You know that feeling when the smoke catches you before the parking lot does. Mississippi does that better than almost anywhere, with pits that perfume the air and make your steering wheel hard to hold. Follow your nose and you will find big flavor humming behind screen doors and neon pig signs. Come hungry and ready to lick sauce off your sleeves.
The Shed Barbeque & Blues Joint – Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Before you even swing into the gravel, the smoke at The Shed wraps around you like an old denim jacket. You hear blues riffs floating from the stage, smell hickory and oak, and suddenly ribs become the only plan. Walk in and there is a collage of license plates, trophies, and smiling sauce-stained faces.
Order the baby backs sticky with that sweet heat glaze, plus burnt ends that crunch then melt. Slaw snaps bright, beans ride smoky and a little sweet, and Texas toast mops everything clean. Parking might be a challenge, but follow the plumes and you will glide right in.
Grab a picnic table, breathe deep, and let the band tune your appetite. This is barbecue with personality.
Memphis BBQ Company – Horn Lake, Mississippi
Memphis style lives large just over the line in Horn Lake, where the aroma hits the windshield before the address does. Championship banners promise you are in steady hands, and those hands dust ribs with a whisper of spice. The bark glows mahogany, the cut pulls clean, and the smoke ring smiles back.
Grab pulled pork piled high, slaw crunchy and cool, and sauces ranging from tangy to sweet. Dry rub fans will cheer, but a quick dip in vinegar sauce sings bright. The fries soak up drippings like they were born for the job.
You will spot the smokers by the door like sentinels. Pull in slow, windows down, and let your nose make the reservation.
Ubon’s – Yazoo City, Mississippi
Ubon’s feels like family the moment the screen door squeaks and that smoke smacks you hello. Yazoo City keeps it easy, but the flavors run deep like Sunday stories. The ribs wear a glossy sauce that balances sweet, tang, and a pepper wink.
Pulled pork is tender enough to hush the table, and potato salad soothes with mustardy warmth. The signature sauce deserves a seat in your trunk for later. Beans carry a whisper of spice and molasses, perfect with a slice of white bread.
Park anywhere along the curb and follow the blue haze. You will leave with a full belly, a sticky napkin, and a bottle or two riding shotgun.
Sticky Sauce BBQ – Poplarville, Mississippi
Down in Poplarville, Sticky Sauce BBQ lets the smoke find you before the sign does. A chalkboard menu leans into ribs, chicken, and brisket that glistens like lacquered wood. The sauce is the star, clinging to meat with a sweet tang and pepper nip.
Brisket slices bend, then break with a gentle tug, leaving your fingers glossy. Ribs carry a toothsome bite that signals proper time on the pit. Cornbread tastes like someone’s grandmother baked it in a cast iron pan.
Grab extra napkins because this one lives up to its name. Park under the pines, breathe the hickory perfume, and let that sticky shine steal your afternoon in the best way.
The Pig & Pint – Jackson, Mississippi
The Pig & Pint is where craft beer high fives serious smoke in midtown Jackson. You smell oak drifting over the patio long before your parallel park is done. Inside, ribs stack high and pork belly tacos steal attention like headliners.
Order the sampler to tour the menu without FOMO. Ribs tug clean, chicken wears crisp skin, and pork shoulder shreds into soft clouds. House pickles snap bright and cut through the richness like a palate compass.
The tap list rolls deep, so match a citrusy IPA with peppery bark. Grab a patio table, chase the breeze, and let the smoke keep time while traffic hums by.
Hog Heaven BBQ – Flowood, Mississippi
Hog Heaven BBQ in Flowood earns its name the second that smoky air hits your open window. The pit sits out back, breathing slow and steady like an old hound. Inside, platters arrive heavy with ribs, pulled pork, and sausage links shining with juices.
Slaw brings crunch, potato salad carries dill, and the beans whisper with bacon. Sauces range from mild comfort to a playful sting that warms your grin. Portions are generous enough to become tomorrow’s lunch without trying.
Parking is easy, but your patience will not be. Follow that blue curl, step in line, and let your tray become a map to heaven bite by bite.
Two Brothers Smoked Meats – Starkville, Mississippi
In Starkville, the smoke from Two Brothers drifts across the Cotton District like a rally chant. You catch it at the stop sign, then drift toward the patio without thinking. The menu riffs on classics, turning smoked pork into tacos, sandwiches, and shareable plates.
Burnt ends land sticky and caramelized, while wings carry a crisp kiss of oak. The mac is rich enough to hush a table of fans. Sauces lean balanced, letting bark and smoke take center stage.
On game days, the line moves quick but never rushed. Park wherever you can, let the music pull you in, and toast a cold one to the pit crew.
Roses BarbB-Q & Catering – Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Roses BarbB-Q & Catering keeps Hattiesburg perfumed with honest, hardworking smoke. You smell the trailer before you spot the name, and that is the right order. Ribs carry a rosy ring and a peppery bark that nudges without bullying.
Chicken comes juicy under a lacquer of sauce that sticks just enough. Sides feel homemade, especially the green beans kissed with pork. Sweet tea cleans up the heat and resets the palate between bites.
If you are feeding a crew, the catering pans stack like treasure chests. Slide into a spot out front, follow the curl of blue smoke, and let your order ride shotgun home warm and singing.
Hardins Country Store & Restaurant – Tupelo, Mississippi
Hardins Country Store & Restaurant feels like stepping into a postcard that smells like hickory. The porch creaks, flags flutter, and somewhere out back a smoker whispers. By the time you park, you are already ordering ribs and smoked chicken in your head.
Plates arrive with generous sides, from skillet cornbread to creamy slaw. The chicken skin crackles, revealing juicy meat with a soft smoke halo. Ribs offer that perfect tug that keeps you honest with the napkins.
Save room for pie, because the pecan slice may steal the show. Take a slow lap around the store, grab a jar of pickles, and carry the afternoon with you.
The Shed Barbeque & Blues Joint – Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Yes, it deserves a second shout because the smoke never sleeps here. Pull in after dark and the neon glows like a beacon through the haze. Blues licks curl around the pits while ribs lacquer up to that signature shine.
Brisket slices fall with a sigh, edges barky and peppered. Sausage snaps, then spills juiciness you will chase with bread. Sauce hits sweet first, then tang, then a whisper of heat that lingers friendly.
Bring friends, trade bites, and let the gravel lot soundtrack your night. When you leave, the shirt will carry that smoke home, a souvenir better than any T shirt on the wall.