Barbecue Nation

Depending on where you get your barbecue on, you'll find different traditions. Here, a field guide to the country's major regional styles—all of which you can find at local Denver joints.

Carolinas (North and South)
Meats: chopped pork shoulder, the whole hog
Sauce: vinegary and punctuated with red pepper flakes, sometimes with tomato (sauce is mustard-based in parts of South Carolina)
Sides: barbecue hash, hush puppies, vinegary slaw
Shrine: Lexington Barbecue # 1 in Lexington, North Carolina

Kansas City
Meats: pork spareribs, beef brisket, and "burnt ends" (charred pieces of brisket)
Sauce: tomato-based, thick, and often sweet and spicy
Sides: baked beans, french fries, pickles, and slices of white bread
Shrine: Arthur Bryant's Barbecue in Kansas City, Missouri

Memphis
Meats: pulled pork shoulder sandwich with coleslaw on top, dry-rubbed spareribs
Sauce: tomato-based, slightly sweet
Sides: a mustard-based coleslaw, barbecue spaghetti
Shrine: Jim Neely's Interstate Barb-B-Que (wet-style barbecue), Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous Charcoal Ribs (for dry-rubbed barbecue), both in Memphis, Tennessee

Texas
Meats: beef brisket, pork and beef sausages, pork spareribs, and barbacoa de cabeza (cow's head)
Sauce: tomato-based and spiked with chile peppers
Sides: pinto beans, potato salad, pickles, a hunk of cheddar cheese, Saltines, and pickled jalapeños
Shrine: Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas