The 5 Best Places for Barbecue Around Summit County

Barbecue has never belonged to a single region or technique. Texas brisket, St. Louis-style ribs and the pulled pork associated with the Carolinas all demonstrate how smoke, seasoning, time and temperature can transform different cuts of meat. Summit County pitmasters bring those traditions to high elevation while adding Colorado influences of their own, from wild game sausage and local craft beer to menus shaped by cross-country barbecue research. The Best of Summit recognizes restaurants where smokers, slow cooking and scratch-made sides turn barbecue into a meal worth lingering over.

Whiskey Star Smokehouse

Whiskey Star Smokehouse takes a Texas-style, low-and-slow approach to barbecue, smoking its meats daily in-house on Breckenridge’s Main Street. Brisket receives a 24-hour dry rub before smoking, while pulled pork cooks for 12 hours and St. Louis-style pork ribs rely on their own dry-rubbed preparation. The smoker also turns out turkey breast, chicken wings, jalapeño sausage and bison-pork sausage. Guests can order those meats individually, pile them onto sandwiches or combine them on platters with cornbread, coleslaw and a choice of sides. Smoked mac and cheese, whiskey baked beans, collard greens, creamed corn and candied sweet potatoes carry the smokehouse theme beyond the main course. Brisket also reappears in chili, smashburgers, a Philly-style sandwich and other dishes. Whiskey plays an equally prominent role at the bar, where the selection extends to more than 150 bourbons, Scotches and whiskeys.

Kenosha

Kenosha combines house-smoked barbecue with burgers, hand-cut steaks and a substantial craft beer program in downtown Breckenridge. Slow-smoked meats form their own section of the menu, with barbecue plates accompanied by familiar sides such as coleslaw, baked beans and cornbread. St. Louis-style ribs take center stage on Mondays, when the kitchen prepares half and full racks until the day’s supply runs out. Smoke also works its way into other parts of the menu, giving diners ways to combine barbecue with the restaurant’s comfort-food approach rather than limiting it to a traditional platter. More than 30 Colorado craft beers on tap provide plenty of pairing options, supplemented by cocktails and wine. During warmer months, the restaurant’s large outdoor deck adds another dimension to the experience, while the BackDoor Bar and upstairs UpBar extend Kenosha beyond the dining room for drinks, sports and gatherings.

Wildflower BBQ

Wildflower BBQ grew from Alison and Abel Beazley’s years of professional cooking and their own travels through American barbecue country. Both are Summit High School graduates, and their culinary careers included six years at The French Laundry in Napa, California. Alison became the Michelin three-star restaurant’s first female expediting sous chef and later contributed to “The French Laundry, Per Se” cookbook. When the couple created Wildflower in Frisco, they deliberately avoided committing the menu to a single regional barbecue tradition. Instead, they drew from styles and dishes they encountered while traveling around the country. Everything centers on a counter-service model with scratch-made food and an emphasis on making the restaurant approachable for both local regulars and visiting families. Wildflower also starts earlier in the day with breakfast burritos before shifting into its lunch menu, bringing the Beazleys’ fine-dining backgrounds into a deliberately casual barbecue setting.

Eagle BBQ

Eagle BBQ operates a smokehouse and saloon at Copper Mountain with a menu centered squarely on smoked meats. Barbecue platters allow diners to choose among pulled pork, chicken and sausage, with sliced brisket and St. Louis-style ribs among the premium selections. Each platter comes with a side and thick-cut bread, while the same meats can be ordered by the pound for groups or particularly hungry diners. Brisket and pulled pork also move into sandwiches, smashburgers and mac and cheese bowls, giving the smoker’s output several roles across the menu. Traditional barbecue accompaniments include mac and cheese, creamy coleslaw, barbecue beans and potato salad, while banana pudding, brownies and cheesecake cover dessert. Eagle BBQ also makes room for a meatless interpretation with saucy shredded jackfruit, available on platters, sandwiches and mac and cheese bowls. The restaurant notes that smoked items occasionally sell out, reflecting a menu tied to each day’s available supply.

Highside Brewing & BBQ

Highside Brewing & BBQ joins mountain-crafted beer with what it calls Colorado-style barbecue at locations including Frisco and Breckenridge. The kitchen makes its ingredients from scratch and smokes meats fresh each day, with availability changing as items sell out. Brisket, pulled pork, ribs, smoked salmon and wild game sausage headline the smoker, while smoked chicken and turkey appear elsewhere on the menu. The kitchen moves those meats into sandwiches such as the Coloradon, which combines pulled pork, bacon, Gold BBQ sauce, pickles and provolone, and a hot-honey smoked chicken sandwich with slaw. Sides include baked beans, South Park slaw, mac and cheese, pork green chile, street corn and cornbread. Highside’s own beers complete the pairing, with rotating mountain-brewed selections poured alongside the food. The Frisco taproom adds live music, pool, pinball and other games, while the Breckenridge location sits just off Main Street near the gondola.

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