Nebraska Barbecue Council released the list: These are Omaha’s best BBQ restaurants
In 2017, a few barbecue enthusiasts founded the Nebraska Barbecue Council.
The purpose of the organization is to aid local eateries and promote BBQ in general. The organization is currently a charity, but they may sponsor competitions and sell T-shirts and other merchandise in the future.
“We believe that Nebraska barbecue is underestimated and underappreciated,” said the council’s president, Jake Van Lent of Lincoln. “Dallas, Kansas City, and Memphis come to mind. We believe Nebraska is being overlooked.”
The three-member council has developed a BBQ rating system to rectify the situation. Their initial ranking of Lincoln restaurants was published two years ago. Currently, the Omaha Barbecue Ratings are being released.
According to Van Lent, barbecue can be a divisive topic, so it’s not surprise that the Lincoln Journal-Star list generated a great deal of discussion. The council members hope that the Omaha ratings will improve.
Each restaurant is visited at least once, and typically twice or more. They do not claim any skill — they have no culinary degrees or affiliations to a barbecue joint — and instead state that they are barbecue enthusiasts who represent the average diner.
This is not to mean that members of the Nebraska Barbecue Council do not consider certain criteria when ranking smoked meat eateries, such as:
