Big Dipper BBQ

I heard about this BBQ so when I came in to visit my mom, we went there and got the chicken and rib dinner with 2 sides for $ 18.95.
the person who said this place is overpriced is crazy — that price is very reasonable for the amount of food that you get and is definitely enough for 2 – 3 people! I looked at the prices for a full rack of ribs and that is standard $ I pay anywhere I go.
Seeing someone grill chicken right in front of you on an open pit guarantees fresher flavors and a better eating experience. the vinegar based sauce on the chicken is great and I ate an entire half chicken (my stomach hurts but I just couldn’t stop). I’ll be honest I haven’t tried the ribs yet because I’m so full from the dang chicken! But now I have an entire second meal with a half a rack of ribs and the leftover potatoes and beans I didn’t finish, which makes each dinner I got around $ 9. Yahoo!
I’d like to take a quarter star off for the baked beans because they kind of taste like they’re out of a can. my apologies to the owner if that’s not true but they didn’t taste homemade. Throw in some of that fresh pulled pork you have or a few slabs of bacon!

Here for a dog show. Chicken/​sides are awesome! Back for a third time today. Sides a great as well.

For those who are familiar, the chicken as well as the sides were not quite as good as Phil’s Chicken House. Kind of overpriced as well.

Amazing BBQ. I live an hour away from Appalachian, and I still make trips down here just to eat at this place. I always get the 8″ pulled pork sub. It is a lot to eat. They load the sub right up with pork. I have probably been here 10 times.

This place was great! Stopped on a sunny day on our way through town for ice cream next door and smelled the BBQ. We got the half chicken and half rib rack special and enjoyed every bite!

Great BBQ at a roadside pit. Have driven by this for years and was always eager to try but never hungry. Finally made the stop and it was worth it.
Got the ribs and chicken combo. Both extremely tasty. Chicken cooks in front on an open pit with 200 halves basking in the smoke. Ribs were tender and sauces were delicious on both.
So impressed we got take away after we ate. It was a long ride to Rochester and we were sure to need a snack!

My wife and I stopped here after our daughter’s doctor’s appointment and they certainly live up to their 4.5 star rating. We ordered the chicken dinner which is half a chicken and two sides. We got the baked beans and coleslaw for our sides. While the sides weren’t particularly special, they were definitely good and complemented the chicken but the chicken was the real hero and the sauce they squirt onto it is just fantastic. The chicken was perfectly cooked, tender, juicy, and the skin was crispy and well-​seasoned.
I think for the price they could provide a little more of each side but I’m not disappointed because it was so delicious. This will be the last place we eat in the Southern Tier before we move back home to Pennsylvania and I’m really glad we had the chance to stop here!

Best pulled pork around the area with great side choices. Little pricey but definitely worth it!

If you need Q and I mean a fine BBQed chicken reminiscent of a Cornell style bird, this is your place. The bird is perfect and they hit it with extra sauce which really is a nice touch, uncommon around these parts. The sides are typical BBQ and tasty. Prices are good for what you get after all it is good BBQed bird. This place has literally no parking so pick it up and take it home. Everything is fresh and service is quick. Since I really only do Cornell chicken at home once during the summer due to the wonderful, white smoke that fills the air and I don’t want an EPA violation, I head down to the Dipper and grab some of their birds. Stick with the chicken and you’ll be back for more.

the chicken here is very good, the ribs, not so much. they are usually dried out and the sauce isn’t anything special. the sides are ok. i haven’t had the pulled pork in a few years but it wasn’t anything too impressive. the pulled pork and ribs at the conklin location are a lot better

Drop by for outstanding chicken and appealing roadside Americana.
I’ll briefly note minor caveats that don’t necessarily detract from the rating — the parking lot’s tight (I opted for the lot at the adjacent ice cream affiliate) and a port-​a-​potty stands in for the traditional facilities.
Aspiring food bloggers won’t just want to take pictures of the barbecued chicken itself; even the billowing smoke is Instagram-​worthy. There’s an incredible marinade that seems to be the «Cornell style», somewhat like Brooks in Oneonta. It features vinegar, probably black pepper and presumably a bunch of secret ingredients.
Ribs were good, not great, although the size was spectacular. Beating expectations were the sides: killer salt potatoes and surprisingly assertive macaroni salad.

EXCELLENT BBQ with great sides. Very fresh. Plus you can go right next door and get some ice cream afterwards.

Amongst the best barbeque I have ever had. And I have eaten a lot of barbecue. The marinade on the chicken is spectacular. So is the sauce on the ribs.

Good ice cream and large portions. Also super cheap! Bring cash! BBQ ribs are pretty good! Definitely a good summer pit stop if you’re out here ever.

Seriously folks? Only one review for the Big Dipper? I realize Apalachin isn’t exactly a booming metropolis, but all you kids that grew up down here know what’s up.
When this place opens for the first time in the Spring, it is symbolic of the end of a shitty Winter that has most likely sapped all of your soul/​energy/​joy since the previous October.
Forget the groundhog – if Big D is open, it’s Summer.
Even if it is still freezing, people are lined up to suck down Perry’s ice cream you can buy in the store — it just doesn’t taste the same unless it is from the Big Dipper.
When they first opened, they were just selling ice cream, hot dogs, burgers, etc. The people that run it spend their winters in Florida and come back to rake in the dough from the locals every summer.
They expanded to the BBQ chicken business. This stuff is really popular in this part of New York and if there is a firefighter/​school/​church fundraiser, you can pretty much bet they are making the lions share of their profits from the BBQ chicken.
Picking up on this, the Big D got themselves a pit crew and spew that smokey aroma all over town. It is like catnip for obese townspeople.
It is unlike bbq chicken you have had elsewhere in the world. This is not traditional bbq sweet, molasses, tomato based sauce. It is very much vinegary and high on seasonings.
The pit bosses literally stand in a shroud of smoke the entire day as they mop buckets of that sauce all over the chicken. They will probably get black lung in a few years so get this stuff now while they are still around.
I’ve moved to New Orleans and miss my Big Dipper.

I’ve passed Big Dipper BBQ over two dozen times; admiring the BBQ smoke while speeding by on the interstate. Finally I had an opportunity to stop, and boy was it worth it. The menu is limited; ribs, chicken, and sides (of which there are about 8).
I got the rib dinner; half rack, 2 sides (potato salad and coleslaw). The ribs were decent; a little fattier than I like, but the flavor was great. Loved the potato salad. The coleslaw was super sweet! Sweeter than I’ve ever had before. I’m still processing the idea of supersweet coleslaw.
They chicken option looked great, and I was told that I missed an opportunity for amazing BBQ chicken; they had about 100 chickens grilling on their massive charcoal grill when I was there at noon and I’ve heard it’s not uncommon that they sell out by 2:00pm.
So if you’re cruising on Route 17 and see a big plume of BBQ smoke, get off at the Apalachin exit, and chow down!