12 Long Island spots for great takeout barbecue

While barbecue is a natural fit for a Labor Day celebration, it also requires a considerable degree of labor for the host. Happily, the whole operation can be outsourced to an expert. Here are a dozen of Long Island's best barbecue spots, all of which are happy to fill in the gaps in your menu with takeout:

NASSAU

Blowin’ Smoke BBQ

8045 Jericho Tpke., Woodbury

Third-generation butcher Lou Kreitzman opened Prime Time Butcher in 1993, his son, Josh, came aboard in 2003 and the two men have worked to ensure their legacy by staying current. In 2024, they launched Blowin’ Smoke barbecue, a takeout menu focused on house-smoked meat. More info: 516-921-0583, orderprimetime.com/blowinsmoke

Laura’s BBQ

76 Shore Rd., Glen Cove

Brisket reaches its pinnacle in the hands of Lloyd Adams Jr. at the restaurant (tucked into Safe Harbor marina) named for his wife, Laura, who runs the kitchen. He grew up in Texas and knows how to coax the fatty parts of a hunk of meat to melt and meld into themselves. More info: 516-715-1500, lauras-bbq.com

Smok-Haus

7 12th St., Garden City and 954 S. Broadway, Hicksville 

In addition to all the classics, you’ll find Manny Voumvourakis’ supernal smoked pastrami and porchetta and chicken thighs, dark-chocolate chili, fried chicken sandwiches and tacos and sandwiches that bestow international twists (Mexican, Korean, Greek, Italian) on the smoked meats. The takeout-only Hicksville spot opened in 2023 to bolster the Garden City kitchen, which no longer has the space to serve and smoke. More info: smok-haus.com

Smokin’ Al’s

4847 Merrick Rd., Massapequa Park

Al Horowitz is Long Island’s elder statesman of barbecue, founding the first Smokin’ Al’s in Bay Shore in 2003. A second location opened in Massapequa Park in 2008 (Bay Shore closed in 2013) and continues to smoke and delight. (They may not travel especially well, but consider picking up an order of the onion rings.) More info: 516-799-4900, smokinals.com

Swingbelly’s BBQ

909 W. Beech St., Long Beach

Dan Monteforte’s rollicking restaurant starts with the basics — pulled pork, brisket, chicken, ribs — and spins them into dozens of inventive dishes such as the Mac & Pete (burnt ends tossed with mac-and-cheese), the smokehouse cheesesteak sandwich or the smoke-pit tacos. More info: 516-431-3464, swingbellyslongbeach.com

Village BBQ

2224 Jerusalem Ave., North Merrick

This may be a sliver of an eatery but, for Randy Brown, who opened the place in 2023, it’s the Big Time. The tiny, one-man show is quite a departure from his former career as a healthcare executive. His menu ranges all over the barbecue and soul-food repertoires: tender brisket, beef back ribs, St. Louis pork ribs, rib tips, chopped BBQ (pork shoulder), chicken (barbecued and jerk) and turkey wings. Brown also roasts pernil (Latin American pork shoulder), smokes oxtail, bakes chicken, and fries chicken, shrimp and whiting. More info: 516-727-2060, villagebbq.online

SUFFOLK

Bobbique

70 W. Main St., Patchogue

Long Island’s oldest barbecue spot turns 20 this year, and chef-owner Eric Rifkin has not skipped a beat, putting out a mostly-Memphis-style menu of St. Louis ribs, brisket, pulled pork, kielbasa and chicken along with salmon, shrimp and Louisiana gumbo. More info: 631-447-7744, bobbique.com/menu

Maple Tree BBQ Smokehouse

820 W. Main St., Riverhead

If Maple Tree adheres to any one barbecue style, it's that of Texas, which explains the fine brisket, Texas' signature 'cue, as well as its cousins, pastrami (brisket that's brined before smoking) and burnt ends (the carbonized tips of the brisket, doused with sauce). Beyond beef, Maple Tree ably handles standards like St. Louis ribs, pulled pork, smoked chicken and smoked turkey, plus wings, pulled chicken and salmon. More info: 631-727-2819, mapletreebbq.com

Old Fields Barbecue

15 New St., Huntington

It's a little bit Texas and a little bit Brooklyn at Old Fields Barbecue. Meats include brisket, St. Louis — style pork ribs, smoked chicken, pulled pork and house-made sausage. Diners can choose from five sauces as well as a la carte sides that include mac-and-cheese, collard greens, watermelon salad and mashed sweet potatoes — plus Hawaiian rolls and cornbread for sopping up the juices. More info: 631-923-1515, ofbarbecue.com

Struggletown BBQ

1028 Rte. 25A, Mount Sinai

For founder John Leonard, barbecue was "a backyard hobby gone crazy," but 10 years after he started competing on the barbecue circuit, the hobby blossomed into a modest counter-serve restaurant that he opened in 2023. The brisket, burnt ends, St. Louis ribs, pulled pork, pastrami are all done to a turn. The pulled chicken, as rich and luxuriant as any pork, deserves special commendation. More info: 631-509-1188, struggletownbbq.com

Townline BBQ

3593 Montauk Hwy., Sagaponack

Sagaponack’s ZIP code is the most expensive in New York State (and third in the country) so it’s about the last place you’d expect to find this lean, mean, no-frills barbecue machine. TownLine (est. 2007) is owned by Honest Management, which also operates the Hamptons hot spots Nick & Toni’s, La Fondita and Rowdy Hall. Smoked meats here are extraordinary across the board: meaty St. Louis ribs that need no sauce, juicy brisket (even the lean slices), tender pulled pork, burnished chickens. Any leftover juices should be mopped up with the fantastic fries. More info: 631-537-2271, townlinebbq.com

Tucker’s Taproom & Smokehouse 

9095 Sound Ave., Mattituck

The 16-foot-long smoker — a decommissioned propane tank that sits, with its pile of wood, under its own shelter — can be seen from the road when you drive by Tucker’s Taproom & Smokehouse. From it issues all manner of good eats: brisket (smoky and jiggly), pulled pork (not pulled into a cat food but in recognizable hunks), ribs (tender but requiring teeth), pastrami (juicy with some spice), brisket burgers (smoked to doneness, then grilled for char) and more. And chef Zach Cantner flexes his chef muscles with such accompaniments as braised collards with creamy-tart coleslaw and miso and gochujang (Korean smoked pepper paste). Excellent fries and onions rings are fried in tallow. More info: 631-298-7077, tuckerstaproom.com