Know Your Barbecue
“Is your Chopped Pork Barbecue Eastern NC style?”
It’s one of the most common questions we get at the restaurant. While I should proudly say “yes!”, I’m often reluctant to do so. Especially when the person asking has one of those “not from ‘round here” accents. My response to this question will determine whether the person gives our pork barbecue a shot or opts for something else on the menu.
It’s sad to me that an overwhelming majority of the general public, not just in NC, but in the entire country, thinks Eastern NC style barbecue means the predominant flavor should be vinegar. Eastern NC is home to some of the best barbecue in the country. It’s also home to some of the worst. The latter is unfortunately much more commonly found. Production barbecue (if you can really even call it barbecue) facilities have made it easy for any restaurant to offer barbecue on their menu. Just order up a 5 gallon tub of gas-cooked pork from any food service distributor and drown that pork which was cooked and frozen 6 months ago in some vinegar and you’ve got barbecue. It’s a taste that many uneducated locals have become accustomed to and a flavor that tourists expect. But it’s not true Eastern NC style barbecue, and it gives true Eastern NC style barbecue a bad name.
To me, the gold standard of Eastern NC style barbecue is Skylight Inn in Ayden where they cook whole hogs over wood coals until they’re perfectly smoky and tender. Once the hogs are done, meat is hand-chopped right behind the order counter where it’s dressed with the perfect blend of salt, pepper, hot sauce, and a touch of vinegar. When you take a bite of their barbecue, you don’t taste vinegar. You taste a perfect balance of all the elements: pork, fat, salt, pepper, smoke, and vinegar that play together in perfect harmony. That’s how Eastern NC style barbecue should taste.
I’m super proud of Eastern NC style barbecue and the Chopped Pork Barbecue we serve at OCS. I’m ashamed of the reputation our regional barbecue has earned from people who don’t know any better. If you’ve made generalizations about Eastern NC barbecue based on some bad examples, you owe it to yourself to give it an honest second chance. There’s a pretty good example you can try in Edenton, but if you’re feeling like getting out, head to Ayden for lunch one day and check out Skylight Inn. Your perception of Eastern NC style barbecue will be forever changed for the better.
@ Old Colony Smokehouse for hours and menu.
