Alabama “Q” has been around since the 1890s. A number of restaurants have been dishing up their versions of smoky meat and sauce for generations, making it easy to sample a variety on this delicious culinary road trip. Historic barbecue restaurants dot the state, but the earliest recorded one, Golden Rule Bar-B-Q in Irondale, began serving pit barbecue in 1891 to travelers heading to Atlanta. The simple menu provided all diners needed — a pork plate, a Coke or maybe a beer.

Dobb’s in Dothan — One of the State’s Oldest BBQ Joints

Within a decade, other pitmasters began dishing up their versions of smoky pork. Mr. Dobbs started in 1910 in Tallassee, eventually opening Dobbs’ Famous Bar-B-Que [2636 S Oates Street, 334-794-5195] in Dothan 38 years later. More than a century later, Dobbs’, under the watchful eye of second-generation owner Lee Dobbs, still makes and serves its barbecue the same way it did when it opened: Patrons can get ribs, chipped or sliced pork, barbecued beef or half a chicken. In addition, the menu has expanded to include St. Louis trim ribs, smoked turkey and chili. Nevertheless, the No. 1 seller remains chipped pork barbecue steeped in Dobb’s homemade ketchup-based sauce, either plated or on a sandwich alongside French fries and coleslaw. The restaurant also serves a highly reviewed camp stew and homemade strawberry shortcake.

(Above: Chris Lily featured on grill.) In 1925, Bob Gibson served bar-b-q from a makeshift table made of oak planks nailed to a large sycamore tree in his back yard. Fresh out of his hand-dug pit came smoke and smells that drew people from miles away. Weighing 300 pounds with a 6’4″ frame, it was easy to see why friends and other railway workers called him Big Bob. “Your future is not in the railroad, but in Bar-B-Q”, said Roslyn Mitchell. It was with that, Big Bob Gibson started a family bar-b-q restaurant tradition that has lasted over 75 years and 4 generations.

Stop by Big Bob Gibson in Decatur: Where the Secret Is in the Sauce

At Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q (1715 Sixth Ave. NE; 256-350-6969) in Decatur, the secret’s in the sauce. In fact, notes Chris Lilly, the restaurant’s executive chef, corporate spokesman of Kingsford charcoal, a champion pitmaster and the great-grandson-in-law of Big Bob Gibson, “Sauces are what make the difference in barbecue. Unlike what most people think, there is no such thing as an all-purpose sauce. It’s better to have one that goes with each kind of meat.”

To that end, Big Bob Gibson made his first white barbecue sauce to pair with chicken, when he opened his first restaurant in Summerville in 1925. After a successful launch of chopped or pulled pork shoulder, followed by chicken slathered in that legendary white sauce, Big Bob Gibson’s relocated to Decatur in 1952. A third generation of Gibsons operates the family business now and continues to garner notoriety for yummy sauces. In fact, the Gibson team has earned 11 world champion awards in different competitions, including three at the prestigious Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, which is considered the pinnacle of barbecuing.

Lilly claims the sauces as the defining ingredient. “Our white sauce is tangy and peppery with some vinegar flavor and mayo, which provides some fat so the chicken doesn’t dry out,” he shares. “We also have a champion red sauce we developed for competition that goes well with pork. We turned it into a tabletop sauce because it did so well. And we have a habanero sauce suitable for beef. It’s still tomato-based but has extra kick. We don’t serve sausage in the restaurant, but our sausage won first place at the American Royal in Kansas City in 2012 out of 520 teams,” he adds. Again, a special sauce – this time a backyard mustard one – was at the center of the win.

“A lot of what you like [in terms of food] is dictated by where you grew up,” he says. His statement resonates in Alabama where white sauce – indigenously ‘Bama – proves a point of differentiation in a state that feels the culinary influence from neighboring states. Two major barbecue regions flank Alabama – the vinegar-based Carolinas and tomato-heavy Tennessee. Instead of cooking the sauce into the meat like other well-known barbecue-centric destinations, Alabama pitmasters allow customers to decide which sauce and how much they want to apply. It suits the meat, which is cooked and served fresh off the pit – another point of difference. Meat choices run the gamut from chicken to beef to pork, with pork preferred, but it doesn’t matter if it’s chopped, sliced or chipped. Put it on a hamburger bun and dress it with pickles – an authentic Alabamian touch.

Dreamland Bar B Que

Savor the Hickory-Smoked Flavor of Dreamland

Throughout the state, BBQ joints are as plentiful as “y’alls.” Tuscaloosa, named one of the top BBQ cities in the United States by Livability.com, boasts several that barbecue connoisseurs should try: the original Dreamland Bar-B-Que, which opened in 1958, the same year Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant began his memorable tenure at the University of Alabama. Here, diners find an indoor firepit, where meat crackles over smoky hickory.

“When Dreamland first opened, it served burgers, sandwiches and ribs,” explains Matt Lowery, assistant general manager at the current Tuscaloosa location. “While many restaurants are switching over to smokers, we still cook over an open fire, over hickory wood.”

Dreamland has expanded beyond its Tuscaloosa location to open seven more restaurants. All of them are freestanding, except the one found within the Montgomery Civil Rights District. “The restaurant here is in a cool, older building connected to the other stores. The pit is a huge talking point here. It’s like a huge fireplace with chimneys that go up and out of the building,” Lowery describes. “We encourage people to look in and see the process.”

Great Que Joints Crisscross the State

Other popular Alabama barbecue joints crisscross the state and include Archibald & Woodrow’s B-B-Q [http://archibaldandwoodrowsbbq.com/locations] (circa 1962), in Tuscaloosa which is known for its tangy vinegar sauce. It has two locations in the city plus its original in Northport; and Moe’s Original BBQ [http://www.moesoriginalbbq.com/locations/tuscaloosa.aspx] with establishments in 12 Alabama cities, including Tuscaloosa. It was founded by former Alabama students who were trained by Tuscaloosa’s own Moses Day. Also known as “Moe,” Day was famous for the barbecued meats he roasted at the country club in Tuscaloosa.

Thanks to his mentee, Mike Fernandez, Moe’s enjoys a dining audience that extends to the Rocky Mountains. Fernandez learned from Day, left Alabama to attend culinary school in Vail, Colo., and founded the first Moe’s there in the early 2000s. He opened the first Alabama location in 2006 in Orange Beach, and circled back in 2010 to his Tuscaloosa roots to open Moe’s Original BBQ where it all began. Although each store is run a little differently, the melt-in-your mouth meats are cooked the same way.

“Pork and chicken are king in Alabama,” says Josh Alston, a partner at Moe’s Denver locations who hails from Magnolia Springs, Ala., and helped open the Mobile location. “But at Moe’s, pork is our specialty.” Patrons especially like it doused in Moe’s signature red sauce (which comes to the table warm – who wants to put cold sauce on warm meat?). Of course, there’s also smoked chicken with white sauce, too. And it all comes with a pickle or two – true ‘Bama style.

Elsewhere in the state, generations of the Sykes family carry on the tradition of smoking meat inside the front door of their Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q (1724 9th Ave. North; 205-426-1400) (established in 1956) in Bessemer. Even at Golden Rule in Irondale, which has changed owners several times since its founding, the meat preparation remains largely the same: 600 pounds smoked in a smoker, then finished on a pit.

In Opelika, Chuck’s Bar-B-Q (334-749-4043), which opened in the early 1970s, serves a mustard-based sauce atop its chopped pork butts that have been smoked over oak, hickory or pecan wood. Hilltop Grill (334-738-3000) in Union Springs has been dishing up not just barbecue but also burgers and Brunswick stew since about 1949. Three years earlier, Lannie’s Bar B Q (2115 Minter Ave.; 334-874-4478) in Selma began serving its smoked meats.

The original Dreamland Bar B Que in Tuscaloosa

In an era when civil rights dominated headlines, Goal Post Bar-B-Que (1910 Quintard Ave.; 256-236-9280) in Anniston began smoking pork over hickory wood. Today, they do it the same way – over wood, no gas. According to owner Lamar Phillips, the restaurant is also known for its homemade lemon icebox pie. “Everybody’s got to get a slice of pie,” he says when asked what people order. Dick Russell’s Bar-B-Q (5360 Hwy. 90 West; 251-661-6090); in Mobile offers a regional specialty: Conecuh sausage. The link-style, spicy wiener comes from Conecuh County and compliments the pulled pork shoulder, barbecued chicken and baby back ribs that’s been served alongside the restaurant’s signature red sauce since 1954.

Although Jim’N Nick’s (1908 11th Ave. South; 205-320-1060), which originated in Birmingham, wasn’t quite old enough to make the state’s Historic Barbecue Restaurants list for restaurants 50 years old or older, it’s hard to talk about barbecue in Alabama without mentioning this noted establishment. The restaurant has served the Birmingham community for more than a quarter century and has expanded into other areas to include more than 25 locations throughout the South and in Colorado.

Nick Pihakis and his dad, Jim Pihakis, opened their first Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q restaurant in a former Pasquale’s Pizza location on Birmingham’s Clairmont Avenue in 1985. Known for its pulled pork, cheese biscuits and homemade slaw, the restaurant continuously receives accolades in local and national publications.

Don’t Miss: The Oldest Barbecue Joints

• Golden Rule Bar-B-Q, 1891, Irondale, 205-956-2678
• Dobb’s Famous Bar-B-Que, 1910/Tallassee, 1948/Dothan, 334-794-5195
• Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, 1925/1952, Decatur, 256-350-6969
• Thomas Pit BBQ, 1932/Athens, 1968/Madison, 256-837-4900
• Cotton’s, early 40s/50s, Eclectic, 334-541-2217
• Greens Bar-b-que Pit, 1942, Gantt, 334-388-2550
• Carlile’s Barbeque, 1945, Birmingham, 205-254-9266
• Carlile’s Restaurant, 1945/1976, Scottsboro, 256-574-5629
• Lannie’s Bar-B-Que Spot, 1946, Selma, 334-874-4478
• Mud Creek Fish Camp & Bar-B-Que, 1946, Hollywood, 256-259-2493
• Atkins Barbecue, 1947, Eutaw, 205-372-9645
• Dick Howell Barbeque Pit, 1947, Florence, 256-712-5092
• Brenda’s Bar-B-Que Pit, 1950s, Montgomery, 334-262-9349
• Southland Restaurant, 1950, Sheffield, 256-383-8236
• Green Top Bar-B-Q,1951, Dora, 205-648-9838
• Hilltop Grill, 1951, Union Springs, 334-738-3000
• Greenbrier Restaurant, 1952, Madison, 256-351-1800
• Top Hat BBQ, 1952, Blount Springs, 256-352-9919
• Twix N Tween, 1952, Centreville, 205-926-4401
• Dick Russell’s BBQ, 1954, Mobile, 251-661-6090
• Johnny Rays Bar-B-Que,1954, Birmingham, 205-664-0501
• Ossie’s Bar-B-Que, 1955–1984/2012, Mobile, 251-643-1779
• Gibson’s Bar-B-Q, 1956, Huntsville, 256-881-4851
• Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q, 1957, Bessemer, 205-426-1400
• Dreamland Bar-B-Que Ribs, 1958, Tuscaloosa, 205-758-8135
• Mary’s Pit Bar-B-Que, 1958, Gurley, 256-776-4893
• Demetri’s, 1961, Homewood, 205-871-1581
• Archibald’s, 1962, Northport, 205-345-6861
• Goal Post Bar-B-Q, 1962, Anniston, 256-237-0211
• Johnny’s Bar B Que, 1963, Cullman, 256-734-8539

Sweet Home Alabama features this list of historic restaurants on the BBQ Trail in its printed and online Vacation Guide. Events and other hotspots also are listed for visitors. Names for some barbecue restaurants can be found in the brochure, 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die, and at www.yearofalabamafood.com. To learn more, visit www.alabama.travel.