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| The chopped pork sandwich is served with slaw on a potato bun. Photo: Sam Jones BBQ. |
Any barbecue fan who visits Raleigh, NC, usually asks about
Sam Jones BBQ because the owner/pitmaster is so well known in food circles. Jones descends from a family that has prepared whole-hog BBQ the right way — cooked slow over a wood-fueled pit – since grandfather Pete Jones opened a restaurant in 1947 at age 17.
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| Chopped—not pulled—is the Jones family way. Photo: Sam Jones BBQ. |
The grandson of the founder of the legendary
Skylight Inn in Ayden, NC, Sam Jones has not fallen far from the family tree, although he has taken his family’s barbecue skills into two other cities — first to Whiteville in 2015 and next to Raleigh in 2021. Even before venturing into these two locations, Jones was named “one of the top pitmasters in the South” by
Southern Living magazine back in 2012.
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| An old auto body shop was transformed into a BBQ destination. Photo: Sam Jones BBQ. |
In Raleigh, Jones converted an old auto body shop into a smokehouse and dining room. His team cooks 180-pound hogs in a wood-fired pit for 16 hours every day. The BBQ is seasoned just right, not overly sauced, and chopped (not pulled) with crunchy bits of skin. In addition to chopped pork BBQ, Jones also serves smoked spare ribs, turkey, and chicken.
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| A BBQ tray comes with sweet slaw and cornbread. Photo: Visit Raleigh Insider. |
One family tradition that often meets with mixed reviews from first-time customers is the cornbread, which follows the original recipe that dates to 1830 from Skylight Inn. (Some diners skip it and order the sweet potato muffin instead.) Long-term diners consider it an essential part of the full Jones family experience. The cornbread, unsweetened and dense, is made with little more than cornmeal mix and water. A thin slab with crisp edges and a chewy texture, it is a marked contrast to sweeter Southern cornbread that is fluffy or cakey.
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| The cornbread is unsweetened and dense. |
The sides are as good as the BBQ. Sweet slaw, mac ‘n’ cheese, collard greens, and baked beans are popular choices. The best advice is not to leave without trying the banana pudding. Alone, it makes a trip to Sam Jones BBQ worthwhile.
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| Don't leave without a serving of banana pudding. |
A third-generation pitmaster, Jones knows how to serve eastern N.C.-style BBQ. His perfectly smoked, chopped whole hog barbecue continues a time-honored family tradition.
chopped pork with slaw on a potato bun.
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| Sam Jones is a third-generation pitmaster. Photo: Sam Jones BBQ. |
