Barbecue is an important part of the heritage and history of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. It has resulted in a series of bills and laws that relate to the subject, and at times has been a politically charged subject. In part, this is due to the existence of two distinct types of barbecue that have developed over the last few hundred years: Lexington style and Eastern style. Both are pork-based barbecues but differ in the cuts of pork used and the sauces they are served with. In addition to the two native varieties, other styles of barbecue can be found throughout the state.

History

North Carolina barbecue benefits from a wide variety of influences, from Native Americans, to European settlers, to African Americans, and to modern influences, such as newer

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and methods to cook the meat. Social events such as weddings, church events, or other celebrations are often conducted as a

pig pickin' A pig pickin' (also known as rolling a pig, pig pull, hog roast, pig roast or, among the Cajun, "cochon de lait") is a type of party or gathering held primarily in the American South which involves the barbecuing of a whole hog (the castrate ...

, where the main course is a barbecued whole pig, spawning a whole subcategory of catering that specializes solely in this craft.

The politics of barbecue

There is a somewhat light-hearted feud that exists between the proponents of the two types of barbecue: Lexington style and Eastern style. Author Jerry Bledsoe, the self-professed "world's leading, foremost barbecue authority" claimed that Dennis Rogers (columnist for '' The Raleigh News & Observer'' and self-professed "oracle of the holy grub"), "has ruined any chances of this state being distinguished in its barbecue." While a degree of humor is involved, choice of barbecue type is a politically charged topic. In 2006, North Carolina House Bill 21 and North Carolina Senate Bill 47 were introduced (and ultimately defeated), sparking controversy over one of the two different styles being declared "official", as they would have made the Lexington Barbecue Festival the official barbecue festival of

.USA Today article ''Children's civics lesson fires up age-old debate over barbecue''
/ref> In a political compromise in 2007, NC House Bill 433 passed, granting the Lexington Barbecue Festival the title of "Official Food Festival of the Piedmont Triad Region of the State of North Carolina". This effectively bypassed any controversy regarding Eastern barbecue and the region, and prevented any confusion with the title creating a singular, official barbecue for the entire state.

Types of barbecue

Just about any style of barbecue can be found in North Carolina, as the state has a diverse population. There are a few styles, however, that are historically and culturally significant. They are also the most commonly found in restaurants as well as private events.

Eastern style

''Eastern-style'' barbecue is a whole-hog style of barbecue, often said to use "every part of the hog except the squeal". Eastern-style sauce is vinegar and pepper-based, with no tomato whatsoever. Eastern sauce is mostly used as a seasoning after the cook (although it can also be used as a mop sauce while the hog is cooking). The coleslaw served with eastern-style uses mayonnaise (or whipped salad dressing) almost universally.

Lexington style

''Lexington style'' barbecue (also called ''Piedmont'' or ''Western style'') uses a red sauce, or "dip", made from vinegar, tomatoes, and usually red pepper flakes, along with other spices that vary from recipe to recipe. It is most common in the

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and western areas of the state. This style uses only the

pork shoulder A Boston butt is the slightly wedged shaped portion of the pork shoulder above the standard picnic cut which includes the blade bone and the "lean butt" (which is boneless), both extensions of the tenderloin cut and can be used in place of the te ...

section of the pig. As with other styles of barbecue, the recipes vary widely, and can include many different ingredients, and range from slightly sweet to hot and spicy. The sauce also serves as the seasoning base for " red slaw" (also called "barbecue slaw"), which is coleslaw made by using Lexington-style barbecue sauce in place of mayonnaise. Hushpuppies are usually consumed with pork shoulder and slaw.

Pork ribs

Pork ribs Pork ribs are a cut of pork popular in Western and Asian cuisines. The ribcage of a domestic pig, meat and bones together, is cut into usable pieces, prepared by smoking, grilling, or baking – usually with a sauce, often barbecue – and the ...

are a common alternative to the two most common types of North Carolina barbecue and a variety of festivals and competitions are held annually. Baby back ribs, sometimes called top loin ribs, are short, succulent, well-marbled ribs cut from the center section of the loin.

Spare ribs Spare ribs (also side ribs or spareribs) are a variety of ribs cut from the lower portion of a pig, specifically the belly and breastbone, behind the shoulder, and include 11 to 13 long bones. There is a covering of meat on top of the bones an ...

come from lower down the rib cage (from the sides and upper belly of the pig). They are not quite as tender as baby backs, but are thicker, longer, and more flavorful.

Cooking methods

Pit style

A pit barbecue is a method and constructed item for barbecue cooking meat and

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buried below the surface of the earth. Indigenous peoples around the world used earth ovens for tens of thousands of years. In modern times the term and activity is often associated with the Eastern Seaboard, the "barbecue belt", colonial California in the United States and Mexico. The meats usually barbecued in a pit in these contexts are beef, pork, and goat, with pork being the predominant choice in North Carolina. Pit barbecue can also refer to an enclosed, above-ground "pit" such as a

horno ( ; ) is a mud adobe-built outdoor oven used by Native Americans and early settlers of North America. Originally introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors, it was quickly adopted and carried to all Spanish-occupied lands. The has a beehiv ...

or outdoor

pizza oven Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, oni ...

. The method of cooking the meat is slow, using various hardwoods to flavor the meat. This breaks down the connective tissue in the meats, producing a tender product. The types of meat cooked in this fashion include both beef and pork."A Sociology of Rib Joints" by P. D. Holley and D. E. Wright, Jr.,

Smoke box style

Contrast to grilling

Oftentimes the two phrases "barbecuing" and "grilling" are mistakenly used as interchangeable words, although they imply completely different cooking methods. Grilling is a cooking method that uses dry heat, supplied by burning wood, charcoal or gas flame, and the heat is applied to the surface of the food being cooked. Typically food is cooked quickly using this method. Barbecuing is a slower process that uses lower heat and often the food is cooked by the heat of the smoke itself, rather than directly by the heat of the burning wood.

Barbecue related festivals

Lexington Barbecue Festival

The Lexington Barbecue Festival is a one-day

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

held each October and attracts 160,000 or more visitors to

Lexington, North Carolina Lexington is the county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term ...

. The festival is held each October in uptown Lexington, a city of approximately 20,000 residents. Several city blocks of Main Street are closed to vehicle traffic for the event. In addition to a barbecue competition there are carnival rides, a number of music and entertainment venues, and over 100 vendors from all over the region participating. It is the ''Official Food Festival of the Piedmont Triad Region of the State of North Carolina''. In 2012, the '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Lexington as #4 on its list of the best US cities for barbecue. The annual event is listed in the book ''1000 Places to See in the USA & Canada Before-You-Die'', a part of the series based on the best-selling '' 1,000 Places to See Before You Die''.

Other festivals

Additionally, a great number of other events of different sizes are held all over the state each year, attracting millions of visitors and adding to local economies.

References

{{Barbecue Barbecue North Carolina culture North Carolina outdoor recreation North Carolina cuisine