ORIGINAL PORKIE’S BBQ
Porkie’s is a relaxed, pleasant, tiny business with a huge following they’ve created over the decade or so they’ve been open. Barbecue enthusiasts in just about any area will often list more local, off-the-beaten-path locations among their favourites. The restaurant’s speciality is slow-cooked, oak- and hickory-smoked ribs, but Porkie’s burgers, chicken, steaks, and substantial sandwiches have some serious fans as well. You may come for the Q and stay for the show at Porkie’s Bike Night when motorcycle aficionados arrive for a family-friendly event that attracts sizable numbers. Every palette will find a delightful drizzle in Porkie’s range of sauces.
BBQ at UNCLE KENNY’S
Q-obsessed carnivores can expect generous servings and fall-off-the-bone awesomeness at this Clermont location of the family-run company, which has won several awards on the BBQ circuits of Florida and – perhaps more impressively – Kansas City. There are several delicious options, including chicken, pig, ribs, and brisket. The slow-cooked meat at this restaurant is made with wood and a special dry rub that will make aficionados of midwestern ‘cue salivate. In search of spice? Attempt the jalapeno-cheddar sausage with a variety of customary, carb-heavy sides. There are various sauces available from Uncle Kenny’s, and since they’re so well-liked, you can even purchase them by the bottle at a number of shops in the neighbourhood or online. Come famished. Recommended for Barbecue because: Uncle Kenny’s has won top prizes in contests, so it’s no wonder that the restaurant has a loyal following.
Eats Yellow Dog
This lovely, off-the-beaten-path location is rustic and reminiscent of a gem-in-the-rough find you would come across while travelling. Its cuisine is also unexpected. Sandwiches, salads, delectable appetisers, and a tonne of barbeque. Numerous dishes, such as the Fire Pig (a wrap with apple wood-smoked bacon, gouda, fried onions, and sriracha) and the Rufus, include heaping portions of YDE’s renowned pulled pork (pork topped with thick-cut Brie, cherry ring peppers and topped with raspberry melba sauce). Additionally, ribs are offered by the half-rack. The house slaw at YDE is also a sweet and tangy pleasure. Live music is an additional treat offered by the restaurant in its outside beer garden.
SMOKEHOUSE RIVERS
The centrepiece, the hub around which this Orlando-based Texas-style barbecue business functions, is 4Rivers’ Winter Park facility (not its initial branch; its popularity rapidly surpassed that venue). Some of its specialty dishes include smoked turkey, pulled pig, brisket, and ribs. Crowds are a given as well. Although it doesn’t appear to bother anybody, you are free to order takeout instead. Although eating barbecue is never very orderly, 4Rivers sandwiches, like the Messy Pig with its double-layered slaw, go above and beyond. The sweets are also highly regarded by certain enthusiasts. They have a large menu! They are naughty as you know where and Southern-inspired if you have a sweet craving. We’ve highlighted the Winter Park location, but there are several across the metro area (Longwood, UCF, Downtown, Winter Garden, and more) that make 4Rivers handy in addition to being high-quality.
SMOKES AND DONUTS
So, do you want handmade cake doughnuts with maple frosting and Kentucky bourbon, or 12-hour smoked brisket? At the Smoke & Donuts mobile restaurant (yep, that’s a food truck), the wise response is “yes.” You can easily enjoy the duality of their offerings in a conventionally separate manner, such as brown butter-smoked turkey breast with house pickles, cucumber, and cabbage slaw on an Olde Heart Bakery potato roll for dinner and a Madagascar vanilla-glazed doughnut for dessert, but you can also combine them in creations like the brisket or pulled pork slider, served ON one of their signature doughnuts. Generous amounts of succulent, delicious meat mixed with soft, perfectly glazed cake donuts make this barbecue recommended, don’t you think? Just affirm.
JET BBQ
BBQ with the blues—what could be better? You’d probably receive an emphatic “nada” at Fuel, especially after you’ve tried their charred ends, which go well with an unplanned harp break. It’s a particularly excellent trifecta when combined with an outside seat on Sanford’s increasingly trendy streets. The Alley, a well-known blues venue in this area known to locals as “the Bokey,” is right next to Fuel, which got its name from the fact that it used to be a gas station. The two companies are co-owned. Q grade of fuel. Among the foods serving as guests are succulent pulled chicken, flavorful brisket, and smokey, St. Louis-style ribs. Fried okra, BBQ beans, smoked mac-and-cheese, and a superb corn bread beg to be the canvas for your sauce sample, among other sides.
A BBQ joint called ELLIE LOU’S
Ellie Lou’s website makes the claim that they’ll “rub you the right way,” and judging by the number of fans they’ve gained in Ocoee (as well as the many others that travel from more central Orlando-area places to get their Q fix), it seems like they’re keeping their word. This is a family-friendly refuge with a special place in its heart for beer lovers, with dishes like the Pork & Bleu (chopped pork with EL’s distinctive bleu cheese cole slaw), staples like fried green tomatoes and cheddar grits, and exquisite dry-rubbed ribs – you select your sauce. They have root beer on tap, so start your future brewmasters early.
Caro-Bama BBQ
Since we’ve been praising the Caro-Bama food truck for a while, we’re thrilled to announce that they have now opened a brick-and-mortar shop in the North Quarter Market. To the joy of guests who obviously don’t mind eating their sandwiches with a fork, the couple behind Caro-Bama merged the BBQ flair of their respective home areas (the Carolinas and Alabama). And that’s pretty much a necessity. Start with pulled pork, brisket, or chopped chicken for the fundamentals. The choice of which sauces and garnishes to add is then entirely up to you. However, Caro-Bama makes things simple by providing a list of tried-and-true favourites from which to choose if consumption is more your thing than originality.
Porky’s Urban Barbecue
Pig Floyd’s Urban Barbakoa is well situated in the Mills neighborhood’s ethnic area, and not only because of the trendy atmosphere that its surroundings—particularly the gorgeous outside area—help to foster. Caribbean, Latin, and Asian culinary influences may be found on the menu at PF’s, making it a delightful experience for both fans of classic Southern Q and those who yearn for tastes from other lands. Along with the typical sweet and smokey flavours, you’ll also discover the unexpected flavours of soy, lemon, and spice here. Delicious pork belly, tender brisket, and pulled pork are served on the same menu as a variety of street tacos, BBQ banh mi, and other interesting dishes.
