The Insiders' Guide to Twin Cities BBQ

HOT LINKS
Most hot links at BBQ joints around the country are created in “central Texas meat market style”: In Texas, many barbecue establishments started out as markets and butcher shops and would turn their pork scraps into smoked sausage in German (think bratwurst) or Eastern European (like a ringed kielbasa) formats. In Texas, the well-seasoned but far-from-spicy sausage is smoked over pecan wood, but that is purely a local convention. The meat cutters (often German and Eastern European immigrants) were merely following the traditions of their homeland, but soon everyone was calling it barbecue. Good links are hard to find locally. The grind and fat content should create a pleasing texture in the mouth. The casing should be a natural one, allowing for plenty of snap.

1. Baker's Ribs 
Baker’s Ribs Baker’s is far and away the best of the local bunch. Its Texas ties showing proudly, the smoked-beef-pork link, served sliced, has an incredible snap, meltingly good texture, and a nice balance of smokiness. It’s so tasty it can be enjoyed naked without sauce. The link alone makes Baker’s worth the trip from anywhere in the metro.

2. Famous Dave's 
Famous Dave’s These links, served sliced in a sandwich or whole as a side, are darn good. The grind is larger than Baker’s and the texture coarser and grittier, but good pork flavor carries the day. These links are best with Dave’s “Rich & Sassy” or “Georgia Mustard” sauces.

BABY BACK RIBS
Contrary to the popular mythology, these aren’t ribs from baby piglets. Baby backs are really just pork bones cut from the topmost portion of the rib section of the loin, with all the boneless meat removed. Baby backs are less meaty and have less pork flavor than spareribs and owe their popularity to their lean succulence and clean visual appeal. The meat is tender, because it is cut from the loin. Baby backs don’t take to pit-style production the way spareribs and other cuts do and dry out easily, which is why Market Bar-B-Que shunned them for decades.   

1. Scott Ja-Mama’s
Crusty and charred can often be indicative of a dried-out rack of baby backs, but not here. SJM’s serves a baby back so moist and porky you can’t believe your mouth! These well-seasoned, hand-rubbed ribs are slow roasted, grilled, and served dry with sauce for dipping, achieving a near-perfect balance of texture and flavor.

2. Redstone American Grill
Redstone’s baby backs are smoked delicately over apple and cherry woods, then grilled lightly, eschewing heavy char for a buttery, soft texture. They are served wet and brushed with sauce before serving. Redstone’s ribs are handled delicately, well trimmed, and worth the premium price.

3. Dixies Calhoun
Dixies Calhoun serves a rack that is more aggressively seasoned than its peers’, smoke-roasted over hickory, and served dry, with sauce on the side. The result is more of a true pit-style rib, notable for its lean succulence and bold flavor. When the kitchen isn’t paying attention (which is anytime but lunch), ribs come out grievously overdone. For all our sakes, send those back.

4. Dixies on Grand (tie)
Dixie’s in St. Paul serves a very good plate of baby back ribs—dry-rubbed and slow-smoked over hickory for a light smoke flavor, but cooked long enough to develop a crusty exterior. Not a lot of pork flavor, but only spareribs fans are likely to find that disappointing. 695 Grand Ave., St. Paul, 651-222-7345, dixiesongrand.com

4. Market Bar-B-Que (tie)
The only “authentic pit-roasted baby back ribs in town,” according to owner Steve Polski, aren’t even officially on the menu. First served as a special, they've been so popular, Polski has offered them ever since. The baby backs are dry-rubbed, slow-cooked over hickory, apple, oak, and cherry woods and served with sauce on the side. The result is a signature Market-style rib—chewy and full of big pork flavor.