Why the Rib Sandwich is a Delicious Barbecue Oddity

Robert Moss

Southern LivingSeptember 4, 2019, 1:37 pm

This summer, while traveling through Tennessee for the latest edition of The South’s Top 50 Barbecue Joints, I got reacquainted with a menu item that I’ve always thought to be a bit of a barbecue oddity: the rib sandwich.

We’re not talking sliced prime rib on a brioche bun or deboned pork pressed into a patty, and certainly nothing with a “Mc” in its name. In many parts of the South, a rib sandwich is exactly what it sounds like: a small slab of pork ribs placed bones and all between two slices of plain white bread and slathered with tangy sauce.

St. Louis and Memphis seem to be the twin capitals of rib sandwiches, for the sloppy delights appear on barbecue menus all around each city. At C&K Barbecue in St. Louis, there are two sandwich options: rib tips or the city’s eponymous St. Louis style ribs, and both are piled on white bread and soaked down with the restaurant’s sweet and spicy red sauce.