10 of the Best North Carolina Recipes - Big Bear's Wife (2024)

FAQs

What is a famous dish in North Carolina? ›

Traditionally, North Carolina's most popular barbecue dish is whole hog barbecue, though many believe pulled pork is more popular. In North Carolina, people frequently debate the difference between authentic hog barbecue and pulled pork.

North Carolina is close to the Gulf Stream, where fisherfolk catch mahi-mahi, tuna, swordfish, and other large migratory species. Coastal species like drum, trout, shrimp, and blue crabs feel at home in the state's extensive network of sounds, rivers, and estuarine environments.

The harvests gathered by colonial farmers included an expansive number of crops: beans, squash, peas, okra, pumpkins, peppers, tomatoes, and peanuts. Maize (corn), and later rice and potatoes were grown in place of wheat and barley which were common European crops that did not take readily to eastern American soil.

North Carolina's local and regional food system includes the production of apples, blackberries, blueberries, figs, kiwifruit, muscadine grapes, pecans, peaches, nectarines, raspberries, and strawberries.

Two fishes, the sandhills chub (Semotilus lumbee) and the pinewoods darter (Etheostoma mariae), are endemic to the Carolina Sandhills.

North Carolina: Coconut Cake.

North Carolina has introduced many unique foods, including Texas Pete, Mt. Olive pickles, Bone Suckin' Sauce and more. A cold Pepsi and a warm Krispy Kreme doughnut—most North Carolinians know those are legacy foods of their state, but beyond that, North Carolina has introduced many more unique foods.

Red Bird Puffed Peppermints — Lexington

Named for North Carolina's state bird, the cardinal, these soft, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth mints have been made by Piedmont Candy Company since 1933, when founder Edward Ebelein revived the brand from his previous business.

What is North Carolina's state drink? ›

The General Assembly adopted milk as the official State Beverage on June 12, 1987. (North Carolina Session Laws, 1987, c. 347).

"'Barbecue' in North Carolina is synonymous with pork shoulder, so the must-try in this state is, naturally, the pulled pork sandwich.

You might see Michael Jordan, James Taylor, J. Cole, Evan Rachel Wood and Steph Curry in your hometown. These are just a few famous people who call North Carolina home.

Wright Brothers National Memorial

It was a flight that lasted only 12 seconds, but it changed the course of human history forever. On sand dunes near the coastal village of Kitty Hawk, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright's aircraft lifted off to launch the world's first successful airplane flight.

Deer, bears, birds, native fish, squirrels, groundhogs, and rabbits were all hunted. In the pre-contact era, many meals were one-pot stews made over an open fire. After contact, the tribe also began to grow fruit like watermelons and peaches and to eat farm animals like chicken, pigs, and cows.

With its proximity to the Atlantic coast, Charlotte has access to all types of seafood. Most restaurants here offer a wide range of exotic spicy seafood including squids, crabs (hard and soft shell), crab cakes, clam chowder, fried fish, Gumbo, jambalaya, lobster, shrimp curry, and scallops.