These NC BBQ joints are among the best in the South, Southern Living says

If the South is known for anything, it’s definitely barbecue — and a new ranking is spotlighting North Carolina’s very best.

Southern Living released its list of the “Top 50 BBQ Joints” across the region for classic and creative spreads of sweet and savory smoked Southern barbecue.

Of all the beloved barbecue restaurants for “top-notch ribs, chopped pork, brisket, and chicken,” here are the restaurants across the state ranked as fan-favorites for flavorful foods and ambience, according to the magazine:

Skylight Inn BBQ in Ayden

skylightinnbbq.com

Southern Living ranking: 6

What Southern Living said:

“Back in the 1980s, Pete Jones declared Ayden, North Carolina, where he founded Skylight Inn in 1947, to be the 'Bar-B-Q Capital of the World.” To prove it, he had a silver-painted capitol dome installed right on top of the octagonal restaurant’s roof.

That dome still rises above Skylight Inn today, and not much else has changed, either. Now led by the second and third generation of the Jones family—Pete’s son Bruce, nephew Jeff, and grandson Sam—there’s a minimalist purity to the offering. They cook whole hogs all night on open brick pits fired with shovelfuls of oak coals.

The finished meat is seasoned with salt, cider vinegar, and Texas Pete as it’s chopped into shreds on a giant wooden block. Bits of smoky skin, crisp from hours on the pit, are chopped right in, adding a delightful crunch to each tender, smoky bite. The signature “pig tray” stacks a flat square of dense, unsweetened cornbread atop a paper boat filled with barbecue and, on top of the cornbread, another paper boat with sweet, finely minced sweet slaw. It’s about as fundamental as Eastern North Carolina barbecue gets.”

Lexington Barbecue in Lexington

Southern Living ranking: 10

What Southern Living said:

“The North Carolina Piedmont boasts one of the South’s great regional barbecue styles, and its top practitioner can still be found at the top of the hill on Smokehouse Lane at Lexington Barbecue. Since 1962 the Monk family has been cooking pork shoulders on closed brick pits directly over glowing oak and hickory coals.

You can order it chopped, sliced, or coarse chopped, and it will be generously dressed in “dip”— the local term for the region’s thin vinegar-based sauce tinged with ketchup. That same dip gives Lexington’s “red slaw” its distinctive color. You can order that superb barbecue on a sandwich, as a tray with red slaw and hushpuppies or add crinkle cut fries to make it a plate. Whichever way you go, you’ll be sampling Piedmont-style barbecue at its best.”

Grady’s Bar-B-Q in Dudley

Southern Living ranking: 14

What Southern Living said:

“North Carolina lost a beloved barbecue legend in August when Steve Grady passed away peacefully at the age of 90. He and his wife, Gerri, opened Grady’s BBQ on the 4th of July in 1986, and for almost four decades Mr. Grady cooked every whole hog the old-fashioned way over oak and hickory coals on open brick pits.

There’s nothing fancy about the small white building with narrow metal doors and “Grady’s BBQ” hand-lettered on the side. It’s warm and welcoming inside the brown-paneled dining room, where you order and pick up your meal at a pair of kitchen windows adorned with blue-and-white gingham curtains. Mrs. Grady still makes all the sides from scratch, including steamed cabbage, collards, and black-eyed peas. A tender, smoky chopped pork sandwich with coleslaw is a perfect Eastern North Carolina lunch, and the fried chicken is outstanding, too.”

Stamey’s Barbecue in Greensboro

Southern Living ranking: 24

What Southern Living said:

“At Stamey’s Barbecue in Greensboro, a third and fourth generation carries on the legacy of patriarch Warner Stamey, a founding father of the Piedmont North Carolina-style. They cook pork shoulders long and slow on closed brick pits fired by all-hickory coals then chop it and serve it fast in the counter-service restaurant.

The fine shreds are lightly dressed in the region’s signature tomato-tinged vinegar sauce, and they’re deliciously juicy and imbued with subtle smoky flavor. Long, curved hushpuppies and tangy red slaw are the classic accompaniments. Don’t skip the peach cobbler, either. It’s the perfect capper to a classic Piedmont North Carolina barbecue experience.”

Sam Jones BBQ in Raleigh

Southern Living ranking: 29

What Southern Living said:

“Sam Jones learned the barbecue trade from his grandfather Pete Jones, who founded the legendary Skylight Inn in Ayden in 1947. In 2015 the grandson branched out to open a restaurant under his own name in nearby Winterville then, six years later, a second in downtown Raleigh.

Both Sam Jones BBQ locations straddle the old and the new, cooking whole hogs over open wood-fired pits just like they do in Ayden and serving the chopped pork with paper boats of sweet coleslaw and thin squares of the family’s minimalist cornbread. In Raleigh as well as Winterville, though, you can also order spare ribs, turkey, smoked chicken wings, and fried catfish.

The downtown Raleigh location even has a full bar with liquor drinks, including the Sam Jones Old Fashioned, which blends Evan Williams whiskey with crème de cacao, peach, and orange. There’s nothing old-fashioned about that.”

Prime Barbecue in Knightdale

Southern Living ranking: 30

What Southern Living said:

“Ten miles east of Raleigh in Knightdale, Christopher Prieto has built a prime destination for modern barbecue fans. His style blends his Texas and Puerto Rican roots along with a few elements from his adopted home in North Carolina, all executed with focus and precision. The brisket is juicy and tender with a perfect peppery bark, while the smoky ribs are speckled with black pepper and caramelized sugar.

The standout side is the splendidly savory “barbecue rice,” which is Prieto’s mother’s Puerto Rican recipe. It starts with browning the long grains with onions and bacon fat, then simmering them in beef stock along with slivers of sausage. If you can swing a visit on a Saturday, you’ll be rewarded with Prime’s splendid take on Eastern North Carolina whole hog, which he prepares lechon style with mojo sauce instead of a vinegar mop and accompanies with Puerto Rican beans and calabaza (pumpkin).”

What other NC restaurants were ranked by Southern Living?

In Southern Living’s last list of the top 50 barbecue joints, all of these same restaurants were also featured, The News & Observer previously reported, which also included Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge in Shelby and Bar-B-Q Center in Lexington.

With Lexington known as the “barbecue capital of the world,” it’s no surprise that Lexington Barbecue was also named the best barbecue joint in North Carolina by Southern Living in March.

This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 2:41 PM.