I Drove 9 Hours for the Best Barbecue in Florida

I’ve heard good things about Hamaknockers for some time now, so with a 12-hour drive to Orlando ahead of me, I decided to take an hour-and-a-half detour to make Hamaknocker’s part of the journey.

Getting There

Hamaknockers is located in the small town of Crawfordville, Florida, with a population of around 4,000. We diverged from the main roads about two hours before we arrived and took backroads and state roads that wound through picturesque marshlands inhabited by live oak trees and saw palmettos. We had to sing a little Alan Jackson as we passed Chattahoochee.

The signage outside of the restaurant is rustic and hand-painted, and a smoker grill was hard at work next to a giant century cactus plant.

Inside, there is a map of the world on the back wall. Pins mark the hometowns of hundreds of visitors, some from as far away as Europe or Australia. Ask any server for a pin to add yours.

What’s a Hamaknocker?

A lot of people assume that Hamaknocker is a family name (it is a family-owned business, after all). But our waitress informed us that a Hamaknocker is “a local term for a troublemaker.”

What We Ate

My husband Marc and I split the $22 Hamaknockers combo, which includes smoked chicken wings, ribs, barbecue, a roll and two sides. We also got two desserts. For us, there was plenty of food to share.

• Smoked chicken wings: these were my favorites of the three meats. They were fall-off-the-bone tender and so flavorful they didn’t need any sauce.

• Ribs: the ribs were tender and had a rich, fatty flavor. They pair well with the Hot, Sweet & Tangy sauces.

• Pulled pork barbecue: great barbecue, not dry. It tasted great on its own, but I piled mine on the roll and smothered it with Sweet & Tangy sauce.

• Roll: Not dry and slightly sweet (though not as sweet as a Hawaiian roll). Great vehicle for barbecue.

• Potato salad: I usually think of potato salad as a filler, but when I popped the first bite in my mouth, my eyes went wide. I’ve never had potato salad that was so flavorful.

• Green beans: it’s hard to eat healthy while traveling, so we ordered the green beans just so our meal would include “something green”. But like the potato salad, my eyes lit up in surprise when I tasted them. They were fresh, bright, green and definitely not from a can (and so full of flavor!). Like the potato salad, these were the tastiest green beans I’ve ever eaten.

• Banana pudding: Marc loved the banana pudding. I stole a tiny taste despite my dairy intolerance. It was delectable. Thick, rich and definitely homemade.

• Pecan cobbler: because I couldn’t share Marc’s, I got my own dessert! I had never heard of pecan cobbler (as opposed to pie). The huge slice that came out to me was a bit like an upside-down pecan pie. The sweet jellied pie filling was on the bottom, with a layer of crust and pecans on top, just as fruit cobblers have their crusts on top. It was delicious and super sweet. I would recommend sharing, as it was a huge portion.

There were also four different barbecue sauces on the table that were made in-house. We tried each one, and we liked them all. My favorite was the Sweet & Tangy, and Marc’s was the Hot. He also really liked the Jesse James Gold. All of the sauces were thick and ebb on the sweet side. The Hot seemed barely spicy to a couple of pepper heads like us, and the Sweet & Tangy had a smoky flavor.

At the register, they sell bottles of their sauces for about $8. The very last bottle of Sweet & Tangy came home with me!

An Unexpected Reunion

As we left, a man stepped out of the grill house and called out to us. He began to ask, “Are you, by chance, from…” just as I was muttering, “You look really familiar—” as his name came to me. We had been childhood playmates but hadn’t seen each other in years. He had smoked the meats and mixed the sauces we just ate.

Every bite of food I took at Hamaknockers was bursting with flavor. The smoky smell lingered on my fingertips, and I found myself swooning every time I caught a whiff. This is definitely a restaurant I’d go out of my way to visit again.

Whether you’re coming to explore the great outdoors or just passing through, you can rest easy at the Magnuson Hotel Wildwood Inn or the Best Western Wakulla Inn & Suites; both of which have been rated “excellent” by guests. Contact me today to start planning your next vacation!

This trip report is part of our ongoing series on travel to Florida. In need of further inspiration? Check out Angela Poulin’s guide, Food and Fun in Naples, Florida.