As soon as customers walk in, mouth-watering barbecue sandwiches and large plates are put together. But as owner Mike Neal tells us, his south Greensboro restaurant on Randleman Road doesn’t serve your ordinary barbecue.

Crack & Cheese Stuffed Turkey Leg. Mac & cheese with shredded turkey skin, glazed with BBQ sauce stuffed into a turkey leg.

N.C. is a top producer of turkeys to the entire U.S., and turkey is consistently in the top five commodities list according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture. Hogs may have been the No. 1 cash crop in the past, but turkey has surpassed it. And Hickory Tree Turkey BBQ in Greensboro has taken the…

In a state where pork barbecue is king, a man who does turkey barbecue is something of an anomaly. But Mike Neal is OK with that — and in his defense, he’s smoking whole, North Carolina-raised turkeys in an Eastern North Carolina style. Traditionalists will get the vinegary bite they love, with a fraction of the fat.

Wait a minute…barbecue turkey?! In North Carolina?! Oh, yeah! And you can find it right here in the Triad. Hickory Tree Barbecue in Greensboro actually makes turkey barbecue!

Neal, 39, owns Hickory Tree Turkey BBQ on Randleman Road. The Durham native has helmed the restaurant and catering service for five years, serving chopped turkey barbecue, along with giant turkey legs, turkey wings, and specialties like Crack-n-Cheese.

According to Mike Neal the best barbeque begins and ends with the best in fresh birds — turkey that is. That’s right, turkey. Neal is certifiably a North Carolina native, Durham to be exact, but his loyalty belongs to the turkey. “Turkey BBQ is healthier than the pork alternative. Health issues that run in our…

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, and people across the Triad are getting ready for the special day. Mike Neal, owner of Hickory Tree Turkey BBQ in Greensboro, says he and his staff have been working for days to prepare for Thanksgiving. “We did over a hundred birds this weekend,” he said. Neal specializes in barbecued, fried…