There is nothing — nothing — that signals summer like the smell of smoke and meat doing exactly what it’s supposed to do. BBQ season in Fond du Lac is real, it’s local, and whether you’re eating out, firing up the backyard grill, or feeding a crowd at a park pavilion, you’ve got options. Here’s your guide to doing BBQ right this summer.
Full disclosure: Kelly is vegetarian. That’s okay. Vegetarians can enjoy barbeque, too, and we have meat-eating team members to inform the rest. 😉
🍖 Restaurants with the Best BBQ in Fond du Lac
BeBoppin BBQ
The #1 rated BBQ in the Fond du Lac area — and it comes to you on a bus. BeBoppin is a food truck operation serving pulled pork, brisket, smoked ribs, and homemade sauces, and the reviews are absolutely unambiguous about the quality. Follow their Facebook page for locations, schedules, and daily menus. When they’re out, they’re out — so if you see them, stop.
The Sweet & Salty Pig
If you haven’t been, this summer is the time. The Sweet & Salty Pig on West Pioneer Road puts a creative twist on BBQ comfort food that feels completely its own — brisket tot-chos loaded with beer cheese and pineapple pepper salsa, a slow-roasted beef brisket sandwich with smoked gouda and bourbon bacon jam, BBQ eggs benedict on weekend brunch. It’s inventive without trying too hard, and the menu has something for everyone at the table. One of the most-loved restaurants in the city for a reason.
Kurtev’s Backyard Grill & Bar
The name says it all. Kurtev’s on East Johnson Street is a casual, neighborhood grill with slow smoked ribs, a backyard vibe, and the kind of atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re eating at someone’s cookout — in the best possible way. Great spot for a relaxed summer dinner when you don’t feel like firing up your own grill.
🛒 Where to Shop for Your BBQ
Eden Meat Market
This is the one. Family-owned since the 1890s on Main Street in Eden, voted Best Meat Market in the area 14 years in a row, and still smoking their sausages and meats in original block smokehouses using applewood slabs — no artificial smoke, ever. Fresh-cut steaks, chops, homemade sausages, applewood-smoked bacon and hams, seasoned chicken breasts, and specialty items that will genuinely upgrade your backyard cookout. They deliver to Fond du Lac and their products are also available at Ledgeview Express right here in the city. Worth the drive to Eden, worth every dollar.
Downtown Farmers Market
Saturday mornings, Main Street. Several vendors bring locally raised meat and eggs to the market throughout the season — including Red Cedar Ridge Farms and Wachholz Family Farm. Plus Lubberts Farm for fresh summer corn, which belongs at every single cookout from now until September. Get there early; the good stuff goes fast.
May Hill Farm & Open Road Ranch
Both covered in the summer bucket list, and both worth repeating here. Grass-finished beef, heritage pork, pasture-raised chicken — the kind of meat that makes a real difference on the grill. Check their websites and social for availability and pickup schedules.
May Hill Farm is featuring monthly boxes that we are OBSESSED with – we highly recommend you check it out!
🔥 Where to Fire Up the Grill
Not everyone has a backyard — and honestly, a park cookout is its own kind of summer experience.
Buttermilk Creek Park
The top pick for a cookout with a crowd. Grills, powered pavilions you can reserve, clean restrooms, and multiple picnic areas that give you room to spread out. This is the spot when you’re feeding more than four people and want to make an actual event of it.
Lakeside Park
Picnic areas throughout with space to set up — just know that propane grills aren’t permitted, so bring charcoal. The lakefront backdrop makes it worth the extra logistics.
County Park Shelters
Fond du Lac County Parks has multiple shelters available for reservation across the county, most equipped with grills. Reserve online or by calling the parks office.
🌽 The Summer BBQ Plate
A few things that belong at every Fond du Lac cookout this summer according to Kelly:
Corn on the cob. Fresh corn from Lubberts Farm or the Farmers Market. Grilled in the husk, hit with butter and a little salt. That’s it. Don’t overthink it.
BBQ sauce on your mac n’ cheese. Try it. Just try it. A good smoky BBQ sauce on creamy mac — it works, and you’ll never go back to eating mac n’ cheese the same way again.
Jackfruit sliders. If you’ve got plant-based eaters at your cookout, jackfruit pulled “pork” sliders are a genuine crowd-pleaser. Check local specialty grocery options for jackfruit — and keep an eye on Village Markets. 🚩 [Kelly to confirm Village Markets/local source for jackfruit]
BBQ season in Fond du Lac is short. Fire it up while you can.
What’s your go-to cookout move? Tell us in the comments.
