A linked neighborhood of BBQ sites
At its heart, The Smoke Ring is a webring: a continuous loop of barbecue websites connected by simple Next and Previous links. Start on any member site, keep clicking Next, and you will eventually arrive right back where you began, having toured dozens of pitmasters, recipe collections, cooker builders, and smoking-wood suppliers along the way. Before search engines ranked everything, this is how enthusiasts found one another — one good site pointing to the next.
You can travel the ring in order, jump to a random member site, or read straight through a complete list of members. If you run a barbecue site of your own, you are welcome to join the ring.
More than a list of links
Over the years the Ring grew into a genuine content hub. We publish barbecue articles and step-by-step how-to guides, document the competition circuit, and answer the question that gives this whole place its name: what exactly is a smoke ring? Our very first feature was a set of plans to build your own BBQ pit, and that spirit — practical, generous, hands-on — still runs through everything here.
Start here
- What is a smoke ring? — the pink badge of honor, explained.
- Build your own BBQ pit — the feature that started it all.
- The rule of thirds — manage your grill like a pro.
- Prime rib cooking times — high heat vs. low and slow.
- Smoked beef ribs and barbecue chicken — two classics, done right.
A community, not just an index
The best thing to come out of The Smoke Ring was never the traffic — it was the people. When a call went out to feed evacuees after a major hurricane, ring members organized a cook within hours. When word came that soldiers overseas were craving a taste of home, the community found a way to get a grill to their unit. That is barbecue at its best: low and slow, and shared. You can read more of these stories in our news and articles.
Whether you are here to find your next favorite BBQ site, to learn a technique, or simply to feel the pull of good smoke, welcome to the neighborhood. Pull up a chair on the porch.