MA BBQ

A Shortlist of Our Favorite Massachusetts Barbecue Joints!

We've visited each restaurant below at least three times because if you've ever smoked meats, you know there are great days and there "what the heck just happened?" days. So, we thought it fair to give each place a fair tasting.

On this page we will highlight what we believe to be the very best stick burner MA BBQ joints. Although there's nothing wrong with electric-smoked BBQ, we prefer the taste of 'cue made with straight up wood.

BT's Smokehouse
Sturbridge, MA

One our favorite BBQ joints, located in Central Massachusetts.

Operated by Chef Brian Treitman, BT's specializes in Southern-style BBQ smoked with apple and hickory woods. Among their many smokers, count on a J&R Oyler pit smoker named "Black Betty."

The ribs have a nice bite and the brisket is as luscious as any we've ever had in Texas.
Their sides as a whole are solid but pretty average and more geared towards the New England palate. Their hushpuppies, however, are killer. (Update: BT's now has a location in Worcester, MA and serves collards filled with delicious chunks of pork and... they also serve grits!)

Their meats are proudly served naked. BT's sauces are on the thin side and don't intend to smother the meat (nice!)
If you can order online and pick up, it's probably best as BT's is one busy joint with lines starting early!
www.btsmokehouse.com

BLUE RIBBON BBQ
Various Greater Boston locations

The West Newton location was my first experience with BRB and I immediately fell in love. It's the closest I've come to eating real Southern-style BBQ in the North. It may be in part that they serve a damn good authentic Eastern NC-style vinegar dip that I could absolutely drink by the cup!

Rumor has it one of the owners of BRB attended college in Virginia where he "borrowed" his roommate's spice recipe for pulled pork and that's the same rub BRB uses today. Blue Ribbon uses oak and hickory and produces some of the most delicious pulled pork that almost melts in your mouth. Their KC-style burnt ends are like candy and the brisket is super tender. The BBQ is lightly sauced but they will gladly serve it to you naked.

BRB carries the basic BBQ sides like baked beans, collard greens and potato salad. All are solid choices but its their black-eyed corn that you'll want to try for sure. A spiced-out mix of corn, tomatoes and black-eyed peas, for a nice blend of sweet & savory. www.blueribbonbbq.com

North Village Smokehouse
Miller Falls, MA

North Village's claim to real Texas-style brisket is no joke. They use quality meat and smoke with oak wood, like they do often in central TX. NV slices the brisket thick, keeping the brisket juicy. You can do a brilliant bend test if you wish (and if you can keep it from your mouth that long!)

NV's pulled pork is also solidly delicious and straightforward and... served naked. They offer two BBQ sauces on the side, with one leaning towards the Georgia-style (peppery) and the other oddly sweet. The collards have a nice tang with a wee kick of heat at the end; the white mac&cheese is a step above normal BBQ joint macs - think something your mom would make for holiday dinner, and the mayo-based coleslaw with red onions is perfectly dressed - not heavy on the mayonnaise - giving you a good palate cleanser for all that luscious brisket. Their only missed opportunity, in my opinion, is the burnt ends. They are 2" large cubes of brisket smothered in sauce but not "candied" like traditional brisket burnt ends.

North Village's hours and offerings are limited compared to most other BBQ places, but they take their time doing things simply... and well. www.northvillagesmokehouse.com

TAVERN ON THE HILL
Easthampton, MA

Chef/owner Lawrence Guyette, who has owned the Tavern since 2005, began experimenting with smoked meats around 2014 and caught the BBQ bug. So much so that he cut a hole in the basement of his restaurant to accommodate their Texas-imported J&R smoker. Technically, it's called a "Smokemaster Convection Oven" by the J&R company, but it does boast a pretty big capacity fire box - which is why I'm including Tavern on this list. The convenient thing about convection is if the wood temperature gets too low and you're not able to tend to it, the convection helps keep the heat steady. Also, this type of smoker burns a little cleaner than normal stick burners. Many Western MA towns will not allow for straight up commercial restaurant wood burning, so this convection-wood combo is perfect for the area.

Chef Guyette uses local maple and oak to fire his meats. Tavern serves three types of BBQ sauce: Sweet, Sweet-to-heat, and (South) Carolina Gold. All are solid choices. Their menu states they feature "Eastern, NC pulled pork." They serve their pork finished with an Eastern NC-style dip (no ketchup) on Western NC-style pulled pork (pork butt). >>> On an aside, their Eastern NC dip is made with Western NC Texas Pete hot sauce (go, Winston-Salem!) <<<

Their ribs are meaty and have that perfect tug when you bite. Their pulled pork is pretty much perfect!

Tavern's collards are cooked properly with a slight vinegar flare and also feature a Louisiana favorite - Tasso ham. The cornbread is well made and moist (it's on the sweet side - perfect for the New England palate, but not cake-sweet.) But it was the mac&cheese that sent the sides over the top. It's very, very similar to America's Test Kitchen stovetop mac&cheese recipe (the one that uses evaporated milk), which is creamy and super packed with flavor.

As an added bonus, Tavern on the Hill boasts amazing views from their back deck!

Update (8/13/22): Sadly, there was a fire at Tavern and it will be closed until further notice. We hope for their speedy recovery and will keep you updated.
Update (December 2022): Hooray! Tavern is back on track and open for business.
www.tavernonline.com