Different Regional Styles of Barbeque Sauce Converge in the Midwest

Though its origins may be as murky as the Mississippi, some say that barbeque originated in North Carolina. They say that it started with the slaves on plantations getting the cheaper and left over cuts of meat, primarily pork. To make it more palatable, they smoked it for a long time to make it tender and added their own spice preferences to make it tasty. There are basically four major regional styles of barbeque in the United States, and each is unique. There is the original North Carolina style, there’s Texas, Memphis, and Kansas City. In North Carolina, they sometimes roast the entire pig or major parts of it, and then the different parts are chopped up and mixed together before adding the sauce. In Texas, beef is the meat of choice, brisket in particular, and slow smoking and spicy sauce is the order of the day. Memphis has its own style too, and the ribs are king. In Kansas City it’s all about the sauce.