North Carolina: The Pit BBQ in Raleigh

The Southern states of America are known for their fried food and their range of and love of BBQ. Most early settlers to North Carolina could afford a pig and having let it roam fairly freely they would cook it over a large open pit of smoldering wood coals.  They used a sort of vinegar, salt, hot pepper and occasionally a dash of oyster juice sauce to baste the roasting meats.  Tomatoes were not used at the time which is why a North Carolina BBQ is quite vinegary! 

The Pit BBQ restaurant still carries on the tradition of wood fire, free range and vinegar based sauce roasting a whole pig from local farmers.  The kitchen team cook the pigs round the clock every day to make sure there is enough meat available whenever it's needed or wanted.

The Pit is usually so busy on weekends that you need a reservation however we were there mid-week and earlyish and they had plenty of spaces at that time.

The bar was well located with loads of tables near it if you only wanted a drink and sharing platter this would be an ideal location.

We were seated in a large and comfortable table space with a good view of the whole place.

Our waiter told us we should have a look at 'the BBQ' pit as there was a whole side of pig currently being roasted.  All of the meat is smoked and roasted on the premises daily ensuring the meat is tender and tasty.

There was also a load of chickens roasting alongside the pig.

The wine rack was massive with a wide selection of wines from around the world.  Being lunchtime I settled for an ice tea although the wine selection was tempting - better saved for an evening visit! There us also a range of local craft beers available.

We shared two Pit Platters between us which were loaded with mouth watering items such as:-
pit-smoked wings, BBQ soul rolls, devilled eggs and potato fritters.

For my main course it had to be Carolina Style Ribs - what else would you get in a North Carolina BBQ restaurant!!

The ribs were so tender they just fell off the bone with huge chunks of tender meat for eating with fingers! They provide cutlery but I just couldn't resist.

The Pit Bacon Cheeseburgers were huge with a choice of ordinary fries or sweet potato fries.

The Pit's Southern Fried Chicken big enough to feed a crowd and probably the best in town!

You can eat 'family style' or 'a la carte' including the famous 'Pit Signature Carving Cart' which is the Chef's selection of pit cooked local beef, carved tableside and served with your choice of two side dishes.

Side dishes are traditionally Southern such as heirloom Cabbage Collards, Black Eyed Peas, Candied Yams and Fried Okra to name a few.

By the time we had finished our meal the restaurant had filled up with local business people and workers in busy Raleigh. Had we left it any later we would have had a very long wait for a table.

We were not guests of The Pit. However we were given our platters on the house but were not required to write a positive review. All photographs and opinions are my own.