Nothing beats the tangy, smoky, spicy-sweet magic of a pile of masterfully prepared barbecue. We’re talking briskets smoked for most of a day and chicken thighs so succulent they fall off the bone. Then there are the delightfully messy, tender ribs. Toss in a side of slaw and — well, are you hungry yet?
Finding tasty BBQ in Oregon is easy, too, where the pitmasters are among the best at crafting creations that wow. “Barbecue is a never-ending story,” says Drew Marquis, a co-founder of Grasslands Barbecue in Hood River. “The more you learn about it, the more you realize you don’t know. It takes a lot of work and a lot of time to do it right.”
Here are some don’t-miss spots that definitely do it right.
Southern-Inspired Meats in Portland and Hood River
Recognized by Texas Monthly magazine as home to “the best barbecue scene outside of Texas,” Portland is proud of its smokers. That’s thanks in no small part to Matt’s BBQ, which earned pitmaster Matt Vicedomini a Food Cart of the Year award from The Oregonian and a top 10 slot on Bon Appetit’s best new restaurants of 2019. Try Matt’s BBQ Tacos for the same wonderful meats served on homemade tortillas, cooked to order with all the taco fixings.
Not to be outdone, Podnah’s Pit Barbecue has its own accolades from the Food Network. Podnah — Texan slang for “partner” — offers meats like brisket and chicken by the quarter-pound, done the way pitmaster Rodney Muirhead’s grandfather, a Texan butcher, would approve of. Lawless Barbecue eschews Texas-inspired rubs for a saucier, Kansas City-style take on brisket, ribs and burnt ends. Try the melt-in-your-mouth brisket, smoked for 13 hours over oak logs.
It’s only been a few years since three friends founded Grasslands Barbecue in Hood River, but the smoky “Tex-ish” sorcery these guys unleash tastes like it took a lifetime to master. Delight in pulled pork smoked for 12 hours, pepper-crusted bites of pork belly glistening in a ginger-soy and serrano glaze and a smoked portobello sandwich. Look for them in action on weekends only next to Ferment Brewing Company.
About 16 miles south in Parkdale, Apple Valley BBQ distinguishes itself by using cherry wood from local orchards to smoke pork ribs and other meats. The Skyway Bar and Grill in Zigzag bills itself as a roadhouse-style barbecue joint, and that’s exactly what it is. Try the sampler plate, which comes with brisket, pulled pork and a quarter-rack of ribs.
Creative Cures and Sauces in the Willamette Valley and the Oregon Coast
If you’re looking for homemade beef bacon or slow-smoked brisket topped with smoked cheese, look no further than DW Smokehouse in Eugene. The food truck gets rave reviews for corn beef brined for nearly a month and homemade jerky. Not too far away, Paper Plate BBQ serves up citrus-brined chicken alongside mac and cheese or cornbread muffins slathered with honey butter.
In Newberg Storrs Smokehouse — a sister property to The Painted Lady Restaurant — serves meaty St. Louis-style pork ribs, whole chickens and Southern sides like collard greens and three-bean salad. In Salem the massive brisket sandwiches slathered in mac ’n’ cheese at Roger That BBQ will leave you longing for your next visit.
For succulent ribs, brisket and more at two locations on the North Coast, head for Gray’s Comfort Q. A brick-and-mortar outpost is in Seaside, and between Memorial Day and Labor Day, you’ll find its food cart on weekends at Astoria/Warrenton/Seaside KOA Resort in Warrenton. Farther south, Dennis Cavitt, co-founder and chef at Garibaldi Portside Bistro, prides himself on tender brisket, ribs and chicken — all prepared in a smoker that Cavitt built alongside friends and family.
Serving smoked mac, delicious tri-tip and more, all within a short distance of the sea, Gold Beach BBQ’s motto of “Smoke on the Water” is rather fitting. You can load up on steak chili or super-tender brisket, or keep it coastal with clam chowder garnished with smoky paprika.
In Coos Bay, Elkhorn BBQ, now in the new Front Street Food Truck Court, offers tri-tip you can have served over yakisoba noodles, among other delights. Up north in Warrenton, Ribs by Rob does basically two things — ribs and fully loaded jalapeno poppers — both of which come with the expertise of owner Rob Wirt’s two decades of experience.
Working the Pit in Central, Eastern and Southern Oregon
Baldy’s Barbeque, frequently dubbed Bend’s best barbecue by readers of one of the city’s local newspapers, was named after the smooth-headed brainchild behind the enterprise, Brian Dioguardi. These days you can still find Dioguardi working the pit at one of Baldy’s three locations, two in Bend and one in Redmond, making sure each batch of his baby-back ribs comes out as fall-off-the-bone tender as the next. Leave it to a former fire chief, Jeff Johnson, to understand the nuances of fire and smoke to create delicious meats at Sisters Meat and Smokehouse. You’ll taste the mesquite, oak and alder smoke in landjäger sausages, kielbasa and brats. It also serves more unique treats like elk, lamb and wild-caught seafood. It now has a location in Redmond, too. In Bend Pop’s Southern BBQ does Texas-style meats — think dry rub, no sweet sauces — as well as pork sandwiches and smoked wings. Don’t miss the loaded chili.
Located in La Grande, the Smokehouse Restaurant has been serving pork and ribs since the 1960s, while farther south in Burns, Juniper Cookhouse makes juicy pulled pork and tri-tip sandwiches as well as home-baked pies. For a morning treat, try the breakfast sandwiches stacked with ham, sausage and bacon. Lostine — a small town near Wallowa Lake — recently added Z’s BBQ to the historic Lostine Tavern; try some of the roster of different sauces with zesty flavors like whiskey peach or spicy Carolina mustard on your brisket, pulled pork or ribs.
In Klamath Falls, Wubba’s BBQ Shack cooks Kansas City-style barbecue that has made this eatery a landmark since 2008. Try the Wubba-rrito, a burrito filled with pulled pork or chopped chicken with Creole rice and barbecue beans. Take baby-back ribs, luscious sandwiches and barbecued meats to go at Locals BBQ in Williams — and throw in a few jalapeno poppers for good measure. In Central Point and Grants Pass, Mary’s BBQ Place keeps it simple, relying on classic family recipes and a sauce so good, she sells it to go. Don’t miss the pulled pork on a stuffed baked potato.
