North Carolina barbecue is definitely underrated. Here are some of the ultimate barbecue places in the NC! Comment your favorite below or any that we may have missed.
Old Hampton Store & Barbeque
At Old Hampton Store, eat hickory-smoked barbecue served on sourdough rolls in a historic 1920 general store that was once the original train stop for Tweetsie Railroad.
Old Hampton Store & Barbeque
77 Ruffin Street
Linville, NC 28646
(828) 733-5213
facebook.com/oldhamptonstore
Switzerland Café and General Store
Just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, Switzerland Café (open spring through fall) offers hickory-smoked barbecue with a signature sauce — a blend of Lexington- and eastern-style flavors.
Switzerland Café and General Store
9440 NC Highway 226A
Marion, NC 28752
(828) 765-5289
switzerlandcafe.com
Herb’s Pit kitchen manager Mark Riddle knows every rack of ribs that leaves the grate carries 30 years of tradition.PHOTOGRAPH BY EMILY CHAPLIN
Herb’s Pit Bar-B-Que
Customers have come to Herb’s Pit Bar-B-Que for more than 30 years for pit-smoked barbecue covered in a “sweet-and-sour” sauce, plus onion rings and four-layer chocolate pie.
Herb’s Pit Bar-B-Que
15735 U.S. Highway 64
Murphy, NC 28906
(828) 494-5367
facebook.com/herbspitbbq
Nothing pairs better with barbecue than cold sweet tea by the pitcherful.PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHNNY AUTRY
Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge
Since 1946, customers have come from near and far for tender, hand-chopped pork, painstakingly pit-cooked over a bed of glowing hickory and oak, then slathered in red, Lexington-style sauce. Oh, and for the hush puppies and red slaw.
Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge
2000 East Dixon Boulevard
Shelby, NC 28150
(704) 482-8567
bridgesbbq.com
Hursey’s barbecue is legendary — but the onion rings are pretty good, too.PHOTOGRAPH BY TRAVIS DOVE
Hursey’s Bar-B-Q
From its humble backyard beginnings in the mid-1940s, Hursey’s has become something of a pork powerhouse. The hickory-smoked pork shoulders are best topped with Hursey’s Old-Fashioned Barbecue Sauce, which is just a little east of western, and west of eastern.
Hursey’s Bar-B-Q
1834 South Church Street
Burlington, NC 27215
(336) 570-3838
hurseysbarbecue.com
Rows of shoulders line the pit at Lexington Barbecue. After cooking, that “outside brown,” as it’s called, will be lifted off the meat and saved for special orders.PHOTOGRAPH BY TRAVIS DOVE
Lexington Barbecue
The meat is the thing here, enhanced to perfection by a dark, thin sauce — or dip — that is neither too mild nor too fiery.
Lexington Barbecue
100 Smokehouse Lane
Lexington, NC 27295
(336) 249-9814
lexbbq.com
Owners Roy (left) and Boyd Dunn have seen Speedy’s through a half-century of service.PHOTOGRAPH BY TRAVIS DOVE
Speedy’s Barbecue, Inc.
In Lexington, the city’s namesake-style barbecue — pork shoulder meat dipped in a tomato-based sauce — draws devotees to this former drive-in.
Speedy’s Barbecue, Inc.
1317 Winston Road
Lexington, NC 27295
(336) 248-2092
speedysbbqinc.com
All credit for this delicious list goes to Our State. https://www.ourstate.com/pit-stop-26-essential-north-carolina-barbecue-joints/
