I’ve been on a mission these last few weeks, and let’s just say my cardiologist would be very mad at me right now — if I had one.

As a born-and-raised Southerner, I sometimes feel like a fish (or crab) out of water in Baltimore’s food scene. Maryland is technically considered part of the South, at least according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But anyone who has lived in Alabama can tell you how different it feels.

One of the biggest differences is the food. Sometimes it’s for the better. It’s great having such easy access to seafood, and no one at home could ever get crab cakes quite right.

But Southern food is a different animal, and one of the most important kinds is barbecue.

Alabama barbecue may not be as famous as the Kansas City, Texas or Carolina styles, but it has its own distinct flavor. The state’s biggest barbecue calling card is North Alabama white sauce, a tangy mayo and apple cider vinegar mixture meant for smoked poultry. But that’s far from the only great barbecue in ‘Bama.

Roadside shacks smaller and more crowded than your grandmother’s living room on Thanksgiving offer up some of the best food you’ll ever eat, including pulled pork, smoked wings and, of course, sides, which are as important as anything else the restaurant serves. Don’t get me started on banana pudding.

I hadn’t tried any Baltimore-area barbecue until recently. I was, I admit, a little snobbish about it.

“They don’t know how to make barbecue up here, right?”

I made it my mission to find out. And after visiting several local smoke shops, many of them in record-breaking heat, I can safely say I was pleasantly surprised. In the end, I found a number of barbecue spots in and around the city to make any Southerner feel at home.

I think that’s as good a compliment as I can give.

This isn’t a ranked list, but I did have a few categories in mind when trying each restaurant. No. 1 was the simple pulled pork sandwich. It may not sound like much, but any barbecue shop worth its smoke ought to be able to do a pulled pork sandwich right.

After that, I tried to taste a variety of meat and side options, including any unique or specialty items and sides. I ended up trying the macaroni and cheese at every place that had it as an option. I didn’t set out to do that, but what can I say? Mac and cheese is my favorite vegetable.

I also took each restaurant’s physical space into account. If you have a nice little patio or cozy seating area, that’s a plus in my book. But back home, typically the smaller and shabbier the restaurant, the better the food. Does that hold true in Baltimore? Let’s find out.

Blue Pit BBQ

1601 Union Ave., Baltimore

Blue Pit was the first barbecue restaurant I tried in Baltimore. The restaurant is pretty close to my house in Hampden, so I had high hopes, though no real expectations. I ended up going a little crazy here, getting a pulled pork sandwich, smoked chicken, beef brisket and ribs, along with cornbread and mac and cheese.

Everything was pretty good, but the brisket stood out to me. I’ve never really been a brisket or Texas barbecue fan, but they nailed it here with the tender and moist meat. The restaurant also offers four different sauces, but the only one that separated itself from the pack was the unique coffee sauce, which was both novel and delicious.

The interior of Blue Pit feels more like a bar than a restaurant — not surprising for a place that touts itself as a whiskey bar. But it also scores bonus points for its outdoor space behind the restaurant. It had just the right amount of shade to make sitting outside during the recent heat wave bearable, and is a nice cozy spot that’s great for families. My soon-to-be 2-year-old pretty much had the run of the place, and they had plenty of water bowls for four-legged friends, too.

Jake’s Grill

11950 Falls Road, Cockeysville

I wouldn’t change a single thing about Jake’s Grill. It’s a tiny little shack on the side of Falls Road in Cockeysville, about 20 minutes north of the Inner Harbor. They were grilling outside when we pulled up, and everyone was friendly. I got a pulled pork sandwich, of course, and a half rack of ribs. I had to put the sandwich together myself, which is why theirs was the only one in this process that had pickles on it. Every pulled pork sandwich wants a pickle. Or five.

The ribs were great, the pulled pork was great, the sauces were solid, and while the restaurant itself isn’t huge and doesn’t have a lot of seating or what I would call a cozy atmosphere, it has exactly the right vibe for a small barbecue spot. This place would be right at home if it was on the side of U.S. 231 between Troy and Dothan, Alabama, instead of where it sits now, less than 20 miles south of the Mason-Dixon Line, as the crow — or raven, I guess — flies.

Andy Nelson’s Southern Pit Barbecue

11007 York Road, Cockeysville

Another Cockeysville spot, Andy Nelson’s scores brownie points for having a sauce called “Bama,” though it wasn’t the white sauce from my home state, or even my favorite sauce they offered. I preferred the vinegary Guy’s Pig Dip. The pulled pork sandwich was good, and the smoked wings were also nice. Overall, I’d say Andy Nelson’s is a solid option for anyone looking to scratch that barbecue itch.

Their location was great, including a free-standing garage-like structure with covered outdoor seating. The shade made it possible to sit outside and enjoy my meal, even though it was encroaching on 100 degrees.

Big Bad Wolf’s House of Barbeque

5713 Harford Road, Baltimore

Big Bad Wolf was one of the last places I tried, and it might well be the best. It was hot outside and even hotter inside the little yellow shack on the side of Harford Road in Northeast Baltimore. The place certainly looked the part — all the best barbecue I’ve ever had came from places that look like this.

There was only one person working, and he knew the regulars in front of me by name. They had a number of meat and side options, but I ended up trying two sandwiches: the classic pulled pork and their namesake Big Bad Wolf, a kind of ridiculous sandwich with brisket, pulled pork and smoked bacon. I thought it would be too much, but it was really kind of incredible. The bacon was very crispy and added a great texture, and the spicy vinegar sauce brought me back to the soggy, perfect pulled pork sandwiches of my childhood.

My nonexistent cardiologist wouldn’t in good conscience allow me to recommend this sandwich. But I’ve never been a stickler for the rules. Go get one, yesterday.

The regular pulled pork sandwich was also great, though still searching for a pickle. The mac and cheese stood out from many of the others on this list — the pasta inside was bigger and wasn’t cooked to mush, and there were spices similar to those in the sauce.

For my money, which I don’t have much of, you can’t beat Big Bad Wolf for Baltimore-area barbecue.

Heritage Smokehouse

5800 York Road, Baltimore

Heading into this project, I asked a lot of people for their barbecue recommendations. Heritage easily got the most hype. Even fellow Southerners spoke highly of the restaurant, though I was warned ahead of time that it was on the pricier side. That ended up being true; it was the most expensive place I tried.

It was also the last place I tried for this list, and I was disappointed to see they don’t have a traditional pulled pork sandwich on the menu. As I’ve said before, barbecue at its most basic — and best — has to be a pulled pork sandwich. So any smokehouse not offering one gets points off from me. But they did have a sliced pit pork sandwich, which I tried and liked. Pit meat is similar to barbecue, but not the same. (That might be a discussion for another time.)

The sides were also untraditional, at least for what I’m used to. The beans were less like barbecue baked beans and more like seasoned pinto beans, though they were still quite good. The mac and cheese was fantastic. It had big shell pasta with a creamy sauce and just the right amount of golden brown crust on top.

The ribs were also a standout. They fell right off the bone and sported a heavy coating of delicious dry rub.

I also tried all five of their sauces, and their white lightning option was the closest to an Alabama white sauce I’ve had since leaving the state.