Today we’re going to check out Old Colony Smokehouse in Edenton, NC. I’ve read a few reviews where people were raving about them so naturally I had to find out for myself. Going to Edenton was a pretty ride down Hwy. 17. We traveled through part of the Great Dismal Swamp in VA and on down past Elizabeth City through some really nice farmland. It’s just an enjoyable ride. And they’re surprisingly close to us. This is also a new restaurant. They’d only been open about 3 months at the time of our visit. So here’s what we found once we got there.
Old Colony Smokehouse Awards Shelf in the Dining Room.
The Restaurant and Staff:
Old Colony Smokehouse has a really nice restaurant. They’re located on W. Queen St. not far off of Hwy. 17. There also seems to be a marina at the same location. For some reason it reminds me of an old country store. I don’t know why, it just had that feel to me. They have a large dining room with plenty of seats which is a good thing. On line their hours are listed as 11:00 AM till 4:00 PM. Don’t be fooled, the sign on the door reads 11:00 – Sold Out. That was more like it. So here we come strolling in about 2:30 thinking we had plenty of time which we did but our choices were limited. Everyone was very friendly.
Katherine welcomed us and began helping us as soon as we walked up to the counter. I guess we had that I’m new here look. She was awesome but unfortunately she’s not a regular employee there. She was just down helping out so someone else could get the day off. Next came Adam Hughes, the pitmaster/owner. Adam works the line slicing and serving the meat choices. He was also really nice when we came through the line. The next young lady, we didn’t get her name, was serving up the sides and quickly noticed Tammy’s pig necklace and earrings. That’s just the type of attention to detail we received going through the line. They were great and made us feel right at home.
Timing is Everything:
The dining room was nearly full when we arrived. Like I said it was about 2:30. Turns out the locals know to get there early, especially if Old Colony Smokehouse is running a special that you want. Just like so many other places that only sell fresh meats, when it sells out that’s all until next time. So unfortunately for us several items were sold out when we got there including Chopped Pork and Brunswick Stew along with a couple of their sides. But that didn’t stop us from ordering up a feast so let’s get started.
Our Sides at Old Colony Smokehouse:
Tammy and I shared a tray today. You just order what you want and how much you want then they will total it up. So we decided to share this feast.
Our Feast at Old Colony Smokehouse.
We ordered Sliced Brisket, Smoked Cajun Sausage, Smoked Brisket Meatloaf, and Spare Ribs. We tried the Broccoli Salad, Loaded Potato Salad and Collards for sides. We also had a few Pickled Cukes, Pickled Jalapenos, Pickled Sweet Onions and Pickled Beats. Like I said, there was still plenty to choose from. So all the little pickled extras were wonderful and a very nice extra touch.
The broccoli salad was really good. Tammy really enjoys broccoli salad but it’s not usually my first choice for a side. I really did enjoy this one though. The loaded potato salad rocked. It was really like a loaded baked potato. I loved it. I do have a confession to make about collards. I’m a snob about them. I like the ones that I cook and rarely find any in a restaurant that I like as well. I’m just used to my style. Well, I’d eat the collards at Old Colony Smokehouse any day of the week. They have a great seasoning and cooked nice and tender. They were fantastic.
The Meats at Old Colony Smokehouse:
The first of the meats I had to try was the smoked Cajun sausage. It’s so hard to find good sausage. Well I found it at Old Colony Smokehouse. This sausage has a great flavor then they smoke it too. I loved it. They also have a SC Mustard Sauce that went great with it. Did I mention it’s homemade? Adam learned how to make sausage from his Grandfather who was a hog farmer and he owned/operated a butcher shop from 1985 until 2018.
Beautiful Smoker. Still getting broken in.
The smoked brisket meatloaf was wonderful. They grind their smoked brisket add green peppers, onions and seasoning to make a meatloaf and then smoke it again. They add a bbq sauce glaze on the top. That’s some good eatin’ there. I then moved on to the spare ribs. These ribs were simply amazing. They were smoked perfectly and had just a touch of sauce to give them a little glaze. The simple seasoning made these ribs great.
And finally we tried the sliced brisket. There’s a reason I saved this for last. This brisket is phenomenal. They prepare it Texas Style with a simple rub. Pretty much salt and pepper made this brisket great. It had perfect smoke flavor to compliment the seasoning and the brisket itself. Tammy and I both took a bite at the same time. Normally we don’t make any expressions until we both have tried something. This time both of us had our eyes pop wide open and had big smiles on our faces. We were both in shock over how great this brisket was. And it just melts in your mouth.
A Little Extra:
Well since they were out of chopped pork when we went through the line we picked up a pound to bring home from the cooler they have. We fixed this for supper a couple of nights later. Just warming it up gave our kitchen that wonderful smoke smell. Old Colony Smokehouse uses a light Eastern NC sauce made mainly of vinegar, pepper and a little sugar. The end result was some fantastic NC BBQ. It didn’t have a strong vinegar flavor but there
Pig Picking Cake.
was just a hint of it in the background. Again, great smoke flavor also.
Just a side note. If you like pimento cheese, try theirs. You will not regret it.
We also tried a couple of pieces of cake which were wonderful as well. We actually ate them in the parking lot before we left. It was after 4 by now and we didn’t want to hold anyone up from cleaning and closing down so they could get home. We were told about the 15 layer chocolate cake but they didn’t have any so maybe next time.
Final Thoughts:
So yes, we loved our visit to Old Colony Smokehouse. I can’t wait to get back down there. And I did learn my lesson. You might find me in line around 9:30 in the morning with my lawn chair. There are some items I need to try and don’t want them to sell out. Plus we have to watch the daily specials. I told Adam that at first he reminded me of Jesse, a pitmaster near home and I think they could be related. Both are humble and thoroughly enjoy their craft. Adam seems to love making his customers happy. Edenton, you have a gem. I truly hope you realize that. We will be back. Hey, who knows, maybe Edenton will be on my list of possible places to retire to. Everyone says I’ll pick my retirement by bbq.
Now For Your Thoughts:
Well let me ask for some of your input here. We’d love to hear from others who have been to Old Colony Smokehouse. How did your visit go?
I can see that this place has plenty of local support. Please feel free to share some of your wealth of information with us. I’m sure we’d all love to hear it. What are your favorites? Tell us about some of the specials. What else do I need to try when we get back down there? Employees are welcome to comment too. Everyone seemed to enjoy their jobs there. We just want to know all about your local BBQ spot.
Just scroll down and drop some comments in the box. I’ll get them posted as soon as I can.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Just a footnote. Check out their Facebook page photos to see even more amazing pictures of the food Old Colony Smokehouse has to offer.
I encourage you to share this review on Facebook and other social media sites. Follow us on Facebook to see where else we go.
You can check out their website at: https://www.oldcolonysmokehouse.com/
You can also find them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/oldcolonysmokehouse/
11 Comments
We are so thankful that Adam, Jimmy, and Elizabeth decided to open Old Colony Smokehouse in Edenton. The location did used to be a diner and bait shop so the transformation to what you see today is aMaZinG. Our local designer, Amy Roberson is responsible for that transformation. The art on the walls, also a local, artist Susan Birckhead. The flowers on the tables, also local, The Lily and the Lotus. I love that they support local small businesses. They even let me take a lot of the shots you see on FB and Instagram.
To the pit master and the chef – we love ALL the smoked meats and the sides are absolutely killer and we can’t wait to see what fun items you come up with next. What more can you stuff inside a pepper and wrap in bacon? The desserts….that 12 layer cake is sweet awesomeness. Thank you OCS – Edenton loves you!!
Kate. This is some awesome information. I was loving Old Colony Smokehouse already. You just made it even better. They are blessed to have local support like you all are giving. Thanks for all the extra info. I do appreciate it.
Old Colony Smokehouse has awesome food! Such a blessing to our community!!
Teresa. Thanks for the comments. Glad to hear they’re also a blessing to the community. I kind of had that idea but had not heard it from anyone. Thank you.
Where do I begin? My granddaughter was blessed to get a job at Old Colony Smokehouse. That is how I learned about the great food they have. The first time I tried it I could not get over how awesome the food tasted. I started with the brisket and have never tasted anything so good. Been back many times and anything I have tried is absolutely delicious. Not to mention the awesome food you can purchase out of their cooler. The employees are all so nice and friendly and my granddaughter has enjoyed working at Old Colony Smokehouse she only has the nicest things to say about the people she works for.
Billie. Thanks for adding to this. It is really great to hear everyone join in. I don’t know if your granddaughter was there on our visit but everyone we talked to was fantastic. We fell in love with the people and the food. Thanks for your input.
Amber. You obviously caught my retirement comment. Well I will certainly keep this in mind but I still have a few more years to work. I did tell Adam when we come back down it will be on a burnt end day. Glad everyone knows what they have there. Thanks again.
So nice to hear your critique of Old Colony. My husband and I ate there last Tuesday for the first time and were surprised how different it looks from how it was with previous owners. I was impressed with the display of all of the awards the pit master has earned. I love pulled pork so I had the pork barbecue with a mac & cheese side. My husband went for the brisket burnt ends. We bought dessert to go. Everything – was – delicious.
Sounds awesome. Glad to hear you enjoyed your visit. I really want some of those burnt ends. Thanks for the comments.
Adam and Elizabeth Hughes are doing a phenomenal job with OCS. I would like to give recognition to their Chef, Jimmy Strickland. He is responsible for all those delicious pickled veggies (my favs being the red onions and cukes). Jimmy puts a twist on ordinary sides to elevate them to scrumptious five star sides. Broccoli salad, collards and Brunswick stew are my absolute favs. When Jimmy creates his own special desserts, I’ll fight my way to the front of the line so I don’t miss out. Hats off to Adam and Elizabeth but a royal bow to Jimmy who works his magic “undercover”. My motto? “Always the best at OCS.”
Ruth. That sounds great. We didn’t get to meet the chef but I do know some of his work as you have mentioned. I have to go back for Brunswick Stew. I love it and they were sold out when we went. Thanks for the comments and for filling us in on Jimmy. And I love your moto. Take care and thanks again.