Helpful Resources Sam Says Real Barbeque To know barbecue, real barbecue, you have to first realize that cooking hot dogs, hamburgers, or halibut over charcoal briquettes in the backyard isn't barbecuing. But while barbecue is primarily focused in southern and border states, it is growing in popularity all around the country. We've gone through all the ethnic foods and now we're coming back to our roots.
Barbecue is the only truly indigenous American cuisine.
Sauces in North Carolina are vinegar based, with tomato in western North Carolina and without tomato in the eastern part of the state. When they are used, judicious amounts of sauce are added to the pulled and chopped meat before it is served on a hamburger bun, often topped with coleslaw. A mail-order sampling of Maurice's chopped ham revealed rich, lightly sweet meat that reminded me of French pork rillettes. The flavor also came through nicely when the meat was combined with coleslaw on a bun. Memphis, Tennessee claims to be the pork barbecue of the world.