BBQ is regional. That’s part of why we love it—it tells a story about where we’re from. In the South and Midwest, it might be pulled pork, whole hog, or chicken. In Texas, brisket is king.

The big secret about the classics of BBQ? Anyone can do it. If you can follow a recipe in the kitchen, you can certainly try your hand at competition-style BBQ in your own backyard. Once you learn the basics, you’ll want to dive in on fine-tuning your skills in fire-building, trimming, seasoning, and smoking.

These classic BBQ recipes walk you through chicken, pork, ribs, and brisket step by step. Our expert BBQers, and even a few grand-champion competitors, show you how to trim, marinate, and season your meats, step by step. Then comes the slow-but-sure process of coaxing these classic cuts to competition perfection.

The quick cook: Chicken

Classic Backyard BBQ Chicken Halves

What it is: No backyard BBQ is complete without the chicken. This recipe for the BBQ classic is one of our favorites—it’s basic, it’s easy, and the results (and #thatHeadCountryGlow) are phenomenal.
Uses: Our Original seasoning, your favorite Head Country sauce
FULL RECIPE: Classic Backyard BBQ Chicken Halves 

Marinated Smoked Chicken Thighs

What it is: Keep it simple. That’s what this recipe is all about. Gather your favorite ingredients—your favorite of our Seasonings, your favorite flavor of BBQ sauce, and a bottle of our Marinade—and you’re already halfway to dinnertime. Pair with your favorite BBQ sides (we love these with sautéed sweet peppers and roasted potatoes).
Uses: Our marinade, our Original seasoning
FULL RECIPE: Marinated Smoked Chicken Thighs

Apple Habanero Chicken Lollipops

What it is: If you want to use these grilled drummies as an Apple Habanero Bar-B-Q sauce delivery system, that’s perfectly fine with us. One of our favorite love stories is the one between BBQ chicken and this sauce, which packs the sweetness of crisp apples with just a touch of heat on the back of the bite.
Uses: Our Original seasoning, our Apple Habanero BBQ sauce
FULL RECIPE: Apple Habanero Chicken Lollipops

The medium cook: Ribs

Fall-Off-The-Bone Spare Ribs, from Start to Finish

What it is: Pork spare ribs are a BBQ classic. A sure way to impress your friends and family is to serve up a platter stacked high with racks of ribs, each packed with juicy, smoky flavor. This recipe and how-to for BBQ ribs goes step by step, from start to finish—no wonder it’s one of our most popular recipes, ever.
Uses: our Original seasoning, our High Plains Heat seasoning, our Original sauce, our Apple Habanero sauce
FULL RECIPE & HOW-TO VIDEO: Fall-Off-The-Bone Spare Ribs, from Start to Finish

Apple Habanero Smoked BBQ St. Louis Style Ribs

What it is: The backyard version of a competition classic. Champion BBQer Jay Tinney reveals his secrets step by step for how he makes a rack of grand champion-worthy ribs at home, featuring our Apple Habanero Bar-B-Q sauce.
Uses: Our Original seasoning, our Apple Habanero sauce
FULL RECIPE & HOW-TO VIDEO: Apple Habanero Smoked BBQ St. Louis Style Ribs

Classic BBQ Ribs

What it is: This recipe is for the purist. It’s just you, the ribs, and, of course, the sauce. This rib recipe, in just three ingredients (including the ribs), walks you through some basic trim tips, an easy cook, and some simple finishing advice: serve with your favorite selection of Head Country Bar-B-Q sauces.
Uses: Our Original seasoning, your favorite Head Country sauce
FULL RECIPE: Classic BBQ Ribs

The long cook: Pork Butt and Shoulder

Smoked Pork Butt

What it is: This recipe yields pulled pork that is rich, flavorful, and versatile, delicious on sandwiches, in tacos and burritos, or topped with coleslaw (yes, we do this, and no, we’re not sorry). Developed by a world-champion BBQer, this smoked pulled pork recipe goes step by step through trimming, seasoning, whether to put the meat on the grill fat up or down (and why), when to wrap, and how to make pulled-pork drizzling sauce that will snap your head back.
Uses: Our Original seasoning, your favorite Head Country sauce
FULL RECIPE: Smoked Pork Butt

Smoked Pork Shoulder

What it is: From prep to pulling, this recipe walks you through how to make fall-apart, competition-style pork on a wood-burning smoker. Get tips and tricks on how to season your pork shoulder, which wood to use in your smoker, whether to wrap or not to wrap, and how much sauce to add as you’re pulling.
Uses: Our Original seasoning, your favorite Head Country sauce
FULL RECIPE: Smoked Pork Shoulder

Brisket

Texas-Style World Champion BBQ Brisket

What it is: World Champion BBQer and Head Country Ambassador Doug Scheiding shows how this brisket is skillfully trimmed, marinated and then seasoned, and finally bathed in smoke while the moon watches. Then comes the slow-but-sure process of coaxing this classic cut to competition perfection, including a nice, long rest in its own juices—liquid gold, as Doug calls it.
Uses: Our marinade, our Original seasoning
FULL RECIPE & HOW-TO VIDEO: Texas-Style World Champion BBQ Brisket

Competition Smoked Brisket

What it is: From prep to slicing, this recipe walks you through how to make mouth-watering, competition-style brisket on a wood-burning smoker. Get tips and tricks on how to season your brisket, which wood to use in your smoker, whether to wrap or not to wrap, and how long to rest the brisket before slicing.
Uses: Our Original seasoning; our marinade; your favorite flavor of Head Country Bar-B-Q sauce
FULL RECIPE: Competition Smoked Brisket

Sweet & Sticky BBQ Brisket Burnt Ends

What it is: Burnt ends, a.k.a. meat candy, made from the brisket point, are wonderful nuggets of fatty deliciousness. It is a Kansas City standard-of-quality BBQ, but since Texas is the King of Brisket, Texans make them as well. Use the Head Country Sweet & Sticky sauce, as it’s perfect for burnt ends—sweet, sticky, smoky, and really good.
Uses: Our Sweet & Sticky Bar-B-Q sauce, our Original Championship Seasoning
FULL RECIPE: Sweet & Sticky BBQ Brisket Burnt Ends