Made-From-Scratch Sides
Collard Greens
We start by stripping and tearing fresh, washed collards to size. The base is our own recipe of fatback, salt, sugar, and pepper. This taste of the old South goes great with our handmade hushpuppies.
Hushpuppies
Our handmade hushpuppies in include cornmeal, self-rising flour, buttermilk, water, salt, pepper, and sugar, and are fried in vegetable oil.
FUN FACT: The “hushpuppy” name can be traced back to 1899, in New Orleans, when barking dogs were thrown hot fritters to get them to “hush.”
Southern Style Green Beans
Our slow-simmered green beans are super tender and infused with savory, smoky flavors from ingredients like stock, onion, and a bit of tomato & pepper.
Onion Rings
The Mr. Barbecue onion ring recipe was given to us in 1985 by Ken Cheek, who was at Staley’s Steak House on Reynolda Road at the time, and includes slicing Super Colossal onions to as thin as 1/4 inch thickness and dredging them first with flour and then corn meal and frying them to crispy perfection.
Baked Beans
We start with Bush’s Baked Beans, and “doctor them up” with fresh bacon, molasses, brown sugar, and pepper. They’re a meal in themselves!
Potato Salad
Our made-from-scratch potato salad includes boiled potatoes, Duke’s mayonnaise, cracked pepper, onion, salt, pepper, and pimento.
BBQ Slaw and
Cole Slaw
“BBQ Slaw & Yankee Slaw”
As the story goes, when Fort Macon (near Atlantic Beach) fell, Union soldiers would take cabbage from nearby gardens and make a simple white slaw, often tied to recipes brought down from places like Boston and New York. Locals started calling it “Yankee Slaw.”
Over time, Eastern North Carolinians adopted that white slaw and made it a natural match for pulled pork BBQ. Meanwhile, in Western North Carolina, folks leaned into a different tradition: a tangy red slaw with a little more bite and color.
These days, it’s just one more part of what makes North Carolina barbecue special. White slaw or red slaw, either way, you’re eating a piece of local history. Everyone has their favorite, and we make ours from scratch. Either one goes great with our barbecue or as a side with any of our entrees!
