Hey everyone good morning hope you're having an amazing day. It's mark wiens, i'm in north carolina, which is one of the great barbecue states of the united states. Today we are going on a tour of western style, lexington style north carolina barbecue, which is known for pork. Shoulder barbecue, it doesn't get better than this.

I am inside the smoker at lexington, barbecue we're gon na first start off at lexington barbecue and we're gon na see the entire process of the barbecue. We're gon na eat the amazing barbecue and then, after that later we're gon na drive it's about a 30 minute drive north from here to greensboro for another legendary barbecue. Oh, i cannot wait to share all of the barbecue with you in this video and so welcome to lexington north carolina. This is one of the great barbecue cities.

Towns in the united states really quickly before we go inside just to very briefly explain the barbecue style of north carolina and north carolina is one of the great barbecue states of the united states and there's two main styles, western style, which is known for especially pork Shoulders smoked, pork, shoulders and then eastern style north carolina, which we'll also be covering later in a in another video which is especially known for whole hog barbecue. But again, today we are focusing on western north carolina, also known as lexington style, north carolina barbecue and i'm very excited to be here. This is our first place we're at lexington barbecue. The smokers are going in the morning.

Let's go check out the barbecue good morning. Christy, hey you ready to eat some barbecue today, i've never had barbecue for breakfast. Yes, how hot is it 1700, but we had a guy came in with 1700 degrees laser thermometers. So don't put your camera too close to that fire.

It will melt, but he what happens is the fire is burning here and then the you put, the coal spread the coals out below the meat on the shelf. Oh man, from about seven to about four and then we let them drain from four to seven again. This is the band with the information yeah for 35 years wow. You know it's a it's a job.

I really enjoy very cool. I retired, and i came back after my dad passed away and so, like i said, i love this job. It's a challenge. Every day, people don't people don't believe it, they just think you come in and throw the cold under there, but you've got to take into consideration the wood, the weather and, as your week goes on, you build up your coals in there for insulation, and it you Have to learn to cut back on your heat hickory's twice as hot as oat, and so you have to know what kind of wood you have and everything like that it and everything plays to a factory like i tell everybody, you've got your wine taster and when That grease drops down on the coals, it creates a smoke flavor and that's where the flavor comes from from the grease yeah smoking on the coals.

That's where the flavor comes from makes a hickory, flavor or oat flavor everybody calls it hickory flavor, so you're really tasting that woody woody smoky woody smokiness yeah. You try to get a even layer of coals under there. That way, you don't have a hot spot. Every time two main pits where the pork resides fire rages in the center and then about every 20 years so minutes they add a fresh bed of coals underneath the pork beds to keep that cold layer even to keep the heat consistent.

You feed the fire from outside and then on the other side of this wall. That's where then, the the pork resides where the pits are where they keep feeding the smokers. So it's about 11am. In the morning it's time they've been on for four hours five hours.

I think time for the pork shoulders to be flipped. Oh yeah, that's some smokiness! Coming out of there. Oh yeah, oh yeah! You could smoke yourself if you sat in here very important lesson: kids smoke riders just looking for that good good face, yeah wow. How many pounds are is one about how much about 25 20 25 pounds per shoulder so as it doesn't get better than this, i am inside the smoker at lexington, barbecue curbside looks pretty.

This is a dark meat piece. Oh okay, so you're just like parting. It out right now right: okay, okay, we're separating it from your chop, your dark your light, and then they do the final chop inside before you order it right. Okay, first test! Thank you for this dripping with juices, and the fat is melted.

It's so incredibly tender. Oh wow, oh man. Oh thank all. This is some of the skin.

He knows. That's the that's the brown, that's where the good stuff that oh sensational yeah, just the brown skin, it's totally different. Oh that's! Not the skin! That's just like the brown part of the meat yeah like caramelized meat. I told you quago ain't gon na go out.

I think it's ready, you don't even need a knife at all and then, after that they will go into the kitchen where they're serving guests serving customers and that's when they give it the real chop mix it with the barbecue sauce, give it that signature extra flavor From the barbecue sauce and then well, i mean immediately before you eat it, yeah max from north carolina from north carolina yeah. Are you from this lexington yeah, i'm from right here close by and what do you think about lexington barbecue yeah? This is one of the best in the area. This is one of the best yeah in north carolina, really people from south carolina georgia, people from arizona yeah they all stopped by to eat lexington barbecue yeah we've been mowing this for years. This is one of the best in the area.

What do you recommend? I should order? Are you real hungry, i'm real hungry, okay, get a chopped, tray or chop plate that you get the slaw the hush puppies french fries, whichever and a whole lot of barbecue, and you can't get a hamburger bun on the side. Yeah. If you like bread, i like bread, awesome, yeah, awesome and tea or coke or whatever or water, you might be heart healthy. You might not want soft drinks.

Thank you very much. Yeah yeah, but you won't be you're going to like it here, you're going to want to come back in three more months. For sure. That's! No! That's fine! Thank you max nice to meet.

You have a great day fall apart. Tender is very good. Moist pork shoulders have been smoked for 10 to 12 hours. They come off, they're, parted out and they're chopped up and they're, also mixed with the barbecue sauce.

So there's your chop. Okay i'll show you. So that's what so? That's a fine chop! That's your fine job! This is gon na, be your slice. Okay, ah, okay, two different cuts there right, but i'm going.

Oh man, oh wow, it's so juicy! It's so moist. The smoke is just embedded into it. Oh that's incredible! Try this one with the sauce! Okay and you'll see how the sauce enhances it, but it doesn't hide it's not a thick sauce that covers it up and the sauce is made up of ketchup and vinegar and peppers. Okay and it's a very mild sauce.

You could drink this sauce, but thank you, but you can tell the difference. It just enhances the flavor of that smoking. Thank you very much. Okay, okay and here we go first bite with the sauce.

Oh yeah, it's not thick. Let's see how it just brings out the flavor of the smoke, it does that, little bit of acidity that little bit of sweetness enhances it magnifies the flavor of the smoke james cool, oh, so this is a is it do you call it red squash, red slough? Okay and that's because it's ketchup based sauce, okay, that's like a must! It comes with a with a barbecue right. It's a very fine, quite a fine chop too yeah, really nice. It's a must-eat condiment along with uh the barbecue here.

This is the hush puppies. Is it corn based puppy because they're like little deep, fried bread nuggets, and so that's uh? This is the the hush puppy station. Oh man, this smell incredible. Luckily, not yet i've melted a few things.

Okay, if you like bacon, especially salty bacon, you'll like this yeah. So that comes off the smoker the skin is separated and then it's deep fried for extra crispiness right, yep, they've crisped up, you know, they're clean crackers, crunchy, that's right and you know down east north carolina. They put this in the barbecue. They don't deep-friedly chop up.

The skin and everything, but you guys, i love how they just splash on the barbecue sauce and even drain it. So it's just like a it's very liquidy, barbecue sauce, it's not thick. It's not sticky. It's liquidy! All the food is prepared and assembled.

Thank you guys. So much i'm going to rush out. I cannot wait to try it be sure to try the spicy sauce. That's on the table: okay, okay, very cool! Thank you very much guys spread this around or please no particular order we'll need to know! That's why? Whatever atlanta feeling thank you, they just gave us this amazing selection of the signature dishes of what you come here to eat.

Christy. Are you ready for some barbecue, i'm so ready? Okay, let's just go straight in let's go in for that crackling, because it's right out of the fryer, it's fresh, i'm gon na try some of that yeah sure some of the this is some of their other signature. Barbecue sauce, oh wow, it's so crispy! Oh, that does taste like bacony, but just like fully crispy all the way through. That's incredible.

I bet you can hear that crunch. So i think i'll start with the with the fine tread that fine shred, the barbecue sauce has gone into the meat. It's so juicy, but again yeah like they mentioned the barbecue sauce is not overpowering. It's thin.

It's slightly sour and a little bit sweet. It just enhances the smokiness of the meat all the way through the course chop. Next, the smokiness is just like all the way through it. It almost does have an effect on the the taste, the different, the different texture, you taste less less of the barbecue sauce.

A deeper smokiness, both ultra tender chunkier, it's a chunkier meat experience. I love chunky, okay and then the third type of meat is just the sliced, the sliced, pork so again, a totally different structure. I think it's from a different part of the shoulder. Those one feels really lean more shreddy.

I think i might like that coarse chop, probably probably the best that might be my my favorite slice of uh of the of the three. But really you can't go wrong with any of them. Okay, we got ta, try the hush puppies and that coleslaw, oh, i can't really say i've had many hush puppies in my life. Oh, that's amazing: the crumbly texture of the corn flour but then crispy on the edges.

Okay, we got ta, try the coleslaw first. Try. First, try of the red sloth: oh yeah, it's a you taste the ketchupy sweetness, but then that's balanced by a vinegary sourness and then that amazing crunchy freshness of the cabbage. It's the perfect accompaniment again to the smoky salty, just melt in your mouth pork.

One of the very common ways to eat barbecue is with in a bun that fine chop is good for the best for the sandwich, because it really fits in there nicely add this to the bread might throw in a few chunks of the the coarse chop too, Because you've got that that brown, they call the brown the caramelized meat, throw that on there, some of the vinegar sauce the vinegar, barbecue sauce slaw. On top now, we've got a bit of everything. Do we go crackling on this too? I think you can finally add a piece of the cracklin on top. Oh wow, that is a barbecue sandwich.

The barbecue sauce is working together, the smokiness i almost got cut by the pork skin. I mean i love it with a sides, it's great in the bun. It's just great in any way shape or form. It's so good.

I'm a huge fan of the barbecue sauce. It really almost tastes like a crush between cornbread and onion rings. That was so incredibly good huge. Thank you to nathan to mr monk, to the entire monk family for welcoming us at lexington barbecue.

It was the hospitality shined the food was delicious. We are on our way next. It's about a 30 minute drive to greensboro, which is a little bit north of here for another legendary barbecue restaurant welcome to stamey's barbecue in greensboro north carolina. This place dates back to 1930 with a lot of history.

This is another barbecue destination. Okay, all right, craver! Right, yeah and you're part of this family you've been in the barbecue, your entire life yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, it's and it's yeah, it's so i'm a fourth fourth generation generation me and my dad uh chip who's, the owner. Now, okay, we've worked together now and so he's third generation, i'm fourth, okay, my grandfather's, 87 uh, obviously, second generation. He was actually here earlier this morning cool.

So it's a big family business, very cool, been in. Obviously we it's very personal and and special to us. The reason we cook pork shoulders is my great grandfather and the two guys he learned from sid weaver and jess wisegood. They the reason they started cooking with shoulders because the butcher shops were throwing it away because it was a tough piece of me.

You know they didn't know what to do with it and right of course, you know they didn't have all these things we have now, so they cooked it over a live fire just outside. So that's and then of course, they learned how to do it. Well, and you know you built stand-alone structures and that kind of thing and that's how this is, i guess, evolved from there. Oh man, this is an amazing like a barbecue hallway, with the pits on either side the fire's smoking just smoldering away.

The aroma of the barbecue in here is insane yeah and each one of these bits can hold 20 22 shoulders. Okay, so we're talking wow. If we're cooking on all of them, you're talking a lot of meat, a lot of meat, let's see what we got going on in here. Sorry, actually we're probably right at the end of this cook.

Okay, it's about an eight to ten hour process, all right, obviously, yeah. Obviously the you know it doesn't all cook perfectly. Even okay, you know some are bigger shoulders than others see how deep it goes way back here, wow right yeah, so i can't even see back there right right so in this and they pulled it forward. They've taken some off already.

Okay. The way we check to see if they're uh ready to come off or not, is just with a fork, so we're sticking that fork in there. Oh man they're getting you're just feeling right feeling, uh, okay, and if you you know, it's just an experience thing. Okay, but you know if you feel oh, it's a little tight spill and we know we need to cook a little longer slide off it's so tender.

Oh yeah we're high-tech for a whole lot. Oh man that smells incredible smoke. Eight to ten you're, one of the pit masters, oh yeah, yeah, very cool to meet you. Thank you.

How long have you been about 14 cooking, barbecue, wow cool the smoking fires? Oh okay. They're, oh man, the juiciness is insane oh wow. In reality, we're really not smoking, it we're really roasting it and the way you get the smoke flavor is the grease dripping down onto the coals and then the smoke coming up and that produces the smoke correct. So it's not an extremely big bite of smoke in your in your mouth.

It's it's more, i would say a little subtler all day. That's why i said i said the sign of a good barbecue cook is the guy to that you got to be fit. You got to be in each pit, hole and they've already taken some off. Each pit holds about 20, showing beautiful.

That's how you know okay, so we have two fireboxes and this. This is the side where we're loading our wood in, so you get the fire to break down into the coals like you're, seeing there before you, then you correct, okay, before we're shoveling that directly underneath you can feel that heat coming, oh yeah, hickory produces the hottest Heat right, hot, a nice, hot coal and it stay and actually stays hot longer too so, okay, you'll notice with another wood you'd, have to fire more often than you do with hickory. All right i mean barbecue is an art. It's uh, a knowledge of fire.

What do you want? You're, just looking for a nice even spread yeah yeah, so once the wood burns to a nice coals, then those can be broken up and then transferred to the beds to the smoking pits, and you want to just create that even layer, a thin layer of coals Embeds into the meat and that cooks it through that smokes, it that's where the flavor's coming from done. Oh the juice is coming out of that thing. He just popped. It juice came pouring out of it.

That is the greatest barbecue smoke, hallway that you'll ever see or heading back to the kitchen, dining room or they're, going to be chopping it up where they're going to mix it with the barbecue sauce and serve you to eat. What's your name, thank you. So much the shoulder i'll save the butt in a picnic, okay, cuts together and uh. The butt is fattier uh and that's the picnic is the leaner part of the shoulder okay.

So what we like about that is it's kind of a good combination of the two together awesome when you chop it, you mix it correct yeah. So this is all mixed. I'll show you already. Generally too it's chopped, it's chopped pretty fine.

Okay, uh not really pulled. Pork or whatever, is that term weak? That's what we call it chop, corn, of course that has more smoke and texture in it. Because but we hurt, you know, what's your name, my name is chad very nice to meet you meet you as well live how many years, how many years you work here! Um! 15 yeah! Oh, look at that yeah! That's just some of their absolute classics. They just have the chopped pork here uh and it's kind of a medium texture.

It's not a really fine chop, nor is it a very coarse chop, but it's a really even kind of like centimeter chunks of pork, their classic sandwich, which is pulled pork with a slaw in a bun and then there's a variety of. Actually, they don't call it barbecue sauce here, but they call it dip. So ying and kristy have already been snacking on these uh hush puppies. They said they're amazing, and they told me that there there's a lot of buttermilk in them too buttermilk onions, deep, fried to a crisp.

Oh man, yeah hush puppies, are amazing that crumbly texture, so good, really good yep, that flavor of the onion oh and you feel that richness of them too. Moving into the chopped pork, the moistness, the texture of that pork, the smokiness all the way through. I like that, that chopped texture and then again that barbecue sauce, it's not overpowering the meat, the meat just the smokiness protrudes and comes through, but then the the barbecue just provides this tanginess kind of almost the aftertaste, and then we've got the red slaw. It's again.

It's ketchup based uh ketchup, vinegar, i think, there's some pepper in here and a very quite a fine shave of cabbage. That's such a contrast from the savory pork smoky pork to the tart, tangy sweet and actually cold coleslaw. Oh, it's such an amazing contrast and you can see why they pair so well together. I love the crunch of that cabbage.

I'm gon na add on a little bit more of that dip, just to get the full flavor of it and that's the barbecue sauce again. You can see how thin it is chopped. Pork with the hush puppies, get it all together. Take that with our hearts.

Everything in one bite, the contrast, the freshness, the smokiness, the crispiness. Okay, let's try some of those other sides. Okay, so we've got some mac and cheese: oh wow, creamy, rich buttery, okay and then the collard greens on this plate too. I love collard greens, that's so juicy okay and then i want to try the the chopped pork sandwich as well.

Next, it's chopped pork. It's barbecue sauce, it's sloth in a nice bun i was like i'm used to normal stamie's time and i thought it was dessert time already. Oh, it's so crispy, it's so smoky. It's so much flavor! I'm going to add on some of the this one is the spicy dip.

I think it's the same as that vinegar, ketchup sauce, but then with a little bit of chili in it. I really like the sandwiches, because the white bread provides just a handheld like device to hold the chopped pork and that smokiness in your hands and be able to bite it a little bit of this yeah. It is really nice. The pork is really nice and moist.

You guys can nap on the way back, and this is all around just this - just a phenomenal barbecue plate and their hush puppies are amazing. Anybody want some of the sandwich really outstanding, barbecue outstanding food here for dessert, we're trying the peach cobbler a classic way to end a meal here and then a classic way to end a barbecue meal. It's warm the cold ice cream, really hot on the bottom paired with that cold melting ice cream. It's hearty that's sweet! That's really good and a perfect contrast, a perfect way to end that barbecue meal and actually this entire barbecue tour.

Today, oh man, i'm starting to feel sleepy, i'm not sure if it's the the early morning or the barbecue, i think it's a combination of both oh, but that was so good and so that completes today. This education on the north carolina, especially the lexington style of barbecue, the pork shoulders. It was amazing both places, so cool family run so friendly, delicious barbecue, and so, when you're in this area of lexington north carolina, both places lexington barbecue stamies must visits. You have to come to both and they're just 30 minutes apart, so it works out perfectly.

You can go to both directly in a row eat some amazing barbecue, and so i want to say a big thank you for watching this video. Please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it, oh and by the way, there's going to be many more north carolina food videos so be sure to check out all the videos in this playlist and the upcoming videos and more barbecue videos and we're Going to be doing lots of whole hog as well, thanks again for watching goodbye from greensboro north carolina, and i will see you on the next video.