Best BBQ Pork Sandwich in North Carolina (2016)

Stamey's cooks their pork shoulders "Lexington-style" over all hardwood coals for eight to 10 hours. Besides mouth-watering barbecue and a secret recipe sauce, or "dip," Stamey's is also famous for introducing the hush puppy to the North Carolina barbecue scene. Sandwiches come piled with chopped or sliced pork and a dollop of Stamey's barbecue slaw.
Photo courtesy of Stamey's Barbecue / Facebook

B's Barbecue in Greenville opened in the late 1970s and has remained a popular family business ever since. Whole hogs are cooked with charcoal in an open pit, and the sauce available at each table is made with vinegar and peppers. There's usually a line of folks out the door, and if there isn't, B's is probably sold out for the day.
Photo courtesy of Southern Foodways Alliance / Flickr

Perhaps the most famous temple of Carolina “Whole Hog” smoking, the Skylight Inn enjoys a legendary spot in the upper pantheon of barbecue. Ever since 1947 they have been doing it the old traditional way, slow smoking whole butterflied hogs with wood fire, chopping it to include crispy bits of delicious skin, aka “pig candy,” and dousing the results with thin vinegar based sauce. Skyline remains a regional standout for both the local sauce and the state’s disappearing whole hog tradition.
Photo courtesy of Skylight Inn BBQ / Facebook

In 1945 Sylvester and Daisy Hursey added their own secret sauce to Sylvester's father's hickory-smoked pork, and Hursey's Bar-B-Q was born. Today, Hursey's slow-cooks more than 1,200 pork shoulders each week, much of it served chopped or sliced in sandwich form.
Photo courtesy of Hursey's Bar-B-Q

Red and Lyttle Bridges opened a barbecue restaurant called Dedmond's Barbecue in 1946, and when they moved the business to Shelby three years later, it was renamed Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge. The pork here gets slow cooked over hickory all night long, just like it was six decades ago.
Photo courtesy of Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge / Facebook

Founded in 2010 by husband and wife duo Matthew and Jessica Register, Southern Smoke BBQ has quickly gained a following for its pork cooked low and slow over oak wood coals. Diners can choose from two different sauces to dress their pulled pork sandwiches.
Photo courtesy of Southern Smoke BBQ

Lexington Barbecue, known locally as The Monk, cooks pork shoulders low and slow over hickory coals. You won't find any mustard or mayo in the barbecue sauce or slaw; both are seasoned with ketchup to impart a sweet flavor. Sandwiches come with chopped or sliced pork and a side of slaw.
Photo courtesy of Krista / Flickr

Since 1986 Grady's has been slow-smoking pork in wood-burning pits, imparting a rich, smoky flavor to the meat, which comes chopped and piled on a bun. The sauce is a slightly spicy variety typical of the region, but you only need a little – the 'cue is that good on its own.
Photo courtesy of Tim Dillon, USA TODAY Staff

The Eastern Carolina-style 'cue at Richard's is loaded with slow-smoked flavor and comes chopped in larger bits that most places, but not so big as to be considered coarse. The vinegar-based sauce gets seasoned with red pepper and spices, giving it a fiery kick to complement the moist, smoky meat.
Photo courtesy of Richard's Bar-B-Q

Now operated by the third generation of the King family, Kings Restaurant has become famous for its hand-chopped pork, served with a mild vinegar-based sauce alongside Southern sides, like locally grown collards, brunswick stew, black-eyed peas and slaw.
Photo courtesy of Kings Restaurant / Facebook