Hursey’s Bar-B-Q, Burlington, North Carolina: On the North Carolina Historic Barbecue Trail

A while back I tried to pay homage to Jim Early, the late founder of the North Carolina Barbecue Society. Among Early’s initiative was the creation of the North Carolina Barbecue Trail, a collection of 20 barbecue places that cooked traditional North Carolina barbecue, pork cooked over wood coals: True ‘Cue. I’d only been to a dozen of them, mainly in Eastern North Carolina and near the I-85 corridor.* In further homage to Early, I decided to try a few more of the places on the Trail, and so headed to North Carolina.

Stop #1 was Hursey’s in Burlington.

Hursey’s has other locations, but all the cooking is at the Burlington location on Church Street. I’d been disappointed before with places with remote cooking of pork barbecue, and headed straight to Church Street.

Hursey’s has been around since 1960, although the family was well known for barbecue for a couple of generations before then. Early recorded the founding of Hursey’s by Sylvester Hursey.

Most in the area have heard the stories of the party that Sylvester and some of his friends had in the backyard, at which time a little drinking and some coincidental successful hog cooking launched Sylvester into the commercial barbecue business.

I sat down and ordered a pork plate which, as it turns out, does not involve a lot of decision-making. There is a set plate of pork, French fries, cole slaw, and, of course, hushpuppies.

The service was fast and friendly, and overall the food was good. The pork came finely chopped and mixed with a slightly sweet sauce, and I could taste the smoke. The sauce is, to my idiosyncratic taste, a tad on the bland side– I like a pronounced pepper and vinegar flavor – and it held the pork back from greatness. Still, it was good.

I’d heard from the estimable John Rancke that Hursey’s was flat bad, and that had made me pass it by on a couple of previous trips. Mine certainly wasn’t bad. I certainly enjoyed it. I think John might have gone to one of the “secondary” locations, at which the meat is delivered rather than cooked. Brisket can stand that, but pork loses something.

The slaw was very good, crisp, refreshing, and not overdressed. The hushpuppies were great. (I do not put honey on hushpuppies.) And the French fries were exceptional, hot and crisp with a fluffy center. They had a real potato flavor. Add a little Texas Pete to them and you’re in heaven.

I don’t know when I’ll go back to Hursey’s. It was good barbecue — pace, John Rancke — but there’s better around, especially for someone who’s willing to drive, as you’ll see if you stay tuned. But the price is good — about $10 plus tip for the plate and tea — and you really should give it a try. Your idea of great barbecue sauces may well differ from mine, and that could make all the difference. For that matter, I need to get back and check it again. I hope to see you there.

*The 12 include the Skylight Inn, Bum’s, B’s, Wilber’s, Grady’s, Stephenson’s, the Barbecue Center, Smiley’s, Richard’s, Red Bridges, and the Switzerland Cafe. Note that Early only allowed two locations in a given city, and thus omits important places such as the great Lexington Barbecue #1.

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