BBQ restaurants in Tennessee named among the best in the south

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Nashville restaurant has earned a spot on Southern Living’s list naming the “ Best new barbecue joints of 2024 .”

To compile the list, Robert Moss — Southern Living’s contributing barbeque editor — traveled to several southern states, including Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Texas, to find the best BBQ.

According to the magazine, the list mentions “new” restaurants that have opened since the last ranking was released in 2021.

Here’s how the magazine ranked Tennessee establishments that made the list:

Bringle’s Smoking Oasis

Coming in at No. 11 was Bringle’s Smoking Oasis. According to the restaurant’s website , Carey Bringle founded his first restaurant — Peg Leg Porker — in 2013. Peg Leg Poker is a star in its own right, receiving several national mentions from various media outlets over the years.

Southern Living said the West Nashville restaurant is different from Peg Leg Porker, which stuck “firmly to the Tennessee way.”

“Carey Bringle’s first Nashville restaurant, Peg Leg Porker, sticks firmly to the Tennessee way, with dry-rubbed ribs and smoked chicken and not a bit of beef in sight. That’s not the case at his new West Nashville venture, a Texas-style haven featuring beef ribs, slow-smoked brisket, and jalapeño sausage. It’s pretty good brisket, but even better is the thick-sliced pastrami, which pulls into magenta-hued strands,” wrote the magazine.

Bringle’s Smoking Oasis, which is located at 4901 Centennial Boulevard, is open from Wednesday through Sunday.

Blake’s at Southern Milling

Blake’s at Southern Milling opened in the spring of 2022 in a century-old grain mill right in the heart of downtown Martin, said the restaurant’s website. Southern Living ranked the establishment as No. 7 on the list and praised their “pure Texas-style” barbeque.

“The barbecue here is pure Texas. Four giant offset smokers in the gleaming new pit room turn out ribs, sausages, and pork shoulders, but the real stand-outs are briskets with a soft, peppered bark and juicy smoked turkey breasts, an under appreciated delicacy,” wrote the magazine.

Blake’s at Southern Milling is located at 109 S Lindell Street.

Jack’s Creek BBQ

According to Southern Living, Jacks Creek BBQ — which ranked No.8 — has been in operation for nearly 70 years in Jack Creeks, Tennessee. However, the business reportedly went up for sale in 2023 and was purchased by the owner of B.E. Scott’s BBQ in Lexington. The magazine said the establishment’s smoked bologna sandwiches are gone but the core of the menu remains the same.

“Prior owners had retired the wood-fired pits in favor of an electric cooker and had switched from whole hogs to shoulders. Parker cleaned the junk out of the abandoned cookhouse, refurbished the open cinder-block pits, and started making whole hogs over hand-shoveled coals the 20th-century way,” the magazine said.

Jacks Creek BBQ is located at 10 State Route 22A N.

To see which restaurants made the list, click here .

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