ENC Favorite Barbeque: Old Colony Smokehouse

EDENTON, N.C. (WNCT) — Our month-long “ENC’s Favorite Barbeque” feature continues with a stop at a relatively new place.

When word was put out on social media asking for places to, many people suggested traditional spots like Skylight Inn, Bum’s Restaurant and Morris Barbeque. But several also said to head north to Chowan County.

Only open since 2019, Old Colony Smokehouse is a new spot with an old school mentality.

“To me it’s important to preserve heritage and preserve tradition.” said owner, Adam Hughes.

Hughes is a Bertie County native who learned a lot about barbeque at a young age.

“My grandparents owned a butcher shop, C & J Country Meats, and it was over between Merry Hill and Colerain,” said Hughes. “So I grew up around hogs, around pork my whole life. My grandfather was a hog farmer.”

It wasn’t until he attended East Carolina University when he found his love for cooking.

“And we found an old grill in a dumpster behind our apartment complex and refurbished it. And just learned to cook everything on that grill.”

Before Hughes opened Old Colony Smokehouse he competed in barbeque competitions around the world, even appearing on the reality cooking show ‘Chopped’.

There are some fan favorites at the restaurant, including brisket and what the smokehouse calls the “Carolina Twinkie”.

“It’s just a fun thing we came up with to utilize our sausage. And it’s a jalapeno pepper and it’s stuffed with our housemade pimento cheese. And we encase it in sausage and wrap it in bacon and we smoke it, then we glaze it in our signature sauce. It’s kind of a snack thing, appetizer if you will. But a lot of people will come in and get two Twinkies and a side and that’s their lunch and they’ll do it every week and they’re happy with it.”

They call it a southern culinary revival at Old Colony. But at the heart of it all is traditional Eastern North Carolina barbeque.

“To even be in the conversation with Skylight Inn and Bum’s and Morris Barbeque and all these big games, it’s absolutely mind blowing that people even talk about us in the same sentence.”

Watch the video to see more about Old Colony Smokehouse and it’s regular customers.

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