BBQ Jew

This sign was all I needed to lure me to Nahunta.

I saw the billboard pictured above and it made me crave knowledge and enlightenment (and some pork).  Specifically, I wanted to understand what was meant by, “America’s Largest Pork Display.”  Could I be so lucky?  Could this statement really be true?  And what the heck does “pork display” mean anyway?  These questions burned in my mind like a pork shoulder over hot hickory coals.  So I decided to turn off Highway 70 just west of Goldsboro and follow the road to Nahunta Pork Center.  I’m glad I did.

The Pork King is a benevolent dictator.

The Nahunta Pork Center (NPC) has been around for over 30 years, and the story goes back  even farther to a 1950s hog market and slaughterhouse located in the small Wayne County township of Nahunta.  It’s hard to believe that anyone could run a successful business in NPC’s off the beaten path location–five miles off the main highway, out in the country and just past the race track, to be specific–for a year let alone half a century.  But judging by the amount of pork I saw for sale at NPC, they must be doing brisk business. 

When you walk in the front door at NPC, you immediately understand why they claim to have America’s largest pork display.  Also, you wonder where else in the world there might be a larger one.  It’s truly a scary thought.  I’m about as far from vegetarian as I can be short of injecting hog fat directly into  my bloodstream, so I’m not easily impressed by the sight of meat for sale.  But one glance at the pork display at NPC is enough to make the most devout carnivore hope to the heavens that God is not, in reality, an angry vegeterian (is there any other kind?).  If He is, I can at least take solace in the fact that the road to hell is paved with good swine. 

The view from the entranceway.

Country hams by the dozen.

 The pictures above don’t adequately show the sheer volume of pork available at NPC.  There’s regular cut bacon, thick cut bacon, breakfast sausage, dinner sausage, cured hams, ribs, loins, roasts, Boston butts, chitterlings, cracklings, pork chops and so much more.  The only non-pork items I saw for sale are various barbecue sauces, seasonings, and some frozen vegetables.  This is certainly not a one-stop grocery store.  Instead, it is–as advertised–a true pork center.  If you can’t find the product you want at NPC, you should probably open up your own store.  And if there is a larger display of pork anywhere in the world, I’d just assume not see it.  NPC is more than enough for me.

I highly recommend you drop by NPC next time you are headed down Highway 70 near Goldsboro.  If you don’t trust me, consider this gem from NPC’s website, which says, “Located in a relaxed rural atmosphere, Nahunta Pork Center provides a unique shopping experience away from the hassles of city shopping.”  That’s right, folks, next time you plan your all-pork shopping expedition and want to avoid the hustle and bustle that so often accompanies urban pork shopping, head on down to Nahunta.  Or, if you find yourself in the Raleigh area and don’t mind a little hustle and bustle, just drop by Nahunta’s “outlet” store at the state farmer’s market.

Filed under: 'Cue Culture | Tagged: Goldsboro, Nahunta, Wayne County |