Stegall Smoked Turkey

We found this place, like I assume most folks do, on the way to the beach. A smoked turkey breast from here kept everyone well-​fed for a week of playtime on Caswell. On a whim, the Mrs. stopped in for a sandwich on the drive back home. She declared to me then: «maybe I was hungry– but that was the best barbecue I’ve ever had.» This is high praise for a southern woman from NC’s Triad, a woman whose barbecue snobberies rival my own.
Flash forward eight months: we are driving back from the Sandhills on 74, and it’s time for dinner. We gut it out until we make it to Marshville, and stop in. The place is no-​nonsense. The menu is a Coca-​cola tile board. Tea urns and a soda fountain sit to the right of the register on the Formica counter. There is a tinge of smoke in the aroma of the place. I order what I consider table stakes for a proper Q joint– the pulled pork plate. Mac and cheese, red slaw.
The plate was generous, maybe 10oz. Of chopped shoulder. Great color, a little bark mixed in. No additional spice. The sauce is in the table: vinegar (as the good Lord intended), sweet, tangy. A quick dash of vinegar, and the first taste.
Magnificent. Pork, smoke, juiciness, balanced in the rarest of ways. Nothing heavy-​handed, the meat needed not much else. The Mac and Cheese ended up kind of overshadowed, so I really balanced the richness of the pork with the red slaw. Sure, it came in a styrofoam ramekin, but few things remind me of my redneck heritage like really good red slaw. If you know what I mean, you know what I mean. Crunchy, sweet, maybe fresh tomatoes or red peppers, that slight catch of the spiciest of the cabbage still present, somewhere between a sweet pickle and composed salad. The side that was the most surprising: banana pudding. The taste was what it should be, with a good portion of vanilla wafers and banana slices. The pudding itself was, well, thick. It was creamy. It was as if it had been whipped, as in firm-​peak-​whipped. For me, it was a neat twist. For my lovely companion, it was off-​putting.
This place is a gem. We didn’t even peruse the general store side of the place, but it fits the bill for Q joint charm. Of the proteins that we’ve had, these folks prove they know how to use smoke. Turkey is a tough product to do well, and while shoulder is easy to do, not a lot of places do it like Stegall’s does. If you ply the Hwy 74 corridor, make a stop. Take some home. You’ll be glad to have discovered this place.

Cute little place by the side of the road. Very efficient, order at the counter and they have the sides already packaged into little containers. Brisket is tastier than the pulled pork. Tastes great with their Tangy sauce.

Best smoked turkey leg you will ever eat. And, I love their baked beans too. You wont be disappointed.

Words can’t explain what my taste buds experienced. Everything made to perfection tender full of flavor. Get over there and check it out for yourself awesome.

Flew in from LA for a graduation at a local college. The college students took a party of 10 of us to this little place. Excellent homestyle bbq with all of the fixin’s. Really nice employees as well. Suggestion to management… the store portion of the restaurant was a little sparse. The store could use a lot more product, lots more shelving, really deck the store out with lots of local products. We did buy some molasses to take home… thanks!

The amusing outside décor carries through to the inside — a cross between your garden variety Cracker Barrel gift shop and some freaky bizarre attempt to recreate the old set from Hee Haw. And this initial observation would be the highlight of my dining experience!
Those familiar with good NC BBQ will not be impressed by meat that is dry, lifeless and bland. When was it smoked — last Tuesday? The sides were no better — squishy, gloppy unseasoned goop — greens, beans, mac & cheese … all overcooked, under seasoned, and pretty much nasty. Yes, the red slaw was indeed unique. It was so acidic, that I was certain it would eat the enamel off of my teeth. Perhaps it can be also used to clean and disinfect the bathrooms?
Oh – and as for the turkey on display in the refrigerated cases — nothing says «fresh» quite like a thick plastic vacuum wrap and a born-​on date. «The plant is only a few miles away,» I was told. Mmmm. Yummy! I suppose that this food product did actually resemble a turkey at some point, but it sure doesn’t now!
Do yourself a favor. Take a picture of the cheesy décor — then get back in your car and keep driving. I see this kind of thing in East Carolina all the time –where the people that run this place are either ignorant of how good food is supposed to taste, or they’re just so cheap that they don’t give a damn.

I am not a big fan of smoked meats, however, I am a big fan of stopping at unfamiliar restaurants, country stores and gas stations. I can poke around and find something interesting.
Stegall’s is one of those places you drive by and say to yourself, I wonder what this is all about. I have lived in Charlotte for seven years and driven by numerous times on my way to visit my family. This year was the year I stopped.
They offer smoked turkeys, turkey jerky, a small selection of candies, jellies and antiques. From the looks of it, they just opened a tiny bbq restaurant. I will be stopping by on my next visit to the beach. They were out of the turkey jerky, so that is on my list of must haves 2010.
I grabbed a menu from the bbq restaurant, sandwiches, plates, chicken, ribs, pulled pork. Baked beans, mac & cheese, coleslaw, brunswick stew, cornbread and banana pudding.
I can’t wait to go there… TurkeyJerky out.

Hubby & I flew into CLT on our way elsewhere and drove past this little roadside joint early one Saturday morning. I spied it and said — On the way back, we ARE GOING there! The smell was amazing, and it just had that look of a place that a lot of folks wouldn’t stop at. But I know good food when I see/​smell it!
Sure enuf, on our way back out of NC last week, we searched for it, and finally found it, by following our noses. Heavenly Smell of hickory smoke and yummy meat & sauce!
We decided on just going all out, and got a 1 lb container of BULK pulled pork, a lg potato salad, and 1 sweet 1 tangy sauce to go. We figured we could make everyone on the plane jealous as we tucked into our fab dinner.
As luck would have it, we were sitting about 15 aisles apart, and it was an overfull flite! So we didn’t get to eat on the plane…
Our BBQ had to wait until the next night. SO we carried this precious cargo by hand, in it’s paper bag, thru 2 flights and a cab ride, put it all in the fridge at home and waited til the next nite to dig in.
100% Worth The Wait!!!
I mixed about half the pork w/​both tubs of sauce, heat it up on the stove, and we spooned it onto crusty rolls we bought fresh at home.
The pork was luscious, the sauces were exactly right.
The potato salad was about the best I’ve ever had, and I thought my Mom’s could not be duplicated. (i had to dig out the little chunks of red peppers, cuz I’m allergic, but otherwise it was delish!)
It’s official, we’re addicted — See ya next time Rock Store BBQ!