BallHoggerz BBQ

Competition-bred smoke in historic Orange Mound

BallHoggerz BBQ is a barbecue restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee.

BallHoggerz BBQ is where pitmaster Merritt Bailey parked an award-winning competition team and turned it into a tiny storefront on Airways Boulevard. The setting matters: Orange Mound is one of the first U.S. neighborhoods built by and for Black Americans, and BallHoggerz cooks like a source of neighborhood pride, contest technique aimed squarely at a walk-up counter.

The payoff is smoke with a competition edge. Ribs come off with a clean bite and a deliberate, contest-honed bark, seasoned dry the Memphis way, while the smoked wings carry real hickory rather than fryer grease. The pulled pork stays juicy under a proper crust, and loaded fries fill out the tray for a hungry table. The room is small and the regulars are fiercely loyal, exactly the kind of loyalty a decorated pitmaster earns when trophy-grade cooking lands on an everyday plate.

• Style: Memphis Style
• Price: $$
• Neighborhood: Orange Mound

What to order

• Ribs
• Smoked Wings
• Pulled Pork
• Loaded Fries

How it scores — 8.2/10 overall

• Smoke: 8.3/10
• Bark: 8.1/10
• Tenderness: 8.2/10
• Consistency: 8.1/10
• Value: 8.5/10
• Atmosphere: 7.4/10

Visiting

• Address: 1404 Airways Blvd, Memphis, TN 38114
• Phone: (901) 279-1758

Hours: Wed–Thu 12–8pm, Fri 12pm–12am, Sat 1pm–12am, Sun 12–5pm, Mon–Tue closed

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