Oldest BBQ Joint in Texas | The Original Black's Barbecue.

Erik Hoover, also known as “Cockeye”, is the chef, pitmaster and owner at Cockeye BBQ in Warren, Ohio. Classically trained in Charleston, SC at Johnson & Wales University, Erik Hoover took a career turn when he left the restaurant business in 1998 to raise a family in northeast Ohio's farm country.

Stylistically, the Arkansas version has much in common with its neighbors across the Mississippi River. Ribs and rib tips are finished with a thick, sweet brown sauce (like the ones you'll find in many Memphis joints), and beans and slaw are the requisite sides.

Beloved by smoked meat purists, Memphis, Tennessee developed one of the four dominant styles of regional BBQ in the U.S. While you'll certainly find beef and chicken on menus, pork is the foundation of Memphis style BBQ, and pork ribs are its crowned jewel. Memphis style BBQ prepares ribs in two ways: wet and dry.