Smoking 4TH of July Ribs and Finding Local BBQ

[00:00:02] What you want, when you want it, where you want it. This is The MESH. Barbecue Summer is here! Whether you're at home or going to the beach, lake, mountains, or city, be sure to support your local barbecue businesses. From the butcher shops to the pitmasters in food trucks, pop-ups, and neighborhood joints, for dine-in or catering,

[00:00:28] Carolina BBQ Festival reminds you to visit your locally owned businesses for barbecue summer. Visit CarolinaBBQFest.org for a list of local pitmasters that will get you started. And while you're at CarolinaBBQFest.org, be sure to sign up and stay connected. You'll get all the latest details on upcoming events, and coming soon, official dates for the 2027 Carolina BBQ Festival.

[00:00:53] Until then, be sure to enjoy BBQ Summer with your locally owned barbecue businesses. While we always encourage you to hit those favorite local barbecue businesses this summer, we also know that sometimes, come on, I just gotta do it myself! Especially on a holiday like 4th of July. Those are the summer days when I can hear the Weber Smoky Mountain calling my name.

[00:01:22] And this year was no different. So today, we're going to talk about this Chigger's Independence Day BBQ Adventure. Don't worry, we're also going to talk local barbecue, including some of the best places you can find in the Carolinas and across the United States. Of course, the judgment scale of what is best versus what is not, that always varies, so we'll talk a bit about that too.

[00:01:45] I'm Sugar Willard, and in this episode of the The Low & Slow Barbecue Show, we'll also hit some quick news bites that caught our attention recently. There's local barbecue businesses reopening and unfortunately closing. And one of South Carolina's biggest festivals of the year is coming up. We're going to be there, and because I hope you'll be there too, we'll share a few tips for enjoying South Carolina Festival of Discovery July 9th through the 11th in Uptown Greenwood.

[00:02:12] It's all part of the Low and Slow BBQ Show, local barbecue summer season sponsored by Carolina Barbecue Festival. Let's start with the best local barbecue. Four North Carolina barbecue businesses ranked among the nation's best places to enjoy smoked meats, according to Yelp. South Carolina landed a top five place with Lewis Barbecue in Charleston. No doubt the list is full of 100 barbecue best outside of that.

[00:02:41] I know we've probably talked about this before. These regular ranker releases always excite me a little bit, but they also raise some questions. First, congratulations to those recognized in the top 100 by Yelp. I mean it. These guys are Carolina locals employing Carolina people working hard serving quality food. The list includes, we mentioned, at number four, Lewis Barbecue in Charleston. The Smoke Pit in Concord ranked 16th.

[00:03:09] Our buddy Garen at John G's Barbecue in Peachland came in number 50. Again, this is top 100. Prime Barbecue in Chef Christopher Prieto in Nightdale finished 63rd in the ranker. And Haywood Smokehouse in Dillsboro out in the western part of our state came in number 65. Now for me, the methodology is always where these barbecue lists get a little sticky.

[00:03:33] In the Yelp list, the top 100 nationwide barbecue places were determined and ranked by number one, being identified as a barbecue restaurant. We know that can mean anything. Number two, volume and ratings by Yelp elite squad members. Yelp elite squad members, I don't know if they carry badges or who they are, but that's who's making these decisions in volume and ratings.

[00:03:59] Now, of course, volume automatically gives advantage to urban locations. At number one, it's Little Miss Barbecue University in Phoenix, Arizona. They've received almost 3,200 reviews. That's a lot of votes and a lot of positive feedback. And Little Miss Barbecue University holds a 4.7 star rating on Yelp, even with 51 one star reviews. Think about the volume.

[00:04:28] For reference, John G's has a 4.9 star rating, but only 104 reviews. Maybe that's how he winds up way down here in the 50s. By the way, 98 of those reviews for John G's, five stars. One review is a one star and I read it and don't go look at it. It's suspect. And for a business with just a few reviews, though, one bad day and everybody has them, both the customer and the reviewer and the business.

[00:04:56] A one star rating can ruin the prospects for making a list like that. So always kind of keep that in mind. And again, back to the barbecue could mean different things to different people. It could be you just check that box as a Yelp business. Yeah, we provide barbecue like Japanese barbecue. At number two is Hano Daikado Koro in Honolulu, Hawaii. That's the number two in the United States for smoked meat barbecue. Mediterranean number three is Marza from San Bruno, California.

[00:05:26] It could be Korean. Number five, San Ho Wan in San Francisco, California. Ladies and gentlemen in our audience, barbecue can be Indian as well. At number 17 at Southern Junction of Buffalo, New York. Any other smoked meat cooked at a business that checks that barbecue box in Yelp, they could become a contender in a list like this. Now, it may not be what we always think about barbecue, Southern barbecue, Carolina barbecue. But OK, it's barbecue.

[00:05:55] Of course, the familiar traditional barbecue names are on the list to elsewhere. Names you'll know. Number six, Franklin Barbecue. Number 10, Joe's Kansas City Barbecue. At 20, it's Goldie's Barbecue. And of course, we mentioned those across the Carolina barbecue family. In a list like this where they've that key kind of qualifications, we're always going to have some of our barbecue family laying the spot on that list. My point in all this, when you see the list, celebrate.

[00:06:25] Visit the places that rank. There's nothing wrong with picking a barbecue based on a list, especially one from a trustworthy resource. Our buddies at the Smoke Sheet Song, Ludwig and Ryan Cooper. They're producing a barbecue guidebook, by the way. It's coming out next year. Stay tuned for that. More to come. They provide good insights on where you can find good barbecue. If you're in the Carolinas, turn to our buddies, the barbecue bros.co.

[00:06:52] They've always got great reviews and it's laid out in a well, easy to understand map. Who's got the five hogs? Who has the one hog? Find them there. Barbecue blogger John Tanner, too. He is a reliable resource. We got more on his latest list here in just a couple of moments. If you're looking for a broader viewpoint, Texas Monthly's Daniel Vaughn is a go to. Southern Living's Robert Moss. He always points the list of followers in the right direction. All good resources for you to use.

[00:07:20] But I found that the best advice can come from the people who work and live in any of the towns that you're visiting across this great nation. I do that. We ask, where's the best barbecue? They point you toward the true top local barbecue businesses, the local businesses with hardworking people serving quality food. Consider the list. Consider the resources and the sources for your information when making that barbecue decision.

[00:07:46] And while we're talking rankers here, a quick roundup of some of the other rankers that we've noticed outside the Yelp list. I mentioned John Tanner. He's named his top 10 best in the West. That's at his blog, John Tanner's BBQ blog dot wordpress dot com. I know that's long. If you just type in John Tanner barbecue, the Google robots will send you there pretty easily. You can find it. Look for his list. It's specific to Lexington style barbecue places.

[00:08:13] And while he admits there's some gaps from the newer Asheville barbecue joints, the list focuses specifically on pork barbecue, Lexington barbecue. So somebody like Iron and Oak Brisket Company and Woodfin, they probably wouldn't qualify for the list. They're kind of newer in the Asheville area. Not Lexington barbecue. Not on the list. Here's who did make the list. Barbecue King in Lincolnton, where the same family has been cooking for 55 years.

[00:08:41] We talked with pit master Jordan Smith a few weeks ago. You check out our interview with his family barbecue stories at low and slow barbecue show episode library. Low slow BBQ show dot com for all the scoop on barbecue king. I'll let John Tanner deliver the rest of his top 10 at his barbecue blog. Go check it out. Here's a couple more hints about who you'll find on that Lexington style barbecue list. Of course, Lexington barbecue honey monks, as some people call it.

[00:09:07] Also on the list, JD Smokehouse and Rutherford College. If you're around the Hickory Metro, you know, you know. And Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge and Shelby, which just celebrated 80 years in business. Congratulations to Natalie Ramsey and her brother Chase Webb and their mother for continuing the family legacy into a third generation in Cleveland County. Get the full list from John Tanner at his blog. Here's one more ranker to talk about. I'll mention to you. We shared this with some of the folks that subscribe to our newsletter.

[00:09:37] And now that it's the hot dog days of summer, this is especially notable, I think, for the Carolinas. According to Google Trend search data, North Carolina and South Carolina are both in the top 10 grilling obsessed states. South Carolina comes in number three where the people in the Southern Carolina like to grill oysters, according to the list. Not what I'd always think about when I'm grilling obsessed. But hey, I'm down for a grilled oyster.

[00:10:04] North Carolina ranked number 10 with hot dogs. No doubt they're the bright leaf hot dogs from Carolina Packers. But we are grilling obsessed and we love some hot dogs and can't argue with that very much. I squeezed a hot dog in on July 4th, not 66 like Joey Chestnut, but one was good enough for me. I'll accept North Carolina being grilling obsessed. This is grilling obsessed. Remember, not smoking. Grilling obsessed with hot dogs. But I also want to share number one in the list. And this is kind of why I bring it to you.

[00:10:34] Minnesota residents are most obsessed with grilling green beans. Moving on to my own adventures in fire and smoke and cooking meat on 4th of July. In our family growing up, 4th of July always meant a big stack of dad's ribs alongside mom's homemade potato salad or special 4th of July baked beans. Man, I'd love to go back and have another serving of all those.

[00:11:02] Short of that, I can carry on some of the tradition in this Chickers home. So when the wife asked about buying pork spare ribs, they were on sale. I told her, get two. One package was already cut, St. Louis style. All trimmed out, looked nice. The other package, it was a whole spare set. So that required a little bit of trimming. I had to cut out some of the stuff on the sides and cut out some of the ribs, made it nice and square. It gave me extra meat in some of the ugly rib cuts for experimentation.

[00:11:33] That experimentation turned out pretty good, by the way. It also allowed me to cut down the rack into multiple sections in hopes of fitting it all on my smoker. Yeah, turned out to be a problem. So I rubbed the St. Louis style cut with Memphis dry rub from our buddy Chris Loschiavo at Blue Suede Barbecue. It felt like 4th of July. I got to use a product from one of our nation's wonderful veterans. Of course, he was in the 82nd Airborne Division, a division engineer there.

[00:12:02] So Chris Loschiavo, thank you for your service. I used some barbecue rub from Blue Suede Barbecue, the Memphis dry rub. And the other set, that was on one rack. By the way, fast forward to the conclusion, great flavor. Really enjoyed the rub and what it brought to the meat. There's a little bit of a caveat for what I'm about to share about the rest. At any rate, the other set, the part where the ribs were, I trimmed it and had most of the extra meat in the square set.

[00:12:30] I used Meat Church's Hail Mary rub. It's got America's Team Star on there as a gift from my sister in Dallas. So thanks to her for that. First chance to really get it out and use it. It also produced a great product. Now, let me share that in the past, I've had a tendency to apply too much seasoning to the ribs before I let them sit overnight in kind of a dry brine. And as any experienced pit master might guess, this didn't turn out great. Frankly, it was too much.

[00:13:00] So much rub, too much salt, not enough smoked meat flavor. Leaving it overnight didn't, it wasn't my friend. It didn't produce a good result. Didn't care for it. So this time I went a little more easy on the rub. I applied a light, even coat of both rubs to the ribs, but only did it about an hour to 90 minutes before I put them out into the smoke. So the finished product was a lot more pleasing than the overspice mistakes of the past.

[00:13:26] The meat flavor was good without being overbearing. So I felt like that was a great move. So I hit the Weber Smoky Mountain with Kingsford charcoal, added handfuls of hickory, apple and apple wood. I'd soaked them in the water for about 30 or 40 minutes, got them good and soaked up, got my fire cooked up to about 280 degrees. I wanted to cook them a little bit hotter. That's what I've heard you need to do.

[00:13:50] But unfortunately, when I went to put the ribs into the smoke, I discovered more meat than smoker. So I packed as many as I could into the Weber Smoky Mountain and the remaining of the ribs, I confess, went to the gasser with wood chips. Sometimes you got to do it. After preheating, I'll tell you, the gas grill took a while to get up to temperature around 280.

[00:14:18] So I got it really hot and then I had to try to kind of bring it down. So the start of the cook was probably a little bit higher temperature than the smoker. What can you do? Just keep on smoking. So two hours for about an hour in, I sprayed apple cider vinegar on all of it. After those two hours, I spread out some aluminum foil, added butter, brown sugar, honey, a little more apple cider vinegar and wrap the whole thing up for another hour in the heat and smoke.

[00:14:47] Now, when I look back, this step probably tainted the ribs with sweetness and really it probably somewhat negated the true flavor of Chris and Blue Suede Q's Memphis dry rub and the Hail Mary spices. Maybe, maybe, maybe diminished it just a little bit.

[00:15:07] Apart from that, though, after an hour in the foil, I pulled the ribs off, let them rest about 30 minutes while the wife finished her pasta salad and oven roasted potatoes and corn. And when I unwrapped my 4th of July gift, it was like Christmas Day delight. The ribs look beautiful. Everything was tender, but it was firm enough that the bones weren't just falling out all over the place. See the final results at the Low and Slow Barbecue Show Instagram page?

[00:15:35] I got to admit, I was pretty proud of the outcome. Firm bites of rib, nice smoke ring. And while there was a sweetness from that sugar, butter and honey, it wasn't so much that the smoke flavors were masked in any way. Yes, I may have kind of hurt the seasoning rub impact, but the smoked meat and you could pick it up in the ribs. It was so good. No sauce was required at all. We always keep some in there.

[00:16:03] I got some sweet loose rib sauce I like to put on sometimes, but this time I didn't. Just kept them naked. It was good. For the ribs that were smoked and wrapped, there were a couple end spots that got a little soft. This was on the smoker, not the grill. They got a little soft for me, but by and large, I had to use the knife to cut apart the ribs and nearly everything was, like I said, was a bite off the bone. The ribs cooked over gassed. They were a little bit firmer. Again, they got that hot start. And even with the foil wrap, so that didn't really do a whole lot to it.

[00:16:32] So again, that initial temp likely helped kind of firm them up a little bit. Not as great a smoky flavor there, but still a quality rib. These are some of the lessons that I'm going to take into the next rib cook. A higher temperature smoker to firm it up. I don't think I've ever seen Brian Furbin wrap his ribs in foil or put all that honey and sugar and stuff on them. So next time, I might just skip all that stuff.

[00:16:59] Just let the rib and the season and the smoke give the flavor to the meat and see how it turns out. And also, it seems like that foil can kind of steam the ribs and maybe jeopardize a little bit of mushiness happening. All the sugar and honey and butter, that adds a nice sweet flavor. But it might overpower, like I said, everything that I did with those rubs. So next time, I'll keep it at the higher temperature. Consider using a larger Weber Smoky Mountain.

[00:17:27] The 14-inch was really efficient on fuel and fire. All that. After 20 years, I've mastered the little guy. I've got a 22-and-a-half-inch smoker. It's bigger, needs more fuel. It's required more tinkering throughout the cooks. Haven't really figured that out. Kind of pushed it to the side and probably won't be considering that one using it in the future. But it is bigger. It holds a lot more meat. If I have to use it, I'll think about using it next year.

[00:17:57] Also skip the wrap stuff. Again, like I say, let those ribs cook three hours. Add that cider vinegar spray after an hour and every 30 minutes or so thereafter, even at the risk of losing a little bit of heat by lifting the ribs. So that's kind of my approach to making 4th of July ribs. I've got another approach from my buddy Chicken Bone. It's on the Low and Slow blog. It's the 4th of July ribs for Britain. He was in Britain preparing his own.

[00:18:26] He's got a nice how-to. I'd like to know how you cook them. What's your favorite surefire method? Tell us at our website or you can email me at lowandslowbarbecueshowatgmail.com. I'll give it a try. And for the unique stuff, I'll share it with our audience in a future podcast. Just send those recipes and ribs methods to lowandslowbarbecueshowatgmail.com. Before I move on away from ribs, one more little tidbit that I will share with you.

[00:18:52] The ribs are great when they're hot and they're soft and they're juicy and they firm up a little bit the longer you wait. But man, let me tell you, you put some ribs in the refrigerator overnight, enjoy them for breakfast or lunch the next day cold. Don't heat them. Let them stay cold. Oh man, it is so good. And I'll admit you're probably chomping into a bunch of fat and meat and flavor and goodness. Just take my word for it.

[00:19:20] A cold rib on the day after. Not as good as the hot rib, but really a rib that you need to consider as your in your catalog of rib enjoyment. So moving on, let's turn to the barbecue events calendar just a moment. Barbecue and the Blues are together again for South Carolina's Festival of Discovery, July 9th through the 11th.

[00:19:42] Join us in Uptown Greenwood for the People's Choice Barbecue Competition, a hot dog eating contest, kid zone, and of course three days of live blues music throughout Uptown Greenwood. Come to the South Carolina Festival of Discovery for the Blues Cruise, a Kansas City Barbecue Society Championship cook-off, and a weekend of fun in South Carolina's old 96th District. Follow South Carolina Festival of Discovery on Facebook or visit UptownGreenwood.com for all the latest festival details.

[00:20:11] Then meet us July 9th through the 11th in Uptown Greenwood, South Carolina for South Carolina Festival of Discovery. It'll be like an earthquake. And this year, South Carolina Festival of Discovery will send two qualifiers to the Barbecue World Cup in Las Vegas in a battle for $1 million. This year, nearly 100 competition teams are gearing up for the Festival of Discovery. The action begins Friday night, July 10th.

[00:20:38] There's going to be a non-sanctioned competition for pitmaster smoked wings as well as dessert. Then Saturday, the KCBS sanctioned battle begins with turn-ins starting at noon. They're competing in chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder, and brisket, all part of the sanctioned competition. But this is South Carolina, so of course there needs to be a hash cook-off too. So Saturday features a South Carolina hash competition.

[00:21:03] It will be judged by South Carolina people who know exactly what hash should taste and look like. And I know everybody's competing for the top prize, but in South Carolina, that is a badge of honor to win the hash cook-off at Festival of Discovery. And then, of course, I mentioned the Grand Champion and the Grand Reserve Champion will qualify to compete in the first-ever Barbecue World Cup April of 2027. Just 50 people qualify for the event that promises a $1 million prize.

[00:21:33] Two of them, they'll come from Festival of Discovery. Of course, we've talked about this before. The Festival of Discovery also offers a chance to win more bragging rights in the People's Choice Awards. The crowd is invited to participate instead of those certified judges. $5, five sample tickets, and a vote for your favorite. $10? You get 10 samples. Two votes. People's Choice Awards can include KCBS teams.

[00:21:59] They might probably likely to expect some vendors outside the competition to participate as well. And you can bet that five or 10 samples of barbecue will feed your smoked meat anchorings, but you better get there early Saturday. The People's Choice Awards runs from 11 until 3 p.m. or sold out. So those participating vendors could go quickly. You might get to eat some barbecue somewhere at Festival of Discovery. But if you want to be in the People's Choice Awards, you've got to be there from 11 until they're sold out. Don't miss your chance to vote.

[00:22:29] And be sure to follow Festival of Discovery on Facebook and Instagram. That's where you find out the complete events and music schedule. Let me tell you folks, the blues schedules really, it's superb. They've got venues all over town. You'll want to check out the music as well while you're going for the barbecue, of course. And be sure to find our blog at LowSlowBBQShow.com for complete festival details, all the who, what, when, where, and some helpful tips for enjoying the festival. Here's a little preview. Be ready for the heat.

[00:22:58] Wear sunscreen. Shield your skin. Drink plenty of water. And wherever you can, step inside of one of those indoor music venues for cool air and hot music. We're excited to partner with the old 96th District to promote the 25th Annual Festival of Discovery. So please join us. Greenwood, July 11th. We can't wait to see you there on Saturday. If you see me out and about in uptown Greenwood, please stop and say hello.

[00:23:23] I'll share some Low and Slow BBQ Show stickers that make you an official member of the Low and Slow BBQ Show. Before we wrap it up today, a few barbecue business bites that I wanted to share. Boss Hog BBQ is closing after nearly 40 years on Highway 150 in the Sheryls Ford community near Lake Norman. This has been a family-owned business. They ended operations July 4th, but their food truck appears to be continuing for now.

[00:23:52] It's the Boss's Backyard Wings. In fact, there's an appearance in Maiden for the Boss's Backyard Wagon in Maiden for Jive After Five. Those are concerts there in the town of Maiden happening July 10th. So Boss Hog BBQ is gone. You can still get the flavor at the Boss's Backyard Wagon July 10th at Jive After Five. You might have all heard, Mack's Speed Shop closed its location in Matthews after a decade there. But still, the Charlotte-based business is replacing it with a new outpost in Fort Mill.

[00:24:22] So hopefully you have better success or continued success in that part of the world. You know that Mack's Speed Shop locations continue serving guests in Concord Mills, Cornelius, South End, and Steel Creek in Charlotte, as well as that location in Fayetteville, Greensboro, and Greenville, South Carolina. On the flip side of the scale, Holy Smoke Family Restaurant is open again in Malden, South Carolina, 550 days after a fire destroyed the business in Thanksgiving 2025.

[00:24:52] The owner, James Hester, credited financial and dining support for the return of the business and now offers more vegetarian-friendly options, including a bunch of pork-free sides. He said he wanted to deliver something that folks could enjoy if they don't eat meat. So that's cool for them. Holy Smoke Family Restaurant in Malden. Heritage Barbecue is open in the Old Monkey Junction Smokehouse near Wilmington. That's where pit master Brandon McCallan says he's cooking six to seven whole briskets every day.

[00:25:20] Heritage Barbecue serves a variety of other regional barbecue styles cooked over hickory and pecan wood. Smitty's Smoke and Soul Foods opened on East Main Street in Easley, South Carolina. The first person through the door received free barbecue every week for a year. That's a pretty nice reward for being the first person to support a new local barbecue business.

[00:25:43] Even without a year's worth of free barbecue, you can almost always bet that every bite you get at a local barbecue joint will be something that you can count on for life, especially if it was recommended by a local. And that, my friends, is the final word for this episode of the The Low & Slow Barbecue Show, sponsored by Visit Old 96 District of South Carolina, who's partnering with us to celebrate the 25th anniversary of South Carolina Festival of Discovery, July 9th through 11th in Uptown Greenwood.

[00:26:13] The Low and Slow Barbecue Show's local barbecue summer season, sponsored by the Carolina Barbecue Festival. Whether you head to the beach, the lake, the mountains, the city, or Uptown Greenwood, visit your local barbecue businesses this summer. You can go to carolinabbqfest.org for a list of local pit masters, and that'll help you get started. And while you're there, sign up to stay connected. You'll be the first to know the dates for the 2027 Carolina Barbecue Festival. To our audience, thank you for listening to the Low and Slow Barbecue Show.

[00:26:44] If you like what you hear, share our podcast with your food-loving friends. Please subscribe and give a like. You can find more local barbecue people at our website, Low and Slow Barbecue Show. At a library of podcasts, more than 100, and a lot of them feature interviews with local pit masters telling their story. Give them a listen and make plan to visit their business this summer. At our website, you'll find our blog. We've got barbecue news, festival, and event details.

[00:27:12] You can also sign up for our weekly newsletter at carolinababbecuefestival.com's partner, the Low and Slow Barbecue Show, our newsletter at lowslowbbqshow.com. The Low and Slow Barbecue Show is proud to be part of the Mesh.TV network, a podcast. That's where Andrew Moose is a producer of our podcast and others on the Mesh network. Listen to them all today at the mesh.tv. That's where you'll also find the Low and Slow Barbecue Show, where I'm your host, Chigger Willard,

[00:27:40] reminding you that for the best barbecue and the best barbecue podcast, make it low and slow. You've been listening to The Mesh, an online media network of shows and programs ranging from business to arts, sports to entertainment, music to community. All programs are available on the website as well as through iTunes and YouTube. Check us out online at themesh.tv.

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