Name: Meat Boss
Date: 10/2/26
Address: 5401 Cottage Hill Rd. Mobile, AL 36609
Order: 2 racks of ribs, 1 lb brisket, 1 lb pork, ½ lb chicken, 4 Conecuh sausages, mac and cheese, beans, cole slaw (link to menu)
Pricing: $$
Monk: An exhaustive list of barbecue places where all three Bros have been present from our 20(!) years of annual high school guys trips, which just so happens to be in reverse chronological order. From the good – Matt’s BBQ in Portland, OR (2024), Wilson County BBQ in Portland, ME (2023) – to the not-so-good – Ray Ray’s Hog Pit and Rudy’s Smokehouse in the Columbus, OH area (2020), Bitterroot BBQ in Seattle, OH (2015).
Where would Meat Boss in Mobile, AL get sorted? Could it even the score between the two categories?
Speedy: Let’s start with the first thing I’m sure every reader’s eyes darted to when looking at the photos – the big ass spare ribs. Monk, a known over-orderer…
Monk: Hey now…
Speedy: …was so excited to have the Bros together that he ordered two full racks. Fortunately, we had some reinforcements, because those racks of rib were enormous. Smoked and seasoned well and tender, I thought these were the best ribs I’ve ever had in Alabama (and yes, I’ve been to Dreamland). Would order again, but maybe just one rack.
Monk: I don’t think it was obvious from the menu board that these were spares, so I was expecting smaller St. Louis cut. Still, I guess I could’ve asked so I reluctantly accept the criticism.
Rudy: Since Alabama is most known for their barbecue chicken and white sauce, I was most excited to try theirs. Normally I do not like smoked turkey or chicken because I tend to find them dried out and usually not all that great, just a personal preference. However, this was my favorite part of the whole meal! I think a large part of it was the sauce, which was a great compliment to the chicken. It was creamy but also had a good amount of seasoning and added plenty of flavor and moistness to the already well-seasoned chicken. While I do believe that this chicken would have stood on it’s own, the white sauce (versus adding traditional red barbecue sauce at other restaurants) was what put it over the edge for me.
Monk: The chopped pork was…fine? But definitely not the standout meat that we tried that day.
Rudy: I was not the biggest fan of the way that Meat Boss did their brisket. Yes it had some good seasoning and flavor, but they chopped it up similar to the way that they served their pulled pork. In fact it was difficult at first to look at the two and determine which was which. Maybe this was a way to assist with the brisket cook since it typically can be a difficult meat to cook and serve (especially if it is not a specialty of yours or the area). If this was your only introduction to brisket, you’d think it was fine, but they had other options that were much better, so I would load up on those next time and skip the brisket.
Speedy: I agree that the pork and brisket were disappointing, but at the other end of the spectrum was the Conecuh pork sausage. Conecuh sausages have been made in near(ish)-by Andalusia, Alabama since 1947, and while they weren’t much to look at, the flavor was phenomenal. The things I worry about in smoked sausage are greasiness and tough casing, and these guys had neither, but instead were packed with great flavor. In fact, just writing this paragraph has me visiting their store locator to see where I can buy it for myself.
Monk: Those Conecuh sausages were a revelation and they are available at my local grocery so I’ll be buying those from now own. I’ve already made a sausage and pasta dish from their website and will be doing red beans and rice a time or two this winter for sure.
The manager that day approached our group and asked us a bunch of questions about how we knew each other, where we were from, what our plans were in the area. She also wanted to make sure we tried their candied rip tips, which were very sweet and almost worked more as a dessert.
Of the sides we ordered, the mac and cheese was probably the table favorite but none were exceptional.
Speedy: So where did Meat Boss stack up? It’s just middle -of-the-road for me. People may not love to hear it, but if the famous protein from your state is chicken, you ain’t really a barbecue state. Maybe next time, Alabama.
Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Brisket – 2.5 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Sausages – 4 hogs
Chicken – 4.5 hogs
Ribs – 4 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs
