17 North Carolina Recipes for Tangy Barbecue, Crispy Seafood, and More From vinegar-laced barbecue to seafood fresh from the coast, these recipes capture the Tar Heel State’s distinctive flavors. By Molly McArdle Molly McArdle Molly McArdle is Food & Wine's Updates Editor. She has written and edited stories about food, wine, culture, place, and technology for more than 15 years. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, GQ, Esquire, Oxford American, The Believer, Bookforum, and many more. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on September 14, 2026 Add Us On SAVE ALL RECIPES NEW! Save as a collection on MyRecipes Close Credit: Food & Wine / Photo by Sara Haas One of the earliest surviving images of cooking in North Carolina dates to the 1580s. In a delicate watercolor, failed English colonist John White paints intricately scaled blue fish, their bellies fading to white, laid atop a wood lattice propped over an open fire. More fish, slightly smaller, are cooking nearby, suspended on upright sticks next to the fire. A part of that history is still alive. On Roanoke Island, the Mother Vine, a more than 400-year-old scuppernong plant, belongs to a local muscadine variety with deep roots in the region. It’s tempting to imagine White encountering its fruit or the Indigenous people whose cooking he documented gathering its grapes. In fact, Arthur Marlowe, who took part in an earlier English expedition to the region, described North Carolina’s barrier islands as “so full of grapes, as the very beating and surge of the sea overflowed them.” Fruity and sweet with pleasantly tough skins, they can still be found in farmers markets across the state. Today, North Carolina’s foodways stretch from the mountains to the coast, encompassing whole-hog barbecue, abundant seafood, and homegrown produce. Barbecue is especially central — a “cultural token held closely to the hearts of Carolinians,” writes Kayleigh Ruller. Eastern North Carolina favors whole hog dressed in peppery vinegar sauce and the western Piedmont embraces pork shoulder with a tangy tomato-based dip. The state’s restaurants in Asheville, Charlotte, the Research Triangle, and beyond balance creativity with a deep sense of place and draw from coastal, Piedmont, and Appalachian traditions. At Asheville’s Good Hot Fish, chef Ashleigh Shanti draws on Southern fish-fry traditions in an effort to create “a community space where everyone is welcomed.” These recipes reflect that range, bringing together dishes with deep roots in the state and recipes from chefs who have helped shape North Carolina’s evolving food scene. Together, they offer another way into the state’s rich culinary story. Love these recipes? Join MyRecipes — your personal home for recipes — to easily save and organize your favorites, plus thousands more, in one convenient place. 01 of 17 Tender, Sizzling Hush Puppies Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley North Carolina chef Joe Kindred drew on childhood visits to seafood restaurants for these hush puppies, re-creating the piping-hot, crisp fritters he remembers eating with butter. His version pairs a fluffy, tender interior with a delicate, lacy crust, thanks in part to frozen grated butter gently folded into the batter to help keep the hush puppies crisp. Get the Recipe Save 02 of 17 Carolina Pulled Pork with Eastern Carolina Barbecue Sauce Food & Wine / Photo by Sara Haas James Beard Award winner Sean Brock adapts Carolina whole-hog barbecue for the home kitchen with pork shoulder, slow-roasting it for 12 hours at 275°F until exceptionally tender before finishing it over hickory smoke on the grill. The roasting juices enrich a thin, tangy Eastern Carolina sauce made with cider vinegar and smoked paprika, which cuts through the richness of the pulled pork. Get the Recipe Save 03 of 17 Lowcountry Pickled Shrimp Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Ben and Karen Barker opened Magnolia Grill in Durham in 1986, where they became early champions of seasonal cooking and locally grown produce; Ben’s work earned him a spot among Food & Wine’s 1993 Best New Chefs. His Lowcountry Pickled Shrimp, originally published in the magazine in July 1994, calls for briefly poaching the shrimp before letting them spend several days in an aromatic pickling liquid. Fennel and coriander seeds, sliced onion and lemon, fresh ginger, and bay leaves perfume the firm, pleasantly crisp shrimp, making for a remarkably simple dish with layers of flavor and texture. Get the Recipe Save 04 of 17 Vegan Collard Greens Lauren Vied Allen Traditionally, collard greens get their savory, smoky depth from a ham hock, but this gently spicy vegan version from Boricua Soul, a Puerto Rican–Southern restaurant in Durham, North Carolina, uses vegetable broth, adobo seasoning, and a splash of liquid smoke instead. Get the Recipe Save 05 of 17 Pulled Chicken Barbecue Sandwiches Food & Wine / Photo by Jason Donnelly / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Gabe Greco Tangy Eastern North Carolina barbecue sauce works just as well with pulled chicken as it does with the region’s traditional pork. Here, the chicken is tossed with a cider vinegar–based sauce, piled onto soft buns, and topped with cool, creamy coleslaw. Get the Recipe Save 06 of 17 Zucchini Bread Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Growing up in Kernersville, North Carolina, chef Ashley Christensen remembers summers when her family’s two vegetable gardens produced more zucchini than they knew what to do with, making zucchini bread a favorite way to put the harvest to use. Her tender, cinnamon-spiced loaf is packed with delicate shreds of squash and finished with a sprinkle of sugar that bakes into a crisp, crackly crust. Rather than squeezing the grated zucchini dry, Christensen simply pats away excess moisture, preserving more of the squash’s flavor while giving the bread an especially soft, moist crumb. Get the Recipe Save 07 of 17 Atlantic Beach Pie Bars Food & Wine / Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless Atlantic Beach pie comes together with just a handful of pantry staples, including crushed saltines, sweetened condensed milk, citrus juice, sugar, and eggs. Chef Bill Smith created the dessert in 2011 as a tribute to the lemon pies of his hometown, New Bern, North Carolina; it went on to become one of the signature dishes at Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill. Get the Recipe Save 08 of 17 Sweet Potato Cheesecake Empanadas Lauren Vied Allen Puerto Rican and Southern flavors come together in these dessert empanadas from Durham’s Boricua Soul. Crisp pastry holds a creamy filling that recalls marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole and warmly spiced pumpkin cheesecake, finished with a drizzle of caramel. Store-bought empanada wrappers and canned sweet potatoes streamline the preparation. Get the Recipe Save 09 of 17 Hummingbird Bundt Cake Morgan Hunt Ward / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Prissy Montiel This dessert originated in Jamaica as “doctor bird cake,” named for the island’s national bird. Air Jamaica and the Jamaican Tourism Board promoted the banana-, pineapple-, and spice-filled cake beginning in the late 1960s as a way to showcase Jamaican produce and encourage tourism. In 1978, Southern Living published a cream cheese–frosted layer cake adaptation submitted by a reader in Greensboro, North Carolina, helping establish hummingbird cake as a Southern classic. Get the Recipe Save 10 of 17 Hanger Steak with Yellow Squash Romesco Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Phoebe Hausser Inspired by a dish at Cúrate in Asheville, this yellow squash romesco pairs peak-season summer squash with charred bell pepper, smoked almonds, sherry vinegar, and spices for a smoky, subtly sweet sauce. Salting the squash before grilling draws out excess moisture, concentrating its flavor as it chars. Serve the romesco with meaty hanger steak, roasted potatoes, and grilled squash. Get the Recipe Save 11 of 17 Grilled Brassicas with Bagna Cauda Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless Bagna cauda, the warm Piedmontese sauce of olive oil, garlic, and anchovy, provides a savory base for grilled brassicas in this recipe from chef Joe Kindred of Kindred in Davidson, North Carolina. Broccolini and cauliflower are cooked over high heat until lightly charred, concentrating their natural sweetness and adding smoky edges that pair especially well with the rich, salty sauce. Get the Recipe Save 12 of 17 Crispy Shrimp Sandwich with Creamy Coleslaw Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Inspired by the shrimp sandwich at Big Oak Drive-In & Bar-B-Q in Salter Path, North Carolina, this version piles crisp pan-fried shrimp and creamy, tangy coleslaw onto a simple hamburger bun, with cocktail sauce and hot sauce adding acidity and heat. Get the Recipe Save 13 of 17 Fig Salad with Blue Cheese and Crispy Prosciutto Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Emily Caneer / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox Alexandra Domrongchai’s North Carolina family spends late summer harvesting an abundance of ripe figs from five backyard trees, a tradition that has grown from casual picking with her mother into determined expeditions to gather the fruit before the birds do. In this salad, mashed fresh figs enrich the vinaigrette with their concentrated sweetness, while crisp prosciutto and tangy blue cheese provide salty, savory contrast. For a striking presentation, arrange fresh fig leaves on the serving platter before adding the salad. Get the Recipe Save 14 of 17 Roasted Chicken with Calabrian Chile and Cumin Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless Chef Joe Kindred takes a minimalist approach to roast chicken, relying on good ingredients, careful seasoning, and sound technique. This five-ingredient recipe calls for spatchcocking the bird so the breast and thighs cook more evenly, keeping the breast juicy and the dark meat tender while helping the skin render and crisp all over. Get the Recipe Save 15 of 17 Spaghetti with Clams and Braised Greens Greg DuPree North Carolina chef Ashley Christensen reworks classic spaghetti with clams by steaming the shellfish in wine, then blending the flavorful cooking liquid with roasted red peppers. The result is a rich, briny sauce that thoroughly coats the pasta, while a generous amount of Swiss chard adds earthy flavor and substance to the dish. In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best. Get the Recipe Save 16 of 17 Smoky Pastrami John Kernick Matt Neal’s pastrami is a signature at Neal’s Deli in Carrboro, North Carolina, where it’s famously served on biscuits. The process is straightforward but requires planning: Brisket cures in a simple brine for five days, chills for another day, then gets coated with peppercorns and coriander and smoked for several hours on a partially covered grill. Get the Recipe Save 17 of 17 Crispy Fried Chicken Livers Robert Wright North Carolina chef Ashley Christensen served these fried chicken livers at the now-closed Enoteca Vin in Raleigh with a buttery sage pan sauce, though they’re equally good with a simple squeeze of lemon. Finely ground panko breadcrumbs create an especially crisp crust around the tender, creamy centers. 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