At a glance, Mac’s Barbecue appears to be a quotidian Oklahoma rib joint. The handwritten chalkboard menu features sliced beef and pulled pork, bologna, and chopped beef. Folks sitting in vinyl booths chow down on beans and potato salad. Pigs decorate the space.

But a glance at the specials board proves it’s not just barbecue business as usual. After all, most small-town proprietors don’t offer smoked salmon or chile relleno beef sausage. Or how about orange gochugaru smoked chicken legs with a sriracha honey drizzle or The Nanny-—a sliced brisket sandwich with spicy barbecue mayo, a dill pickle, and housemade pimiento cheese on a bun from Trencher’s Delicatessen in Tulsa? Mac’s Barbecue in Skiatook serves a perfect blend of classic Oklahoma ’cue and progressive, chef-forward flavors.

The flavors at Mac’s Barbecue are so good, customers might want to grab a bottle of their sauce to take home. Photo by Laci Schwoegler/Retrospec Films

Regulars who have been coming to Mac’s since it opened in 1985 maybe never even noticed some of those new flavors and experiments by owners Adam and Holly Green. For those stalwart patrons, orders of ribs and brisket are virtually unchanged—and that’s just how Mac’s wants it. This is the same reliably good barbecue restaurant it’s been since Mike and Vickie McMillan opened it. But after nearly thirty years in the business, they were ready to pass the torch, selling to their daughter Holly and son-in-law Adam in 2013.

The timing was right for the couple, who took over just as barbecue was being taken seriously in the culinary world. It was an opportunity to take the stalwart, small-town barbecue restaurant to the next level with more exposure through social media—and by taking risks.

“I definitely think it was a time when there was a barbecue resurgence happening on a national level,” Adam says. “But Oklahoma is the stepchild of barbecue.”

Adam Green also offers full-service catering for large parties and events. Photo by Laci Schwoegler/Retrospec Films

That’s partly because Oklahoma doesn’t follow the rules of Texas or Kansas City, and each Okie pitmaster does things a bit differently. As for Mac’s style, all meats at Mac’s are smoked with pecan wood. Green says pecan wood gives a nice, mild flavor, different from the commonly used hickory wood that imparts a stronger, punchier taste.

“We’re all wood—no gas or charcoal. We keep the same fire all week on our smokers,” Adam says. “We take our time. Our rubs are made from scratch. We make seventy-two gallons of sauce a week.”

Mac’s sides alone are worth the trip. Barbecue beans are made with bits of smoked meat—ham, turkey, and/or brisket—then combined with barbecue sauce and baked until thick. The campfire potatoes (like a cheesy hash brown casserole) are made from scratch and have become legendary to regulars. Other sides include potato salad, coleslaw, pinto beans, corn on the cob, and pasta salad. It’s a busy kitchen, with cooks peeling fifty pounds of potatoes a day, making the dressing for the slaw fresh daily, chopping vegetables for the pasta salad, and making cobblers and bread pudding with butter rum sauce.

Sides like barbecue beans, pasta salad, potato salad, and the beloved campfire potatoes are far from an afterthought at Mac's. Photo by Laci Schwoegler/Retrospec Films

“The bread pudding is one of the best in the state. If someone disagrees, we kick them out, because it’s my mother-in-law’s recipe,” Adam jokes.

Adam is a former Marine who traveled the world before settling down in Oklahoma, and he and Holly now live just a few blocks from Mac’s. He also recently opened a small, second location inside Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. Having found a passion in barbecue, he feels settled and happy just where he is, spreading the gospel of Mac’s.

“My thing is, this place is so cool, I just want people to know about it,” he says.

Written By

Natalie Mikles