These 4 NC BBQ joints serve some of the country’s best Texas-style barbecue
Let’s just say if you can’t make it to Texas, you won’t be disappointed by the brisket in Knightdale.
Some of the best Texas-style barbecue happens to be in North Carolina.
This week, a handful of North Carolina barbecue joints were put in the national spotlight by Texas Monthly magazine as serving some of the best Texas-style barbecue in the country.
Texas-style begins with brisket and includes spare ribs, pulled pork and sausages, ordered and served market style by the pound.
Two North Carolina restaurants earned place in the magazine’s top 10.
Knightdale’s Prime Barbecue was named the second-best Texas-style barbecue in America, outside of Texas. Jon G’s Barbecue, located outside of Charlotte in Peachland, landed at number eight.
Another Triangle spot, Dampf Good BBQ in Cary, also earned praise for its barbecue trailer operation at Phillips Farm, as did Edenton’s Old Colony Smokehouse.
Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn sought out Texas-style barbecue across the country, visiting more than 100 restaurants over a year and a half to complete the project.
2. Prime Barbecue
403 Knightdale Station Run, Knightdale. 919-373-8067 or prime-bbq.com
One of the Triangle’s most elegant restaurants happens to be a barbecue joint. The dining room and kitchen in Chris Prieto’s Prime Barbecue are wrapped in shiny subway tiles, but Vaughn called the trays of smoked meats the real works of art.
Prime stands out for its equal mastery of pork and beef, bridging the gap between Prieto’s Texas upbringing and current North Carolina home. We at The News & Observer will point out that Prime was our top pick in a 2023 ranking of the 20 best barbecue joints in the Triangle.
“It’s hard to pick a favorite between the pull-apart tender beef ribs or the pepper brisket because both are executed with precision,” Vaughn wrote of Prime Barbecue.
8. Jon G’s Barbecue
116 Glenn Falls St., Peachland. 704-272-6301 or jongsbarbecue.com
Known simply as “Barbecue Saturday,” Jon G’s offers the most Texas experience in North Carolina barbecue, with diners sometimes lining up near dawn for its one-day-a-week restaurant. Married couple Garren and Kelly Kirkman offer a cooler of free beer to those in line, plus the reward of brisket and bacon burnt ends.
“I love the local touches like using Cheerwine soda in the smoked sausage,” Vaughn wrote of Jon G’s Barbecue. “A few sides, such as brisket fried rice and spiced corn esquites, have international flair.”
Dampf Good BBQ
6800 Good Hope Church Rd., Cary. 847-387-7469 or dampfgoodbbq.com
Brothers Bryce and Nick Dampf have parked their smoker in an out-of-the-way spot near the Research Triangle Park, drawing long lines of lunch-break office workers craving brisket, creative sandwiches and pork belly burnt ends.
“The peppery brisket is the best-seller--one bite of the boldly flavored burnt end will tell you why--but the pastrami is hot on its heels,” Vaughn wrote of Dampf Good BBQ.
Old Colony Smokehouse
802 W. Queen St., Edenton. 252-482-2400 or oldcolonysmokehouse.com
An appearance on a special North Carolina barbecue edition of “Chopped!” helped pave the way for Old Colony Smokehouse, one of the state’s most unusual rural restaurants. Here in tiny Edenton, which some pass through on the way to the Outer Banks, pitmaster Adam Hughes does everything the hard way, from making a variety of sausages to making every pickle served in the restaurant.
“The sweet and savory St. Louis-cut pork ribs have the perfect tenderness and a candylike bark; smoke and pepper clings to the edge of each juicy turkey slice; and the butter-brushed cornbread is most and sweet,” Vaughn wrote of Old Colony Smokehouse.
This story was originally published August 28, 2024 at 4:17 PM with the headline "These 4 NC BBQ joints serve some of the country’s best Texas-style barbecue."
