Pig Pickin' around Wilmington, NC....

The barbecue I had in coastal North Carolina over Thanksgiving was so good, I've just recovered enough to share...a traditional NC pig pickin'. The idea is you hire your guy, he prepares the pig and the sides, and he brings it over in a specially designed cooker/trailer.

Turn the burners on, let it heat back up, and you literally start "pickin'" with a set of tongs. (When no one was looking, I used my fingers for the choice bits.) In this case, the 50+ of us (my wife's family) tore through half a pig, plus sides like collard greens and candied yams, plus barbecued chicken in lieu of turkey, and eastern North Carolina-style finely-chopped pork barbecue (in NC, "barbecue" = pork, so, really, the only question is how you have it: sliced, chopped, etc). Add sweet tea, hush puppies and a bunch of pies and you get a gut-busting and memorable meal.

(Here's the half pig next to the chopped barbecue. This is the "before" shot)

The best thing about getting a whole side is you get to dig in to the different parts...varied tastes, textures. Crusty burnt ends, succulent insides, crisp cracklings, meaty ribs. No sauce needed.

(This is the "after" shot. Collards, the partly picked-at pig, the minced pork, and just peeking out, barbecued chicken.)