Kentucky Mutton Barbecue: Owensboro Dip and Burgoo

Kentucky mutton barbecue is slow-smoked meat from sheep at least a year old, cooked over hickory and served sliced with a thin, tangy, peppery dip. It belongs to Owensboro and Daviess County in western Kentucky, where sheep farming, church picnics and a stew called burgoo kept the tradition alive when most of America moved on to beef and pork.

Why does Owensboro barbecue mean mutton?

Owensboro barbecue is traditionally mutton, the meat of a sheep over a year old. Mutton fell out of favor in the United States after World War II, when beef and pork became more popular, but western Kentucky kept cooking it. The reasons are practical. Barbecue began as cheap food made from tough cuts, and the area had plenty of sheep.

Daviess County farmers raised sheep mainly for wool. When an older animal stopped producing a good fleece, there was little point in wasting it, so cooks smoked and slowly cooked the tough meat until it was tender. Smoke and salt also helped preserve it for summer gatherings such as barn raisings. Some accounts link the area's sheep to Welsh settlers, and the Ohio River, a livestock crossing, may have helped.

How is Kentucky mutton barbecue cooked and served?

The meat is cooked slowly over hickory in long pits. Cooking can take most of a day, and the mutton is mopped with a mix of water, salt, vinegar and hot peppers, which flavors it and helps break down its tough fibers. It is served sliced, usually on white bread or beside it, and eaten with a spoonful of dip.

Do not expect a thick, sweet red sauce. The flavor of mutton is stronger than lamb, and the cooking is meant to bring out smoke and salt, not cover it. A good first plate has the sliced meat, a pickle, bread and a little dip, so you can taste the mutton on its own before you add anything.

What is mutton dip?

Mutton dip is the thin, dark sauce served with the meat. It is also called Kentucky dip or black vinegar, and it is spicy and vinegar-based, with salt, pepper and other spices. Locals use the words dip and barbecue sauce loosely, depending on who you ask, so read the menu rather than assume.

Use the dip lightly. A spoonful over a slice, or on the bread, wakes up the meat without drowning it. Some people pour a little into a bowl and dip each bite, which is how it got its name. If you are not sure, ask for it on the side.

What is Kentucky burgoo?

Kentucky burgoo is a hearty stew, often made with mutton, chicken and vegetables, and cooked in large batches over many hours. It is a western Kentucky original in many tellings, and at barbecue festivals and picnics it is ladled out by the gallon.

Burgoo is thick, savory and a little smoky, and every cook has a recipe. Order a cup alongside the barbecue if it is on the menu, and ask what meat is in it. The Louisville burgoo and benedictine guide covers the stew from another part of the state.

How do church picnics keep the tradition going?

German Catholic parishes in Daviess County hosted picnics and fundraisers serving barbecue and burgoo, and local voices say Catholics played a large part in keeping the mutton tradition alive. Parishes in the area still hold picnics in the summer.

A church picnic is a good way to taste the real thing: long tables, big pits, mutton by the pound and a stew simmering nearby. The city's barbecue festival grew out of church celebrations like these and has changed its name over the years, so check with the organizers before you plan a trip around it.

How can Mosey help you remember a Kentucky barbecue trip?

Mutton is unusual enough that you will want notes. When you rate a place on Mosey, rate the dish: the sliced mutton, the burgoo and the side can each get a different score. Use the note to say how strong the meat tasted and how much dip it needed, and add a tag such as Southern or Barbecue.

Start a list for a western Kentucky weekend and add each stop with a one-line note. Share the list with friends by link and follow them to see where they rate and save. Rating five different places of one kind earns the Sampler mark, and the Dishes page shows what people are rating near you.

For more of the state, read the Kentucky food worth a drive guide and the Lexington guide, or browse the US food guides. For a style that sells by the pound, see Texas barbecue styles.

What should you know before you go?

Barbecue pits keep their own hours, and a few sell out. Dress for a hot pit yard, bring cash for the picnic tables and be ready to wait in a long line on festival weekends, because the food is worth it. Ask whether mutton is on today, whether it comes by the pound or the sandwich and whether the burgoo is made in house.

Open the Mosey app, rate the mutton by the dish and keep a list of your western Kentucky stops.