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Where To Eat › Barbecue › Barbecue Styles
Short answer: Memphis barbecue is pork ribs, dry-rubbed or sauced, and pulled pork shoulder, per Memphis Tourism. Rural West Tennessee smokes the whole hog, per the Southern Foodways Alliance. Below: each style in plain words, and a table comparing five other Southern states.
- 2Rib stylesdry rub or wet
- 1Whole hog regionrural West Tennessee
- 6States comparedTN, NC, SC, GA, MO and Texas
- MayMemphis in Maythe world championship contest
How we checked: Memphis Tourism, the Southern Foodways Alliance’s 2003 Tennessee barbecue oral histories, the state tourism office’s 2025 barbecue list, Memphis in May, and one official, tourism or academic source per state in the table. All read on November 4, 2026. Hours, prices and dates change, so confirm with the place or organizer before you drive. Anything we could not read is marked Not confirmed where it appears. We rank nothing: no source we used ranks these places, and we did not taste, rate or compare them. Nobody paid to be listed.
Memphis: Ribs, Dry or Wet, and Pulled Pork
Memphis Tourism, the city’s visitor bureau, says Memphis barbecue is mainly pork: ribs and pulled pork shoulder, cooked low and slow. It calls dry against wet the defining debate. Dry ribs are coated in spices and smoked without sauce; wet ribs are basted while they cook and sauced before they are served. It suggests a pulled pork sandwich for a first visit and lists coleslaw among the usual sides. Places that describe their own style in these terms include the Rendezvous (“signature dry rub ribs”) and Central BBQ, which says it uses a dry-rub spice mix.
West Tennessee: The Whole Hog
The Southern Foodways Alliance, at the University of Mississippi, recorded Tennessee pitmasters in 2003. Its Rural Tennessee BBQ Project describes Memphis as the center of urban barbecue and rural West Tennessee as just as important, a place where pitmasters smoke the whole hog in long, hard work. In one of those interviews a pitmaster near Henderson says his area serves whole hog while many places in Memphis and Jackson serve shoulder. No state agency page we could find describes the style, so this rests on the Alliance’s recordings. The state tourism office’s 2025 list says B.E. Scott’s in Lexington hickory-smokes whole hogs, and Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint near Nashville calls its own barbecue “West Tennessee-Style Whole Hog.”
The Contest Side
Memphis in May runs the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest each May, which it calls the world’s largest pork barbecue cooking contest. Its winners page lists a whole hog category; Will Be Que won it in 2026. Dates and other cook-offs are on Barbecue Festivals.
How Barbecue Differs Across The South
Every Southern state says its barbecue is the real thing. Here is what one official, tourism or academic source per state says, in plain words. Where we could not find such a source for a common claim, it is marked.
Barbecue by State
Read November 4, 2026. Each row links its source; the last column links our guide for that state.
| State | What the source says | Signature | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | Memphis barbecue centers on pork ribs and pulled pork shoulder; dry ribs are rubbed with spices and smoked without sauce, wet ribs are basted and sauced. Memphis Tourism Rural West Tennessee smokes the whole hog, per the Southern Foodways Alliance’s 2003 Tennessee barbecue oral histories. SFA | Memphis dry and wet ribs; West Tennessee whole hog | This barbecue section |
| North Carolina | Coastal Plain barbecue is a split hog roasted over coals and basted with cider vinegar, red pepper and salt. Lexington is the center of Piedmont barbecue: pork shoulders with a thin tomato-based sauce called “dip.” NCpedia | Eastern whole hog; Lexington shoulder with red dip | It’s North Carolina |
| South Carolina | The state tourism office says South Carolina has all four basic sauces: mustard in the Midlands, vinegar and pepper along the coast, light tomato in the Pee Dee and heavy tomato in the west; hash is served over rice. SC PRT | Midlands mustard sauce; hash and rice | It’s South Carolina |
| Georgia | Pork ribs, shoulders and hams are the meat of choice and pit cooking is favored; north and middle Georgia lean to a thin, spicy and sweet red sauce. Brunswick stew is often served with barbecue. New Georgia Encyclopedia | Brunswick stew beside the pork | It’s Georgia |
| Missouri | A 2026 state law made Kansas City the official barbecue capital; burnt ends are charred, fatty bits from the end of a brisket. St. Louis-style ribs lead in St. Louis, along with pork steaks. Missouri Secretary of State, Explore St. Louis | Kansas City burnt ends; St. Louis ribs | It’s Missouri |
| Texas (for context) | Lockhart’s barbecue history goes back to 1900, with brisket, sausage and ribs served on butcher paper. Travel Texas Brisket as the Central Texas signature: Not confirmed | Beef: brisket and sausage | No It’s guide for Texas |
Where to Eat It
Where To Eat Barbecue groups places by these styles, each linked to its own site with the days it is open. For a day out, see Barbecue Road Trips; for festivals and cook-offs, Barbecue Festivals. Hot chicken is on the BBQ And Hot Chicken Guide.
What We Could Not Confirm
- A state agency or encyclopedia description of West Tennessee whole hog: we found none; the whole hog section rests on the Southern Foodways Alliance’s 2003 recordings. Not confirmed
- Central Texas brisket as a signature, in the comparison table: no official or academic source found. Not confirmed
- Which style a restaurant cooks, when it does not say so itself. Not confirmed
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Memphis barbecue dry or wet?
Both. Memphis Tourism calls dry against wet the city’s defining barbecue debate: dry ribs are spice-rubbed and smoked without sauce, wet ribs are basted and sauced.
Where is whole hog barbecue in Tennessee?
In rural West Tennessee, around Henderson and Lexington, per the Southern Foodways Alliance. Near Nashville, Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint describes its own barbecue as West Tennessee-style whole hog.
Is hot chicken barbecue?
No. Nashville hot chicken is fried chicken with a spicy coating, and it has its own page on this site.
More Barbecue Pages
Sources
- Memphis Tourism, What Is Memphis-Style BBQ?, read November 4, 2026 (dry and wet ribs, pulled pork shoulder)
- Southern Foodways Alliance (University of Mississippi), Rural Tennessee BBQ Project, 2003, read November 4, 2026 (West Tennessee whole hog)
- Southern Foodways Alliance, Joyner’s Jacks Creek Bar-B-Q oral history, March 27, 2003, read November 4, 2026 (whole hog near Henderson, shoulder in Memphis and Jackson)
- Tennessee Department of Tourist Development (tnvacation.com), barbecue bucket list article, published October 15, 2025, updated October 20, 2025, read November 4, 2026 (the state tourism list)
- Memphis in May, World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, read November 4, 2026 (contest dates)
- Memphis in May, winners, read November 4, 2026 (2026 whole hog category)
- NCpedia, Barbecue, read November 4, 2026 (comparison table)
- Discover South Carolina (SC PRT), barbecue, read November 4, 2026 (comparison table)
- New Georgia Encyclopedia, Barbecue, read November 4, 2026 (comparison table)
- Missouri Secretary of State, Official Barbecue Capital, read November 4, 2026 (comparison table)
- Explore St. Louis, St. Louis barbecue, read November 4, 2026 (comparison table)
- Travel Texas, Historical Texas BBQ Tour, read November 4, 2026 (comparison table)
How we check: editorial standards. Spot a mistake or a closure? Tell us.
Cite this page: It's Tennessee, “Tennessee Barbecue Styles: Memphis Ribs and Whole Hog”, itstennessee.com/barbecue/styles/ (updated ). By the It's Tennessee editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.