Sam Jones BBQ
Whole Hog Carolina BBQ From a James Beard Semifinalist
In Eastern North Carolina, whole hog barbecue is king, and Sam Jones BBQ is doing it better than just about anyone else. Sam is whole hog royalty: His grandfather, Pete Jones, opened the renowned Skylight Inn in Ayden in 1947. Sam grew up helping him tend the coals, and after graduating college he moved back to Ayden to devote his life to perfecting the art of whole hog BBQ. He struck out on his own in 2015, when he opened Sam Jones BBQ in Winterville, with a second location in Raleigh opening in 2020. In the meantime, he earned a 2018 James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef: Southeast and published a cookbook, “Whole Hog BBQ: The Gospel of Carolina Barbecue.”
Sam is carrying on a legacy of whole hog cooking that goes back hundreds of years. His pork is carefully cooked low-and-slow over local Carolina hardwood before being pulled, chopped, mixed with crispy skin and a little spicy vinegar sauce, heaped onto a bun, and topped with some crunchy sweet coleslaw. It’s Carolina-style BBQ perfection, and along with ribs, turkey, sauces, and sides, it’s shipping nationwide!
