North Carolina Barbecue Society facts for kids
The North Carolina Barbecue Society (NCBS) is a group that loves and promotes North Carolina's special food and culture. They are based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. One of their main goals is to share the fun of barbecue with everyone. They help organize cool events like the Tar Heel Barbecue Classic and the famous Lexington Barbecue Festival.
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What They Do
The North Carolina Barbecue Society has an important job. Their main goal is to keep North Carolina's barbecue history and culture alive. They also want to make sure North Carolina is known as the "Barbecue Capital of the World." A fun saying they have is "to cook and eat barbecue as often as possible." They also want to show that North Carolina is the "Cradle of 'Cue," meaning it's where great barbecue started.
How It Started
The North Carolina Barbecue Society began in 2006. The person who started it, and is still its president, is Jim Early. He is a lawyer and also wrote a book called The Best Tar Heel Barbecue: Manteo to Murphy. This book reviews many barbecue restaurants along the "Historic Barbecue Trail" in North Carolina.
The NCBS also holds special cooking classes called "boot camps." These are two-day events held three times a year. You can find them at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, NC, in early May. Another is at Sugar Mountain Ski Resort near Boone, North Carolina, in July. The third is near Wilmington, North Carolina, in late September.
Barbecue Boot Camps
At these boot camps, students learn how to cook and smoke different meats. This includes whole hog, chicken, steak, pork butt, ribs, and brisket. They also learn about seafood and sometimes wild game. A special treat is learning to make Chef Early's award-winning Pimento Cheese.
In 2012, CNN listed 10 top cooking schools from around the world. The North Carolina Barbecue Society's school was the only one from the United States on that list!
North Carolina Barbecue Styles
North Carolina has two main types of barbecue: Eastern style and Lexington style. People often have strong opinions about which one is best! Both styles cook meat slowly over hardwood coals, usually hickory. However, they use different methods and sauces. In 2006, there were attempts to make Lexington style the "official" state barbecue. These ideas, called North Carolina House Bill 21 and North Carolina Senate Bill 47, caused a lot of discussion and did not pass.
Eastern Style Barbecue
Eastern style barbecue uses the whole pig. People sometimes joke that it uses "every part of the hog except the squeal." The sauce for this style is often very simple. It can be just vinegar and pepper. This sauce can be brushed on the meat while it cooks or added after it's done.
Lexington Style Barbecue
Lexington style barbecue is also called Piedmont or Western style. This style uses only the pork shoulder. This part of the pig is darker meat and stays very moist. The sauce for Lexington style is made with vinegar and ketchup. It is also often served with red slaw. Red slaw is a type of coleslaw that uses the barbecue sauce (called "dip" locally) instead of mayonnaise.
How They Are Supported
The North Carolina Barbecue Society gets its support in a few ways. Members pay dues to join the organization. They also have official sponsors. Most of these sponsors are barbecue restaurants in the area. These restaurants benefit from the NCBS's work to promote barbecue.
See also
- Pigs in the City
- Roanoke-Chowan Pork-Fest
