The best barbecue restaurant in each New England state, according to Food Network

STURBRIDGE, Mass. — Food Network has crowned the best barbecue restaurant in each New England state.

B.T.’s Smokehouse in Sturbridge earned the top honor in Massachusetts on Food Network’s “50 States of Barbecue.”

In 2007, Chef Brian Treitman first launched B.T.’s as a mobile trailer that “grew such an avid following for its pulled pork and brisket,” according to Food Network. Treitman later opened a standalone eatery in 2009.

“His brisket Reuben is out of this world,” Food Network said of Treitman.

B.T.’s has also opened a fried chicken and barbecue spot in Worcester, in addition to running a concession stand at Polar Park.

In a statement on B.T.’s official website, Treitman said, “I try to cook my BBQ the way you think BBQ should taste. When you think about a pork rib, in your mind it is tender, succulent, ready to fall off the bone with a little smoke and glazed with a flavorful, spiced, sweet sauce. You want to lick your fingers – no need for a napkin. You want to dip the bone into the drippings that are left and then suck it dry. That’s the way I try to cook.”

Goody Cole’s, a roadside barbecue joint in Brentwood, was named the best spot in New Hampshire. The restaurant “looks like it was plucked straight out of Hill Country,” Food Network said.

“Everything — chicken, kielbasa, excellent turkey, sought-after ribs — is smoked low and slow over 100 percent hickory without any help from gas or electricity,” Food Network wrote. “That labor-intensive process is what makes the ever-popular brisket and pulled pork so darned good. It’s like a little piece of Texas in the heart of New England.”

Salvage BBQ in Portland earned the top honor in Maine. The eatery is located on Congress Street in a renovated railroad post office.

“These folks smoke brisket, mild and hot sausages, chicken and St. Louis ribs over Maine red oak. When their pork butts come out of the smoker, each one is cut up with a butcher’s knife and dressed with peppery vinegar sauce, just as it’s done in parts of the Tar Heel State,” Food Network said of Salvage.

Localfolk Smokehouse in Waitsfield was named the top restaurant in Vermont. Most of the menu is made from local ingredients.

“Beef brisket, St. Louis ribs, smoked chicken and pulled pork are hickory-smoked until tender and moist, served with a sweet, tangy and slightly spicy housemade sauce,” Food Network said of Localfolk. “The smoking doesn’t stop with the old reliables, though — this place also makes superb bacon and andouille sausage. It’s all paired with more than two dozen small-batch beers from New England and beyond, along with a few commercial options for good measure. Live bands play most weekends.”

Becky’s Real BBQ in Middletown was crowned the best joint in Rhode Island. The restaurant first fired up its pit back in 1994.

“Pitmaster and owner Bob Bringhurst personally tends to each hunk of meat entering his hickory-fueled smoker pit, rotating the shelves within so the juices drip from cut to cut during the cooking process. Pork and brisket are slow-smoked for 18 hours, then pulled, cleaned and lightly sauced with the shop’s signature North Carolina vinegar-and-pepper sauce or tangy Kansas City-style sweet sauce (although sauce-free plates are available upon request),” Food Network said of Becky’s.

Smokin’ With Chris in Southington was recognized as the best eatery in Connecticut.

When one thinks barbecue, Connecticut is not the first place that comes to mind. Smokin’ With Chris is good enough to change that preconception,” Food Network said. “Owner Chris Conlon serves a wide selection of riffs on regional barbecue standbys at wallet-friendly prices.”

To view the best barbecue spots in all 50 states, click here.

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