Big Jim's Bar-B-Q

190 N Coast Highway 101
Encinitas, CA 92024

(760) 635-1166

“Once you try a deep-fried turkey, you’ll never go back!”

So says Big Jim, owner of Big Jim’s Old South Bar-B-Q in Encinitas, California. Okay, so maybe you don’t think barbecue when it comes to Southern California, but Big Jim’s got it goin’ on. Where else can you find honest-to-goodness boiled peanuts and deep-fried turkey west of the Mississippi?

On Thanksgiving Day, Big Jim greeted every visitor outside his shop with a glass of champagne and a big grin. Behind him were 11 steaming deep fryers and a whole mess of turkeys waiting their turn, each bathed in a coating of bright red cayenne pepper. “Three-and-a-half minutes per pound at 350°F,“ says Big Jim. At that rate, a 15-pound bird is done in less than an hour! The smell was intoxicating, and the atmosphere festive and inviting.

A steady stream of people stopped by every few minutes to pick up deep-fried turkeys, ordered in advance. Big Jim’s fried 126 Thanksgiving turkeys-to-go this year. Most everyone stopped inside for a bowl of boiled peanuts and a beer; football fans watched holiday games while they patiently waited for their turkeys to finish up.

Inside, the restaurant was steeped in the tradition of Southern Thanksgiving with a special holiday menu. Tables were laden with plates that included generous portions of of deep-fried turkey (succulent and crispy all at the same time), Southern-style cornbread dressing, the creamiest mashed potatoes imaginable, sweet potatoes with raisins, green beans, and fresh cranberry sauce. Yum! Wash it all down with a great selection of beers on tap, and you have the makings of a holiday dinner worth comin’ back for... year after year.

Big Jim’s is worth a visit on non-holidays too. They have an extensive menu with a grande selection of ribs, pulled pork, fried chicken, catfish, and even salmon along with the usual southern sides that are impossible to find out west, like turnip greens, sweet potato fries, hush puppies, and fried corn on the cob. It’s so Southern that the University of Alabama Alumni meet there every week. Now, that’s saying something!

Big Jim Wade was born in Clanton, Alabama, and has been cooking barbecue for over 35 years. In 1998, he came to California to share his taste of the South. If you are into Southern-style barbecue, check out Big Jim’s. If you’ve never tried it, put some South in yo’ mouth. Big Jim’s will make you a believer!

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