Texas Dominates In America’s Top 10 BBQ Joints for 2015

It should come as no surprise that the Lone Star State has so many restaurants ranked so high on the list.

The Daily Meal put together this list based on a number of criteria. They found out what the fundamental characteristics of a great rack of ribs is.

In order to compile this year’s list of contenders, we supplemented our editors’ and city editors’ personal rib-eating experiences across the country and three years’ worth of research by digging through online reviews and combing best-of lists that were published since our 2014 rib ranking to make sure we haven’t missed any great new places. Next, we asked readers to give us their recommendations on where to get killer ribs. We then divided more than 100 spots by region to weigh in and vote.

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1. Louie Mueller Barbecue, Taylor, Texas

Less than a 40 minute drive from Austin is the small town of Taylor, Texas, and in Taylor sits Louie Mueller Barbecue, the home of America’s best ribs. They’ve got big meaty beef ribs, which they rub with salt and cracked pepper before slow-cooking them over post oak wood; pork spare ribs, which get salt-and-pepper rubbed just like the beef ribs; and their newest entrée, baby back ribs, which are dusted with a “magic” spice mix and basted with a sweet glaze.

2. Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, Kansas City, Kan.

3. Franklin Barbecue, Austin

No visit is complete without sampling some of the impossibly tender ribs, which are peppery and have a well-caramelized bark. You have your choice of three sauces for slathering (espresso-based, vinegar-based, or a sweeter variety), but as is usually the case with barbecue this good, none is necessary.

4. Arthur Bryant's, Kansas City, Mo.

5. Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ, Decatur, Ala.

6. Kreuz Market, Lockhart, Texas

Definitive Hill Country barbecue meat on butcher paper in a big barn of a place perfumed with wood smoke is what you’ll find at Kreuz Market, the third member in the Lockhart rib trifecta. Their brisket and sausages are legendary, but they make some really mean pork spare and beef ribs, too. In true Central Texas-style, they use post oak wood, but what sets them apart is actually the absence of something: barbecue sauce.

7. City Market, Luling, Texas

City Market is one of Texas’ great barbecue joints and a true claim to fame for the city of Luling. You’d be hard-pressed to find better brisket, and the ribs are simply out of this world. It’s a comfortable, air-conditioned restaurant (a nice change of pace from some of the state’s more rustic establishments), and while the sauce is some of the best you’ll ever have, it’s completely beside the point on these beautifully smoked ribs.

8. Pappy’s Smokehouse, St. Louis

9. Charles Vergos' Rendezvous, Memphis, Tenn.

10. Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que, Llano, Texas

Cooper’s gained the most traction of any place on last year’s list, rocketing from the barely-made-it No. 34 spot to make it into this year’s top 10. Their supremely peppery pork rib breaks a trademark rule of barbecue — it’s finished over direct heat — but it’s just about impossible not to fall in love with Cooper’s ribs. That finishing touch gives it a great char, and you’re also allowed to choose your own rack right off the grill.