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Packing several distinct styles and specialties into a relatively small region, barbecue in the Carolinas is as varied as the geography, which stretches from the Atlantic beaches and barrier islands west to the hilly Piedmont plateau and then up into the Appalachian mountains.
The region is littered with stylistic differences that make it hard to generalize, but here goes:
In North Carolina the traditional specialty has long been "whole hog" barbecue, once common but much rarer today then smoked pork shoulders, yet still well worth seeking out. As the name suggests, the pig is cooked intact rather than as separate shoulders, racks of ribs, loins and other parts, and chopped pork made from the whole hog often includes distinctive bits of crispy skin. Coastal "Eastern North Carolina BBQ" is distinct for its regional specialty, a watery thin, tangy and sometimes spicy sauce of vinegar and spices. This style also rolls over the border into coastal northeastern South Carolina. In the rest of North Carolina you'll get either the more generic tomato-based "barbecue sauce" served nationwide, or the "Lexington-style" hybrid infusing tomato-based sauce with vinegar.
In both states the bestseller is some form of pulled pork, to the extent that this is what you will often get if you simply request "barbecue," and the only option at some places. South Carolina also frequently serves ribs, but some variant of pulled, chopped or shredded, slow cooked shoulder is ubiquitous, either on its own or as a sandwich, usually topped with crunchy, contrasting cole slaw. As in North Carolina, tomato-based barbecue sauce is most common, with or without vinegar, but South Carolina also has its own significant homegrown local specialty, a rich, golden hued, mustard-based sauce. As a traditional pairing with pork, mustard has roots back to Germany and centuries of history on its side, and this delicious condiment remains one of the barbecue world's best kept secrets, delicious on ribs and common in a swath running northwest from Charleston and the coastal Low Country inland and up to Columbia, through the middle of the state. However, many modern South Carolina barbecue eateries serve all the styles, leaving the choice up to the customer.
SEE MORE: Travel-worthy barbecue destinations
As one of the nation's four most widely recognized styles of barbecue -- along with Memphis, Texas and Kansas City -- Carolina style also culturally includes large parts of Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas. While each of these also has its own regional distinctions, they share much, especially in how they differ from much of the rest of the country's barbecue trail when it comes to sides. Brunswick Stew is as popular as it is variable, a Southern meat and vegetable stew/soup that in the Carolinas usually starts with pork, but then all bets are off, with any or all combos of tomatoes, beans, onions, butter, corn, other veggies and spices. Hush puppies, fried hot balls of cornmeal, often take the place of cornbread, while barbecue hash, a gravy-like meat sauce of pork and onions (and sometimes potato and corn) in a tomato, mustard or broth based sauce, is served over white rice. Finally, the Carolinas' significant contribution to the conclusion of a great barbecue meal is banana pudding, a dessert combining pudding, sliced bananas and crunchy Nilla Wafers. All of these regional variants, including vinegar sauce, mustard sauce and whole hog barbecue, add up to one tasty road trip.
Eastern North Carolina BBQ
No place showcases North Carolina barbecue like the Skylight Inn in Ayden, one of those eateries that has transcended mere restaurant status and enjoys a legendary spot in the upper pantheon of barbecue, one of the most heralded joints in the nation. Its claim to be the "Capitol of BBQ" is enhanced by the signature replica of the U.S. Capitol Dome that sits atop the eatery, and nice 1947 they have been doing it the old way, smoking whole hogs with wood fire and dousing the results with thin vinegar based sauce. Not every place serving eastern-style also does whole hogs, since the key is the sauce, and Skyline exemplifies both the regional sauce and the state's whole hog roots.
Other excellent examples of the Eastern-sauce and great meat can be found at Wilber's in Goldsboro and B's Barbecue in Greenville. The most accessible place to try it is at Bill Spoon's in Charlotte, which serves the real deal even though Charlotte is outside of the traditional Eastern-style vinegar region. You can be dining under the sign that reads, "We've Cooked the Whole Pig Since 1963," less than 15 minutes after leaving the large Charlotte airport, plus excellent cooked-to-order fresh hush puppies and delightfully crunchy banana pudding are served.
North Carolina's Lexington barbecue
The epicenter of this style is in Lexington, but the vinegar meets tomato sauce meets smoked pork shoulder can be found throughout much of the state. Lexington also lays claim to another oddity, red cole slaw, which uses ketchup instead of mayo. Start your pilgrimage at the aptly named Lexington Barbecue Number One, which opts for the meatier, tastier ripped rather than chopped style of dicing pork shoulders, the meat generously strewn on a big bun with crunchy cole slaw. There are many other classic joints in greater Lexington, dating to the 1980s, 1970s and even 1930s. Top picks include Speedy's, Smokey Joe's, and Jimmy's.
Outside of Lexington, can't miss stops include Allen & Sons in Chapel Hill, one of the more acclaimed barbecue eateries in the entire Southeast, and Hill's Lexington BBQ in Winston-Salem. Despite its location, it is known as the very first place to use the term "Lexington BBQ," claims to be the inventor of the genre, and like so many great barbecue joints, features a pig with a walking stick and top hat in its logo.
South Carolina mustard-style
The sauce is the key here and while it goes great on pulled pork sandwiches you really need to try it on ribs, and for both, it's hard to beat Bessinger's in Charleston. Voted best in the state by readers of South Carolina Magazine, Bessinger's is comprised of two adjacent restaurants, the bigger one an all-you-can-eat buffet with excellent pork shoulder ripped into big juicy chunks, not typical smaller shreds, then tossed in the golden sauce. They also serve some great versions of regional specialties like fried catfish and BBQ hash. Next door is a more streamlined order at the counter place serving a la carte plates and sandwiches, including delicious ribs.
Pilgrimage-worthy Sweatman's is another legendary member of the BBQ pantheon, and some claim the mustard style was born here. Located well off the beaten track amidst tobacco fields in Holly Hill, a tiny town in the south central part of the state, this place has a renowned boutique buffet showcasing the whole hog, along with great BBQ hash. The pulled pork is topped with house mustard sauce so delicious it even enlivens otherwise blah baked chicken. Sweatman's has the feel of eating family style in someone's grand southern home, and is only open on Fridays and Saturdays, when you won't be the only one who has driven hundreds of miles to eat here.
For a more accessible mustard sauce experience, Maurice's Piggy Park is a third generation local chain built around its trademarked Southern Gold line of mustard sauces, which it has been making for decades and is now available in stores nationwide. Its focus is entirely on this regional style, and there are 14 Piggy Parks in the state, most clustered around Columbia.
South Carolina whole hog
The combination of the whole pig, wood fire and vinegar sauce is more associated with North Carolina, but the Palmetto State is home to a famous example of the genre, Scott's BBQ. This whole hog institution serves a redder but still thin vinegar and tomato sauce with its great pork just outside touristy Myrtle Beach.
South Carolina's Tourism Office has compiled an excellent statewide BBQ map that is color coded by four styles of sauce; mustard, vinegar, light tomato (with vinegar, aka Lexington-style) and heavy tomato. It is available in print or as an online download, and is indispensable for a pork-centric road trip.
