Best BBQ In Tennessee: Where Are TN Residents Going In 2024?

Now that summer is fast approaching and warmer temperatures are returning to the Volunteer State, it’s worth remembering which restaurants offer us the best opportunity to eat ungodly amounts of smoked meat and assorted barbecue specialties.

With Tennessee being one of the states most attached to BBQ and May being National BBQ Month, now is the perfect time to break down which smoked meat joints in the state are drawing the most search interest online.

Whether it be a Memphis BBQ hot-spot like Central BBQ or a Nashville standard like Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, there’s no shortage of top-notch restaurants to hit up if you’re Jonesing for some pulled pork, brisket and/or ribs in the immediate future.

Utilizing Google Trends, BetTennessee.com - home to all things Tennessee sportsbooks - looked at the search volume of the term “Barbecue” over the last 12 months (May 2023 to May 2024) to find the most searched BBQ restaurants in the state of Tennessee.

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Top Tennessee BBQ Restaurants By Search

Restaurant	City	Search Interest (vs. Other Topics in Past 12 Months)
Central BBQ	Memphis	31
Buddy’s Bar-B-Q	Knoxville	30
Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint	Nashville	29
Edley’s Bar-B-Que	Nashville	24
Tops Bar-B-Q	Memphis	23
Mission BBQ	4 locations in TN	18
One & Only BBQ	Memphis	12
Choo-Choo Bar-B-Que	Chattanooga	12
Whitt’s Barbecue	Nashville	11

The Best Tennessee Has to Offer

Based on search interest scores alone, the winner this year when it comes to which barbecue joint is Tennessee’s most popular goes to Memphis’ Central BBQ, which garnered a 31 search interest score during the period in question.

Central BBQ beat out Buddy’s Bar-B-Q of Knoxville, which had a search interest score of 30, while Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint in Nashville (29 search interest score), Edley’s Bar-B-Que in Memphis (24 search interest score) and Tops Bar-B-Q in Memphis (23 search interest score) were the next closest in the state.

Throw in Mission BBQ (18 search interest score), One & Only BBQ in Memphis and Chattanooga’s Choo-Choo Bar-B-Que (12 search interest score each) and Nashville’s Whitt’s Barbecue (11 search interest score) and you have the full rundown on the most popular barbecue joints online currently.

Regardless of which style of BBQ tickles your twine, it seems like Tennessee has a purveyor to suit your fancy, with the Volunteer State’s smoked meats scene standing tall in a country full of elite barbecue restaurants.

And after eating some of that great barbecue, give some of our Tennessee sports betting promo codes a try.

Author

Christopher Boan

@cgboan

Christopher Boan writes for BetTennessee.com and has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, with experience at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.