
One of the nice things about my wife being from KC, when we go back to visit her family it's all local BBQ places all weekend long. I usually hit up Hickory House out in Parker for BBQ here. If I'm up on the NW side sometime I'll have to check out Big Hoss.