Holy Barbecue at the Barbecue Church in Barbecue, North Carolina

The barbecue in question, the Holy Barbecue, is available every year in September. The full menu is barbecue, chicken stew (which looks like chicken pastry), slaw, and mashed sweet potatoes. And there are desserts, acres of desserts, baked by members of the Barbecue Presbyterian Church in Barbecue, North Carolina.

Barbecue, in Barbecue Township, was named after Barbecue Creek (originally Barbeque Creek). An early settler saw mist rising from the creek and, probably being peckish, was reminded of the smoke rising from barbecue pits.

Barbecue Presbyterian was founded in 1757 by Highlanders from the Isle of Skye, and was the first Presbyterian Church founded with a regular pastor (as opposed to a circuit rider) in North Carolina. Services originally were in Gaelic until the disruptions of the Civil War, and hymns were lined, or precented. The congregation helped plant other churches in the region, and it grew to require a more substantial building by the outset of the Revolution. Barbecue was “an island of Whigs in a sea of Tories,” and became the scene of a battle between local militia and British troops led by Banastre Tarleton. The battle ended badly for the militia, Mel Gibson not being present.

Barbecue Presbyterian retains a strong sense of its Scottish heritage. The church celebrates an annual Scottish Heritage Night, and even has its own registered tartan. The church website features videos of lectures and music, and also of preparations for the 2016 autumn festival, which is worth watching if only for the array of desserts baked by the good members of the church. Here‘s a video of the 2022 preparations from the church’s Facebook page.

You can see in the video that those are some beautiful pork shoulders, and in the earlier video it looks like there’s a whole lot of chicken in the chicken pastry. And then there are the desserts. More than that, there’s community, a tradition of a centuries old congregation that holds fast to its roots, a tie that binds.

Barbecue — the town — is only a little out of the way, just a bit off major highways, not far to travel for good food made by good people, by a community working together. I plan to go next year, if I can remember, and I advise you to go as well. And please remind me.

***

And while you’re at it, click “follow” on our front page to receive blog posts in your email box.  Or bookmark us and check in from time to time.  If you’re planning a trip, you can “Search” the name of the destination city, state, or country for good restaurants (in Europe, often close to sites, like the Louvre or the Van Gogh Museum, that you’ll want to visit in any event). And stick around for news, all manner of recipes, hotels, and the occasional book or movie review and fine arts and architecture commentary.  Comments, questions, and suggestions of places to eat or stories to cover are very welcome.  And check out our Instagram page, johntannerbbq.