Pig out at Currituck BBQ Company

The search for great barbecue is never ending, a search that can span the highways and byways of North Carolina.

But one need not drive all that far for some of the best you’ll find anywhere, its right on U.S. 158 in Coinjock.

In early-December, I made my first visit to Currituck BBQ Company.

As soon as I walked in, I ran into a couple who owns a restaurant in Nags Head. We spoke before I ordered and they talked the place up. A peer recommendation is always a good omen.

I chose the large pork barbecue sandwich ($4.69) and a side of hushpuppies (4 for $1.49). Combined, the total was less than ordering a single sandwich at some places in Dare County.

The pork was perfect! Succulent, moist, and most of all infused with a hickory smoke flavor, a necessary component of eastern North Carolina barbecue and one often missing at many other restaurants.

The hush puppies were also delicious, a little on the sweet side but with the right amount of breading.

On my next visit, I noticed beef brisket on the menu. I ordered one of those, another jumbo ($4.99) and fell in love with it also.

Currituck BBQ Company has a special sauce for everything, and their beef brisket sauce is the bomb. For now, the brisket is served pulled, something I had never seen before.

It doesn’t detract one bit from the flavor, but it might come as a shock for those accustomed to the traditional sliced presentation.

On my third visit I called ahead and arranged to meet with Paul Robinson, who founded the restaurant along with his father. They first opened on April 3, 2006 and business has been booming ever since.

Paul grew up near Washington, DC and Pennsylvania, although he resided for a while in Virginia Beach. His father, Larry, worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, and is the man with the recipes and barbecue techniques.

Paul had been looking for an Outer Banks opportunity to open a business and when the building housing Currituck BBQ came up for sale, he called his father, who had relocated to Kansas and together they took the plunge.

Traditional southerners are used to pit-cooked BBQ, where the whole pig is cooked “out back” in dug out pits or smokehouses. Today, fire regulations, health department concerns, and even setbacks have all but eliminated the whole-pig, pit-cooked pig.

To create that authentic flavor, the Robinson’s use quality butts, preferably from Smithfield, Virginia hogs.

Robinson noted that once, when the price of pork skyrocketed, they switched to pork shoulders and customers immediately noticed the difference, and not in a positive way.

Three smokers are fed by hickory wood chips for over 12 hours at precise temperatures. The beef brisket spends an almost equal time in the smoker.

Over the course of the year, Currituck BBQ Company will consume 50,000 pounds of pork. The business has grown at a rapid clip, about 25-30% a year, nearly a quadrupling since 2009.

Visitors to the Outer Banks now make it an annual stop on their way in and out of Dare County. Some even make sure to stop by on the way home to pack coolers with their favorite pork barbecue.

There is also a catering business, especially popular for Outer Banks weddings seeking authentic, southern-style fare at the reception.

Out-of-town owners, who often frequent their second homes in the off-season have also added Currituck BBQ Company as a way point on their way to Dare County.

One New York homeowner calls ahead each year during his holiday pilgrimage and carries out enough to feed the entire family.

Larry Robinson also makes the various sauces and there is one for every taste: mustard-style from South Carolina, the tomato-based option popular in the Piedmont of North Carolina, Eastern N.C. vinegar-based, and the brisket sauce. All the sauces are available in to-go bottles, along with a collection of peanuts and other baked goods.

The good stuff doesn’t end there. Rotisserie chicken, St. Louis-style ribs; even chicken gizzards are on the menu.

There are burgers, grilled cheese, hot dogs and sides of baked beans, green beans, cole slaw, mac ‘n cheese, sweet potato casserole, onion rings, banana and bread pudding and cobblers.

Platters include two sides and hushpuppies, ranging in price from $20.99 for a full slab of St. Louis ribs to $10.29 for brisket.

Lunch platters are all priced between $7 and $8 and include two sides with a jumbo sandwich, or $6 to $7 for a regular-sized platter. All sandwiches can also be ordered as standalone items.

Outside, there is a huge covered area that can accommodate parties of up to 250 people.

Later this year, the beef brisket will be served sliced and will stay that way. That is if the locals, who are used to pulled barbecue, adopt the Texas-method of serving up beef barbecue.

If you have ever wondered what the fuss is all about when eastern North Carolinians go on about pork barbecue, stop in Currituck BBQ Company. Not only will you understand, you’ll become a convert.
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