January 19, 2026

Yorkie’s Bar-B-Q Chicken & Ribs

Being smoked meat fans, my husband and I bought our own smoker five years ago and have been trying to perfect our smoked meat ever since. It is still a work in progress since our smoked meat is not as tender and flavourful as the meat from smoked meat restaurants. This is especially true when compared to Yorkie’s Bar-B-Q Chicken & Ribs in Cobourg, Ontario, which intrigued my husband and me whenever we drove past it to the Rice Lake area. Since they had 4.5 stars on Google reviews and their parking lot was full, we decided to try it last spring.

It was a tough decision since I wanted to order everything on their menu, but my husband and I ended up ordering the Full Pound Pulled Pork, Half Pound Beef Brisket (lean option), and 4 PC Southern Fried Handbreaded Chicken. We originally wanted the Half BBQ Chicken, but they didn’t have it, so the person who took our order said he would give us big pieces of the Southern Fried Handbreaded Chicken. He was true to his word – we got three huge pieces of white meat and two wings. You know a restaurant has excellent customer service when they give you additional food for free…

It had taken some time for the food to be ready since they were busy, but it was well worth the wait. The Beef Brisket was tender, the Pulled Pork was flavourful (I don’t usually like pulled pork, but I liked this one), and the Southern Fried Handbreaded Chicken was moist with crispy skin, even though we ate it after our one-hour drive home.

We liked Yorkie’s Bar-B-Q Chicken & Ribs so much, we went back again eight months later, and ordered the platter for 3 people (Full Pound Pulled Pork and Half Pound Beef Brisket again, Half Pound Smoked Pork Side Ribs, two large Fries, and Cornbread) as if we weren’t greedy enough the first time around. They didn’t skimp on the portion sizes, especially the fries. The ribs had a nice smoky flavour and were tender, and my husband said the cornbread was the best cornbread he had ever had.

If you will be going to Rice Lake or passing by Cobourg, you should give Yorkie’s Bar-B-Q Chicken & Ribs a try; the photos below don’t do their food justice. I just wish they were closer, as they might be my new favourite smoked meat restaurant, but maybe it’s for the best so that my husband and I can keep working on our smoked meat for my future pipe dream of owning a food truck.