"Still Smokin' and Gonna Keep on Kicking at It. "

Brandon Cook of Cook's Barbecue, Lexington, NC.

Click to see our original profile of Brandon Cook: http://www.thebarbecuebus.com/2011/12/cooks-barbecue-born-in-pits.html

Cut by Rien Fertel and Chopped by Denny Culbert

Cook's Barbecue: Born in the Pits

Cooks Barbecue at the end of Valiant Drive in Lexington, NC. (Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus



In 1969, Doug Cook built his barbecue stand by hand, in a cul-de-sac plot down the road from home. There wasn’t much to Cook’s Barbecue at first: a pit/kitchen, a wooden chopping block, and drive-up window. When customers wanted a place to sit and eat their chopped barbecue plates, Doug Cook felled trees from the surrounding oak grove, and built himself a dining room. 


Brandon Cook and Cook’s Barbecue were born just one year apart. Friends and family jokingly tell the younger Cook that he was born in his father Doug’s barbecue pits. He remembers crawling in the fireplace as a child, flirting with the waitresses as a teenager, and eventually, under his the elder Cook’s tutelage, learning how to tend the pits, shovel-sling the cherry-red hickory coals, and slow smoke the Lexington-style shoulders.      


For years Brandon Cook avoided Cook’s; he viewed the future of barbecue—not just the business but the art form—with skepticism. In 2001, he returned to his family's restaurant, inheriting the role of pitmaster. Fitting for a man born in a pit.

- Rien Fertel/ The Barbecue Bus


Brandon Cook at Cook's Barbecue. (Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

Cook's Barbecue dining room. (Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)



Brandon Cook holds a shoulder fresh from the pit at Cook's Barbecue in Lexington, NC. (Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

Wood coals glow in the pit at Cook's Barbecue. (Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)





Pork shoulders on the pit at Cook's Barbecue. (Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

Brandon Cook takes a break before adding wood to the pit fire. (Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

The cat named Barbecue rubs against a statue outside Cook's Barbecue. (Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

The dining hall at Cook's Barbecue. ( Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)



Cook's Barbecue hush puppies. (Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)



Young cooks fry hush puppies and chop barbecue in the kitchen. (Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

The lean meat is separated from the bone, the fat and the skin before chopping. (Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)



"Dip" is added the chopped barbecue at Cook's in Lexington, NC. (Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

Cook's Barbecue, Lexington, North Carolina. (Photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

Cook's Barbecue
 366 Valiant Drive
Lexington, NC 27292


(336) 798-1928

Hours of Operation:

Wed - Thurs 11am - 2pm & 3:30pm - 8:30 pm

Fri - Sat 11am - 9pm

Sunday 11am - 8:30pm

How to Order Lexington 'Cue

Clockwise from the top left: Lexington Style Barbecue, sliced white meat with red slaw tray, skins, chopped white meat with slaw tray, dip (sauce), hush puppies, barbecue turkey breast, brown sliced tray, hush puppies, rolls. (photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

What we've learned about ordering Lexington style barbecue meat:

White chopped (Slightly sweet, finely chopped, the leanest of the lean shoulder meat)  

White coarse chopped (pictured on a sandwich)

                  White sliced (pictured with red slaw)

Brown sliced or coarse (The outside of the shoulder. This is the smokiest, slightly salty and crispier part of the shoulder, occasionally with a little fat mixed in.)

Brown chopped (From the same part of the shoulder as above, but finely chopped.)

An Introduction to Lexington 'Cue

On Tuesday, we ate barbecue three times before 1p.m. It was glorious. This was a fast introduction into Lexington 'cue, but we barely scratched the surface. There are sixteen barbecue joints in this town with a population of around 20,000. Each one a little different and with its own loyal following. We'll be in Lexington until Friday and will continue our education in the Piedmont style of barbecue. 

The smell of smoke fills the air around the Lexington Barbecue building,  Tuesday, November 15, 2011. (photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

Lexington Barbecue's dark red dip drips from a chopped sandwich with slaw. (photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

Tar Heel Q, Lexington, North Carolina. (photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

Hush puppies at Tar Heel Q (photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

Chopped barbecue plate with fries and white slaw at Tar Heel Q. (photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)

Pork skin at Backcountry Barbecue. An entire sandwich filled with this savory treat is available while supply lasts each day. (photo by Denny Culbert/ The Barbecue Bus)