Bar-B-Q, BBQ, or Barbecue … no matter how you spell it, slow cooked pig is a North Carolina tradition. Pre-dating the Civil War, BBQ is as North Carolina as the Outer Banks or Blue Ridge Mountains. As a child I was told the term BBQ came about because people cooked and used the whole hog. From the snout (the barb) to the tail (the “q”). But there are many different opinions of the term’s origin… some say it comes from the West Indian term “barbacoa”, some even think it comes from a advertisement from the 19th century establishment BAR-BEER-CUE-PIG (pool hall, beer hall, and pig roaster). But the theory closest to what I grow up with is the French term “barbe a queue”, meaning from head to tail. BBQ was as popular Pre-Civil War as it is now. Folks back then ate on average 5 lbs of pork for every 1 lb of beef. Pigs became a staple for Southerners for several reasons. They were very convenient and low in cost to raise and maintain. They could be let out to root around the forest and caught when the food supplies got low. They were kind of semi-wild pig and the meat showed it. Even tho they were more stringy and a bit tougher than what we eat today, those pigs became very popular. When folks would slaughter their pig it was a time of celebration, friends and family would be invited to join the fun. They would use the whole pig. What they didn’t cook to eat immediately, they would cure for later.
As Pork became more and more popular, Plantation owners would even have barbecues for their slaves. Southern farmers began to cultivate their pigs by taking better care of them. They in turn became larger and farmers would even begin to start feeding them corn before slaughter to plump them up a bit. The stringy, tough semi-wild pigs gave way to the more modern well feed cultivated hog. In the 19th century BBQ found it’s way into church events, political rallies, and private parties. BBQ was a cheap way to feed many and was a rare event that was not class specific. People both rich and poor could find common ground with BBQ. BBQ restaurants grow out of these simple BBQ pits. Farmers would work during the week and serve take-out BBQ from their pits on the weekends. Most times these BBQ “shacks” were very simple structures with concrete floors and tin roofs. One very big event that really fueled the growth of BBQ, was the advent of the automobile, and modern roads. Travelers would stop in these roadside stands for a cheap and filling meal. Maybe because of the take-out nature of these BBQ joints, they became an interracial meeting place well before forced integration of the 1950′s & 60′s.
Now that we have established how and why BBQ got started, let’s talk about BBQ in North Carolina today. There are a couple of different styles of BBQ here in North Carolina. Down East it’s cooked as the whole hog and is more of a vinegar base. From the western side of the state we have BBQ cooked with shoulders instead of the whole hog, and not so much of a vinegar base. HypeNC will be starting a series of articles spotlighting BBQ restaurants from all over the state. Kind of like from the snout to the tail, we’ll be checking out BBQ from the mountains to the coast. We’ll take a look at how they prepare and cook their BBQ and of course the most important thing… how does it taste? I grew up on BBQ from Parker’s BBQ in Rocky Mount and Stamey’s BBQ in Greensboro, but I have a bunch more in mind to check out. Now… you can help… leave a comment of a BBQ restaurant you’d like to see us try. We would love to hear your feed back ! So go ahead and make a suggestion, you might see that BBQ restaurant on HypeNC next !
Check out this video, the song is about BBQ from the South. It’s funny as hell and very true….
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