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If it's barbecue I'll eat it. Personally, I favor the Lexington style and that's probably because I grew up on it.
I remember attending a state FFA event in Harnett County during high school and barbecue was served at the dinner meeting. I was so accustomed to adding sauce to the meat that I was confused and disappointed when I couldn't find any in the line or at the table. Once the meeting started, one of the speakers said something along the lines of "We can tell which of our FFA members are from the western part of the state, because they're the ones looking for sauce to add to their barbecue."
The NC State BBQ championships were held in Tryon, weren't they? June 9th? I was wanting to get up there with every bit of effort I could muster, but a cramp in my plans prohibited that...
Did you attend?
*Edit - And for what it's worth, I grew up in the midwest between Memphis and Kansas City so our sauces were always tomato based (I preferred the smokey/spicy flavors of Memphis to the sweet flavors of KC), but when I moved to coastal NC in the mid-90s I fell in love with Eastern NC BBQ. My wife is a native of Eastern NC and a BBQ freak, so that only added to my addiction. That time I spent on the coast really spoiled me and now I have a hard time finding "good" BBQ.
Yep, the Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival, or just "The Barbecue" locally. I literally walk to it. There were storms on Friday and I didn't make it out until the evening on Saturday during this past one, so I ended up missing a lot.
The main competition is held starting at noon on Saturday.
The cook-off is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) and includes four required categories: Pork Shoulder, Pork Ribs, Beef Brisket and Chicken.
It's not just barbecue, either. There is also a craft fair, music on two stages, bingo, and carnival rides.
well I'm an eastern North Carolina girl, and I LUVVVVVVVVVVVVVV Eastern North Carolina BBQ Vinegar and spices for me it ain't BBQ if it has ketchup based sauce or mustard??? YUCK ROFL so I guess I'm alone in my thinking but this is the BBQ I grew up on most people around here take a lot of pride in cooking their BBQ and most Firestations sell BBQ plates for fundraisers and it's gotta be served with some boiled potatoes and slaw and of course you gotta have some hushpuppies some people like corn sticks better but I like hushpuppies
Yes there is a huge split and Im sure the posters after me will prove it LOL.
It gotta be cooked over hickory wood chips to get the best flavor and I do prefer western style also known as Lexington Style BBQ.
The first thing to understand is that we take our BBQ seriously around here. Some basics, BBS is pork, but that is just understood. Some places will offer some beef, but I guess that is just appease tourists.
Second BBQ is NOT cooked OVER anything, it is SMOKED IN HOT MOIST SMOKE from a fire burning hickory wood in a side firebox that is not under the food. Ideal temp is 225 degrees, for as long as it takes, which depends on the meat (whole pig, ribs, butt, shoulder ,etc.) and the meat will be moist and pull away from the bone.
(I did 6 racks of ribs on my smoker for Labor Day, 3 hours at 225 and they were perfection. I also cut, split, and season my own hickory wood)
Sauce?, if the meat is done right, either is fine, at this point everyone can have their preference, I like both, prefer western NC style, the rest is not negotiable.
I'm not a native of North or South Carolina (born and raised in Maryland, currently reside in Florida.)
However, I've come to be a huge, huge fan of the eastern Carolina style BBQ sauce. I love the taste of the mustard/vinegar mix with a little bit of red pepper mixed in for spice.
I know this type of BBQ is more common towards the eastern portion of the state, and from what I've heard the western is more ketchup based sauce.
For some reason, the "traditional" ketchup based BBQ sauce doesn't excite me...it just tastes like smoky ketchup to me.
Are there any Carolina BBQ afficiandos out here with any special tips and recipes? I'm curious for a native Carolinian perspective. Do any Carolinians swear by Carolina style BBQ exclusively? Is there a huge east/west BBQ split?
First off you might want to try some of the places on the NC Barbecue Trail.
I have been to many of the barbecue spots on the map, but some of the best barbecue I have tasted has come from local fairs.
Newport, NC has one of the largest pig cook offs in the country. It is an impressive sight and a real community event. It was close to barbecue for breakfast for me because I had to work an early shift and refused to miss the opportunity to taste some great barbecue.
The whole town gets together, chops up the pigs, adds the vinegar and spices, and serves great barbecue all day long. The event is in the spring.
I also got some great hand chopped barbecue at the Emerald Isle Saint Patrick's day festival. It was some of the best that I have ever had.
In fact I can hardly wait until next year. There was also a fund raiser this summer in Swansboro. Some Harley riders came together and did the event. As we were getting our plates, one of the cooks offered us a shoulder for $20. We bought one and probably got five or six pounds of barbecue. We even froze some of it for a short time without any harmful effects.
There is so much good barbecue around, that I have never had the desire to do it myself.
One of the places to enjoy all the sauces is Firebonz in Hickory, NC. They give you five sauces to play with and mix.
You can actually get good barbecue in Virginia, I can highly recommend Bastians in Roanoke. They serve it plain with a choice of sauces, one of theirs is the only good sauce that I have ever had with a little tomato flavor. It is light, served warm, and has pieces of onion. It is not like other heavy tomato sauces. They also have a spicy vinegar sauce.
I guess I am very ecumenical when it comes to barbecue. Finding great barbecue in an unlikely place is part of the fun.
I've become addicted, too. My preference changes between Eastern and Western.
I've found what some of the other posters have mentioned: half the fun is finding a new place with great BBQ. It sort of reminds me of finding a great clam shack in New England...
I am going to be driving through NC next week and was hoping to stop for some awesome barbecue on the way down not too far off of 95. Any recommendations?
I am going to be driving through NC next week and was hoping to stop for some awesome barbecue on the way down not too far off of 95. Any recommendations?
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