Driving down Route 158 south of the Virginia state line brings you into Currituck County, North Carolina and what could be called BBQ Row, which extends all the way into the Outer Banks. A smoky culinary feast for the senses awaits you as you pass down home establishments with signs extolling the particular virtues of their smoked meats. Starting at the north end of the county, I ate my way south and discovered why this, as much as anything else, is a part of Americana.

Currituck BBQ Company in the township of Barco is a prime place to pick up some choice pork BBQ as well as beef brisket, ribs or rotisserie chicken. Like most NC eateries, the main feature is slow cooked pork with an apple cider vinegar concoction.

Manager Hyla Ammons says what makes their BBQ the best is that they cook all their food on-site (Some places ship it in.), and they make all their sauces from scratch. Sauces, it seems, are as much a closely guarded secret as Area 51. Here, you can choose from Larry’s Original (sweet with a tomato base), brisket sauce (sweet and smoky) or vinegar.

On one of the walls, I noticed a map of the United States that was loaded with push pins showing from where visitors had come and every state was represented. “We have people who drive by, smell the food and then turn around,” says Ammons with a broad smile. That’s apparently when they get hooked, I thought, as I sampled the fare.

With a belly full of tart and tasty pork and beef, I continued south to my next feeding spot— BJ’s Carolina Café in Jarvisburg. With a hunting theme (Many of the booths are decorated to look like duck blinds.), BJ’s features hand cut BBQ pork with sides of baked beans, coleslaw and cornbread. I tried both the vinegar and red sauce and preferred the sweeter red.

Dennis Newbern is a lifelong local who says that BJ’s tastes like home cooking, which brings him back on a regular basis. “I like that they hand pull the meat,” he says. “It makes it leaner with less fat.” Less fat? That’s good to know, I said to myself as I wolfed down another sandwich, now feeling justified in finishing every bite.

After lunch, I was treated to some of BJ’s banana pudding and their Chocolate Surprise made with chocolate mousse, graham crackers and whipped topping. So much for saving on the fat, I mused as I waddled out the door.

Slightly heavier, I rolled down 158 to another popular spot simply called Saul’s. Owners Lynn and Oscar Turlington provide fine examples of the genteel Southern hospitality for which the South is known and it is easy to see why people come back time after time, not only for the warm welcome but also for the slow cooked pork sandwiches and ribs. Like most of the places I visited, the meat is cooked in an electric smoker overnight. Sometimes, though not in this case, the meat is cooked over hickory wood, but each owner has his or her own technique that gives the food its unique taste.

I tried—what else?—the pork sandwich with coleslaw and some secret red sauce along with sweet tea, a cold liquid staple in the South. Oscar, whose boyhood nickname was June Bug, said he named his sauce after this moniker and showed me a T-shirt emblazoned with June Bug’s Beetle Juice BBQ Sauce. That really says all you need to know about Saul’s, I thought, as I bid the folks farewell, preferring now to say y’all for some reason, and continued south on my mission.

Toward the southern end of the county, the road heads south toward Kitty Hawk but I turned west across the Wright Memorial Bridge and into the Outer Banks. I made my way north to the sleepy (except on weekends) town of Corolla and home to Sooey’s BBQ and Rib Shack. If you can call a strip mall a shack, looks not withstanding, Sooey’s offers hungry patrons both dine in or takeout options.

One of Sooey’s most popular items is the 3 Little Pigs that feeds up to 10 people. It includes 3 pints of BBQ pork, beef or chicken, fried chicken, hush puppies, and a pint of Wendell’s Sauce (named after the owner, Wendell Overton). “It’s famous in the Outer Banks,” they tell me. Of course it is, I muse. “Would you like a taste of the pork?” they ask. I think you know the answer.

While Sooey’s looks like a standard storefront, Corolla Village BBQ does have more of that backyard woodsy appeal. It is hard to miss so just follow the aroma and hoards of people around lunchtime in historic Corolla Village. This is a small wooden building with just one small takeout window, set among oak trees in the shadow of the famous Currituck Lighthouse.

Owner Rick Salvatore has been satisfying hungry customers with BBQ pork, chicken and ribs for eight years and he has been busy since opening day. Using hickory wood, Salvatore smokes his meat all night, chops it by hand and serves it up with his own mixture of apple cider vinegar and selected spices.

His operation is simple and people just have to wait their turn at the takeout window. “People try to send me their faxed orders,” he laughs. But the best part for Salvatore is getting to know his customers personally and that gives him a sense of fulfillment.

I totally understood the full part of fulfillment. As I lingered in the establishment’s kitchen, wondering if my wife would start calling me “Porky,” Rick interrupted my thoughts. “It’s all about the ambiance, techniques and sauces,” he said, pulling some meat off of the tray. “Here,” he offered, “try some!”