13 North Carolina Barbecue Spots Where The Old Ways Still Win
North Carolina takes its barbecue as seriously as a Sunday sermon, and for good reason.
While the rest of the country chases trends and fiddles with fusion, a handful of old-school pit houses across the state still wake up before dawn to tend hardwood coals and whole hogs.
These spots do not advertise on billboards or chase social media fame.
They just keep chopping pork, stirring vinegar sauce, and stacking hush puppies the same way their grandparents did.
Walking into one of these places feels like stepping back into a simpler time, when patience mattered more than speed, and smoke told the whole story.
Every stop is a reminder that the old ways still matter, with pork that tastes cleaner, sides that feel honest, and dining rooms that hum with the kind of quiet respect that only comes from decades of doing one thing really well.
1. Bum’s Restaurant, Ayden, North Carolina
On my first detour into Ayden, I knew I had found serious barbecue when I saw folks lining the sidewalk outside Bum’s Restaurant.
You will find Bum’s Restaurant at 566 3rd Street, Ayden, North Carolina 28513, where the smell of wood-cooked barbecue rolling out of the small pit house out back hits you before the door does.
Inside, the line moves past a humble steam table where chopped whole hog barbecue, fried chicken, and trays of country vegetables sit in metal pans that look like they have earned their retirement.
The hogs are still slow-cooked over hardwood coals before the meat is chopped fine and finished with a sharp vinegar and pepper seasoning that tastes purely of eastern North Carolina tradition.
I always seem to build the same plate, with pork, collards, sweet potatoes, and a square of simple cornbread that soaks up every last drop.
By the time I slide back out to the street, my clothes carry a hint of smoke, and my brain feels quieter than it did when I walked in.
2. Pik N Pig, Carthage, North Carolina
The first time I ate at Pik N Pig, I nearly forgot about the planes taking off beside the airfield because the smoke stole the whole show.
Pik N Pig sits at 194 Gilliam McConnell Road, Carthage, North Carolina 28327, tucked beside a small runway so close you can watch takeoffs between bites.
This weathered wooden building hides a serious operation, with pork shoulders and chicken slow-smoked over live hardwood coals that send a steady plume across the field.
The chopped pork carries deep smoke and gentle heat, and the crisp skin on the chicken shatters when you tap it with a fork.
I usually grab a seat near the window, balancing a plate loaded with pork, hush puppies, slaw, and fries while a little prop plane hums past the glass.
There is no rush here, just a slow parade of locals, golfers, and pilots who all seem to agree that this tiny airstrip feels like the center of the barbecue universe.
3. Parker’s Barbecue, Wilson, North Carolina
On my first visit to Parker’s Barbecue, the parking lot looked like a county fair, and every car seemed to be here for the same reason.
You will find Parker’s Barbecue at 2514 US Highway 301 South, Wilson, North Carolina 27896, a busy roadside landmark that has been feeding eastern North Carolina for generations.
Inside, the menu reads simple, but the pits out back work hard, with whole hogs cooked low and slow before the meat is chopped and seasoned with a vinegar and red pepper sauce.
The dining room hums with fast-moving servers carrying trays piled with barbecue, fried chicken, Brunswick stew, and soft hush puppies that disappear by the handful.
I always seem to underestimate how much food a classic chopped barbecue plate and a side of stew really adds up to, but somehow I still make room for banana pudding at the end.
When you push back from the table here, you understand why they go through so many hogs each week and why locals grow up measuring family celebrations in trips to Parker’s.
4. Wilber’s Barbecue, Goldsboro, North Carolina
Pulling into the gravel lot at Wilber’s Barbecue, I always notice the smoke drifting from behind the low building before anything else.
Wilber’s Barbecue stands at 4172 US Highway 70 East, Goldsboro, North Carolina 27534, and the crew here still starts the fire in the afternoon so whole hogs can cook over wood coals all night.
By the time lunch hits, the meat is tender enough to fall apart under the knife, chopped fine, and brightened with a peppery vinegar sauce that wakes up every corner of the plate.
I like to pair the pork with slaw, boiled potatoes, and hush puppies, building a little rotation of bites that never gets old.
The old school sign, the worn booths, and the steady stream of regulars tell you this place survived changing trends by never abandoning wood smoke and patience.
5. Hursey’s Bar-B-Q, Burlington, North Carolina
I still remember my first Hursey’s stop, mostly because the line of pickup trucks out front made me trust the building before I even walked in.
Hursey’s Bar-B-Q has several locations around Alamance County, but the Burlington spot at 2166 North Church Street, Burlington, North Carolina 27217, feels like the beating heart of the operation.
This family-run business has been serving pork barbecue and chicken since the late 1940s, and you can taste that long practice in the gentle smoke and clean, pork-forward flavor on every plate.
I usually order a barbecue and chicken combination, letting the chopped pork share the plate with a leg quarter, slaw, fries, and a generous pile of hush puppies.
The dining room feels casual and bright, the kind of place where the server calls you hon and keeps refilling your tea before you even think to ask.
It is the definition of small-town North Carolina barbecue: straightforward, reliable, and quietly proud of doing one thing really well for a very long time.
6. Barbecue Center, Lexington, North Carolina
On my first Lexington barbecue crawl, Barbecue Center was the stop that made me slow down and notice just how serious this town is about its pork.
Barbecue Center sits at 900 North Main Street, Lexington, North Carolina 27292, and it holds the title of the oldest barbecue restaurant downtown that still cooks over traditional pits.
The pork shoulders smoke for hours before they are chopped fine and dressed with a tangy, slightly tomato-kissed Lexington-style dip that clings to the meat without drowning it.
I like grabbing a tray with chopped barbecue, red slaw, and hush puppies, then watching the steady rhythm of locals who treat the place almost like a second kitchen.
If I am feeling ambitious, I add one of their famously oversized banana splits to the end of the meal, more as a celebration of survival than dessert.
Everything about Barbecue Center whispers that the old way of cooking over wood and serving familiar plates is still winning in the town that built an entire festival around this style of barbecue.
7. Sam Jones BBQ, Winterville, North Carolina
The first time I walked into Sam Jones BBQ in Winterville, it felt like stepping into the next chapter of a story I already knew by heart.
You will find the Winterville location at 715 West Fire Tower Road, Winterville, North Carolina 28590, where the pits in back still hold whole hogs cooked over wood coals in the style Sam’s family made famous in nearby Ayden.
Inside, the space feels modern and polished, but the chopped pork on my plate tastes firmly rooted in those traditional eastern North Carolina flavors of smoke, pork, and bright vinegar.
I like to build a tray with chopped barbecue, sweet slaw, cornbread squares, and maybe a few smoked turkey slices when I want to pretend I am eating light.
The crowd usually includes everyone from grandparents to college students, all sharing long tables and passing plastic sauce bottles back and forth with quiet focus.
Seeing this place honored on recent lists of the South’s best barbecue joints just confirms what regulars already know, that the old whole hog methods still shine even inside a fresh new dining room.
8. Picnic, Durham, North Carolina
When I finally made it to Picnic in Durham, I realized quickly that whole hog and seasonal sides is not just a tagline here, it is a mission statement.
Picnic sits at 1647 Cole Mill Road, Durham, North Carolina 27705, in a modest building where the pit crew turns local hogs into classic chopped barbecue that leans into smoke and tang rather than sugar.
I always start with the pulled pork plate, watching as the meat lands beside pimento mac and cheese, bacon braised greens, and whatever seasonal vegetables happen to be on the board that day.
The vinegar-based sauce adds brightness instead of weight, and the meat stays tender enough to fall apart with the lightest nudge of a fork.
The dining room buzzes softly with Durham regulars, families, and food-obsessed visitors, all talking about which side is secretly the best.
Picnic proves that you can keep the old whole hog techniques alive while letting the menu flex with the seasons and still feel completely grounded in North Carolina tradition.
9. Stephenson’s Bar-B-Q, Willow Spring, North Carolina
Driving along NC 50 toward Stephenson’s Bar-B-Q, I always feel like I am heading toward a family reunion that just happens to involve a lot of pork.
Stephenson’s Bar-B-Q occupies a low-slung building at 11964 NC 50 Highway North, Willow Spring, North Carolina 27592, and it has spent decades serving pulled pork, barbecue chicken, and hush puppies to locals and travelers.
Inside, the menu leans heavily on chopped pork plates, sandwiches, and simple sides, with the focus squarely on meat that tastes of smoke, salt, and a careful touch of vinegar.
I like that the dining room feels a little worn in, with wooden booths, paper napkins, and a pace that suggests nobody here is trying to reinvent anything.
My usual order pairs chopped pork with fries and slaw, plus extra hush puppies that somehow vanish before the plate cools.
Stephenson’s feels like the kind of roadside spot that could only exist in rural North Carolina, stubbornly devoted to the old way of cooking and content to let the smoke speak for itself.
10. McCall’s BBQ & Seafood, Goldsboro, North Carolina
The first time I hit McCall’s BBQ & Seafood around lunchtime, I realized the buffet line here moves with the kind of focus usually reserved for serious meetings.
McCall’s BBQ & Seafood is located at 139 Millers Chapel Road, Goldsboro, North Carolina 27534, and since the late 1980s, it has specialized in pit-cooked barbecue pork alongside Calabash-style seafood.
The chopped pork carries gentle smoke and vinegar tang, and the buffet lets you surround it with everything from fried chicken and fish to vegetables, banana pudding, and cobblers.
I usually promise myself I will keep the plate reasonable, then walk away with a mountain of pork, slaw, green beans, and hush puppies that makes that promise look silly.
The room fills with families, church groups, and highway travelers who all seem to know the rhythm of the buffet by heart.
McCall’s proves that a big, busy restaurant can still honor pit-cooked barbecue traditions while sending people back to their cars feeling both full and oddly content.
11. Doug Sauls’ Bar-B-Que & Seafood, Nashville, North Carolina
Rolling into Nashville, I always know I am close to Doug Sauls’ Bar-B-Que & Seafood when the smoky aroma starts drifting across Western Avenue.
Doug Sauls’ Bar-B-Que & Seafood sits at 813 Western Avenue, Nashville, North Carolina 27856, a family-owned spot that has been serving slow-cooked barbecue and fried seafood for more than three decades.
The pit out back turns out pork with a deep smoky edge and just enough vinegar bite to keep each forkful lively without feeling heavy.
Inside, the plates come piled with chopped barbecue, fried fish, slaw, and hush puppies, all carried out by servers who treat every table like regulars.
I like lingering over the last hush puppy, listening to conversations about high school ball games and local gossip floating through the room.
This place feels stitched into the routine of Nash County, proof that slow-cooked pork, warm service, and a familiar building can still hold a community together.
12. Jackson’s Big Oak Barbecue, Wilmington, North Carolina
On my first trip to Jackson’s Big Oak Barbecue, I walked in thinking about the beach and walked out thinking only about pork and hush puppies.
Jackson’s Big Oak Barbecue stands at 920 South Kerr Avenue, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403, and has been serving eastern-style barbecue plates to this coastal city since the 1980s.
The kitchen slow cooks pork overnight so the meat is ready each day, chopped and dressed with a sharp vinegar-based sauce that keeps every bite bright.
I tend to build a plate with barbecue, Brunswick stew, slaw, and hush puppies, then settle into a booth under the big menu board that watches over the dining room.
The room hums with students, locals, and beach-bound families who look like they have been stopping here for years on their way in and out of town.
Jackson’s shows how a coastal city better known for sun and surf still makes room in its routine for classic eastern North Carolina barbecue cooked the time-honored way.
13. Fuller’s Old Fashioned BBQ, Fayetteville, North Carolina
Walking into Fuller’s Old Fashioned BBQ around noon, I always feel slightly ambitious for believing I can face that buffet without backup.
Fuller’s Old Fashioned BBQ sits at 7735 Raeford Road, Fayetteville, North Carolina 28304, and since the mid 1980s, it has focused on pit-cooked, slow-smoked meats served alongside a sprawling spread of classic Southern sides.
The barbecue here leans toward tender chopped pork with gentle smoke and vinegar, but the buffet lets you stack the plate with fried chicken, vegetables, and desserts until you start questioning your life choices.
I like to keep things at least partly under control with a plate that balances pork, green beans, slaw, and a few small desserts rather than an entire dessert plate.
The crowd is a mix of military families, locals on lunch break, and travelers who clearly got the same whispered recommendation I did.
Fuller’s proves that the phrase old fashioned can still be a compliment, especially when it describes barbecue cooked slowly, served generously, and eaten in a room that feels completely uninterested in fleeting trends.