Jimmy’s Smokehouse, Welcome, North Carolina

Headline: Jimmy’s Smokehouse is terrific! It’s easily one of the very best Lexington-style barbecue places in North Carolina.

Jimmy’s sits at 6043 Old Highway 52 in Welcome, an unincorporated area just north of Lexington. I’d been there three times before — under three different owners! I first went when Rick’s occupied the building. Rick retired and Cafe 71 opened in that space. I made it by and the barbecue again was delicious, but that venture quickly failed amid COVID and supply chain problems. The pit was idle in 2023 when I announced the Ten Best Piedmont Style Barbecue Places, but it was open again last year as Jimmy’s Smokehouse. I stopped in and was very impressed. I made a point to eat there again on our roundabout trip from DC to Blowing Rock.

I drove up and noted that they still offer curb service, with staff running out to take orders and out again to fill them. I got out of the car and breathed in the seductive aroma of pork cooking over wood.

Nancy and I had just eaten at Backcountry, and then taken a modest hike at Yadkin River Park to aid digestion. Then to Welcome and Jimmy’s. Nancy decided to look around the adjacent Senior Country Store while I ate. It’s a store stocked with crafts made by local senior citizens to supplement their incomes. I went on into Jimmy’s, placed my order, and sat on a stool at the counter, the one right beside the cashier. The staff naturally assumed it was a to-go order, and presented me with a bag of food which I opened, unpacked, and set before myself.

That caused some consternation among the staff and they apologized profusely and tried to redo the order in their standard trays. I closed the issue by eating a hushpuppy. Meanwhile, I’d failed to put a tip on my credit card, so I got some ones for a five and tried to give two to the cashier, the preternaturally self-possessed 12-year-old daughter of the owners. She tried to refuse it (refuse money? Does not compute!) but I eventually wore her down and proceeded to eat.

Let’s take a closer look.

I took one bite and thought, “Wow! This is really good!” The pork was tender and juicy, and you could taste that delicious wood smoke accentuated by the pork fat dripping on to the low and slow coals. This is terrific barbecue! I tasted some slaw, that good red slaw, and reveled in its tang. Jimmy’s is about as good as red slaw gets, which is pretty darn good. And the hushpuppies were worthy to be eaten alongside that wonderful tray of food. Fantastic.

I told the server, cashier, and owner how much I enjoyed it. I shared my card with them, and let them know I’d be posting a review of Jimmy’s. That got me a hug from the owner. She asked if I’d tried their pork skins and I allowed that I had not. I was curious, as I associate the crisped skins, as opposed to fried pork rinds, with whole hog barbecue, either chopped fine and mixed in with the meat as at Bum’s and the Skylight Inn, or as a stand-alone sheet at Sid’s Catering. Either way, I love it, and Jimmy’s crisps their pork shoulder skins and offers them on Wednesdays. So I said I’d love a small piece just to try it.

Well, I got three large pieces and ate one of them.

It was sensational. The skin had been crisped in the cooking and then fried, and it was absolutely wonderful, the very essence of pork. It reminded me of the fried fatback at Maurice’s and Price’s, only with a layer of smoke. In short, I loved it. With unwonted willpower, I declined the other two, and also a taste of their brisket on the grounds that I was about to have another lunch and also that I see no sense in eating brisket in a place with pork that good.

I absolutely positively will go back to Jimmy’s next time I’m within 100 miles, maybe 200. I’d really like to try their burger, of which I’ve heard glowing reports, but it would be hard not to fill up on that great barbecue. I’ll try to go with someone and split a burger. You absolutely positively should try Jimmy’s. Go back on a Wednesday and try their skins, and take a friend so you can split a burger.

***

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. We’re on Instagram  (johntannerbbq) and X/Twitter (johntannerbbq1). 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, Prague Castle, Vienna’s Old City, or the Van Gogh Museum, that you’ll want to visit in any event.  We welcome comments and questions, and eagerly seek suggestions of places to eat and stories to cover.