North Carolina Smoked Shoulder Benefit to Help Out Neighbors

Mom picked up a NC pork barbecue shoulder this weekend. I smoke shoulders or Boston butts sometimes, but they are a lot of work. And, this was a benefit for Mrs. Watson who has both a daughter and grand-daughter (age 16) with cancer.

This is a small town, and folks come together and help out. So CJs Barbecue Restaurant here in Cleveland, NC hosted. The guys came in and smoked shoulders. The bluegrassers came. Mrs. Watson is, by the way, one of the best of the bunch in this area when it comes to bluegrass. And, some of the men brought in some old time tractors and show cars too.

Yesterday I had lunch with Mom and Harry with our traditional NC vinegar based with red barbecue sauce. It's a thin bbq sauce with a little heat and known as Lexington style. That's Lexington, NC - of course. There's some debate about whether this style of barbecue actually started in Lexington. More likely, it started along the rail lines here in Rowan County. But, you'll not hear it called Rowan County or Salisbury style barbecue.

In any case, our barbecue is delicious and very different from other styles across the country. If you're ever in North Carolina and in the beach or piedmont areas, ask someone directions to one of the wood burning barbecue joints. They will know what you mean. There's a big difference between electric or gas and the wood burning barbecue, so be sure to find the real deal in NC.

Wink's Barbecue & Seafood - Salisbury, NC

I've been checking out some of my old favorite barbecue joints as well as some new ones for my Yes You Can Grill web site. You can grill all the time, but it is nice to take a break from time to time and let someone else do the work. That's especially true of slow smoked North Carolina barbecue.

North Carolina barbecue is pork, and it varies depending on whether you're on the coast (east) or piedmont (Lexington style). The main difference is that east is whole hog with vinegar sauce and piedmont is shoulders with a little tomato (ketchup etc) in a vinegar based sauce (also thin and spicy like the east but with a little red color).


Yesterday we were at Wink's which is a favorite here in Salisbury, NC. It's been around a long time. I remember when Wink's was over near the motel on Innes St. They moved over to a bigger spot on Faith Road just past Lowe's off I85.

They have been and stir are wood burners. They slow cook the pork out back. You can look and see the big wood pile and the pit. That's what we call real barbecue here in NC, and it's getting harder to find it done the old fashioned way but well worth it.


They have a lot of good old Southern side dishes to go with the barbecue at Wink's. My boys always go for the fries, but okra is my favorite when it's done right. It's done right at Wink's. Yum.


Portions are generous at Wink's, but if you have room, they have homemade desserts. You can see here that they have the classic Southern sweets. I need to go one day and just get dessert as I always get too full on the barbecue to have dessert.

For more on Wink's, see my Wink's review and more photos. I'm also adding more barbecue restaurants - mostly in North Carolina for now but branching out as I travel more and can get reviews written up.

Be sure to tip me off to any favorite barbecue joints in your neck of the woods. I'm always on the look out for great BBQ.