ro's bbq slaw recipe

It's The Real Deal Gastonians!

R.O.'s Barbecue Slaw

4 cups grated cabbage
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 cup sweet mixed pickles
3/4 cup catsup
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
2 oz. jar pimentos, drained
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mustard

Mix all ingredients in blender or food processor and chill. I dare you to try this and compare!

My grandmother was raised beside the Blacks, the family that owns R.O.'s (R.O. Black ) and Tommy's Drive In, which serves the exact same slaw as R.O.'s.

Mrs Black shared the recipe with my gran. It's still a huge secret and the above recipe is soooo far off and wrong.

The slaw does NOT have pickles, it has Dukes Sandwich Relish (MUST be Duke's brand).

The mysterious red is Pimento Cheese (Ruth's brand). NOT pimentos.

The slaw only has 5 ingredients, and another is cayenne pepper.

Well then, that explains why it tastes like crap! That is not slaw to me.

I make a slaw that puts you to sleep! It is good for rednecks!!!!

Redneck slaw...has to have Dukes. RO's and Blacks looks like throw up and an artery buster. How about holding the slaw and making a salad instead.

You want a decent coleslaw for that Wayne Co. barbacue? Use a food processor. Throw in some cabbage, tiny bit of green pepper, half a carrot, some pickle relish and if you like it HOT ,1/2 jalapena pepper. Add some light mayo and a small amount of vinegar and sugar to taste. Carolina Good!!

if you have this recipe give it up[

if you have the right ingerents for the blacks or r.o. slaw give it up

Do they put fescue in it with mustard???

Sweet!

So, Anyway...

RO's slaw indeed has sweet pickles in it, but the "cubed" kind, not relish and not whole. Also, chili sauce, not ketchup, is the primary tomato ingredient. Otherwise, the recipe posted above seems about right.

I've eaten at RO's and Black's in Gastonia hundreds of times and each has a soupy slaw mixtire that doesn't have a lot of cabbage in it. So, based on trial and error this is what I make...
1/2 cup finely grated cabbage
1 cup Duke's Mayo
1/2 cup Ketchup
1 cup Dukes Sandwich Relish
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup Ruth's Pimento Spread

yum!

Hey Close in Shelby - I used to date one of the Blacks' sons back in my college days, and your recipe is the closest to the real thing!

Gaston Local wrote:

Well then, that explains why it tastes like crap! That is not slaw to me.

So true. I have lived in this area for 7 years and originally from Greensboro NC. My father was a BBQ man for 60+ years. His restaurant was established in 1932 in Greensboro with his brother. They had three locations and he was well known for his BBQ.
Since that time, I have traveled most of the USA and eaten BBQ from the West Coast to the East Coast..I love NC Eastern BBQ with the vinegar base as well as the NC Piedmont BBQ, such as my father served.
But..unfortunately, since moving to the Gaston County area I can truthfully say the BBQ here is ghastly and I've tried RO's only 1 time.
Basically, this is what I got. A poorly constructed sandwich with a huge pile of soggy BBQ on a bun drenched with what appeared to be "Thousand Island" dressing aka "RO's Slaw". If there was any cabbage (main ingredient for slaw) in that concoction it was faint.
RO'S BBQ is nothing short of "BARFeCue". I swear to God I cannot understand what all of the hooplah is about but they have this nasty crap in grocers and people actually buy it. Now I will say on their behalf, that yes, it could be used for a dip of sorts but to rape a pig sandwich with it is a crime against nature.

Close wrote:

I've eaten at RO's and Black's in Gastonia hundreds of times and each has a soupy slaw mixtire that doesn't have a lot of cabbage in it. So, based on trial and error this is what I make...
1/2 cup finely grated cabbage
1 cup Duke's Mayo
1/2 cup Ketchup
1 cup Dukes Sandwich Relish
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup Ruth's Pimento Spread

Just looking at these ingredients and imagining them on pulled pork is nauseating. You eat this crap on a pork sandwich? Damn, you must have an iron clad stomach.

IMO, RO's and Black's is it's own type of BBQ as I've never had any like it elsewhere. I love it, maybe that's because I grew up with it? Eastern BBQ is boring, and it always amazes me how snobbish eastern BBQ people are about it considering how boring it is. Oh well, don't be a hater!:)

ROs fan wrote:

IMO, RO's and Black's is it's own type of BBQ as I've never had any like it elsewhere. I love it, maybe that's because I grew up with it? Eastern BBQ is boring, and it always amazes me how snobbish eastern BBQ people are about it considering how boring it is. Oh well, don't be a hater!:)

To each his own, but I read books, paint and write to conquer boredom, I eat to satisfy hunger. I suppose if you like that type of thing and grew up around it... but if I think about it much, I get a sickening, swirling feeling in the pit of my stomach. All I remember is a very soggy pork sandwich dripping with what tasted like a weird,cheap, nasty tasting bottled thousand island dressing..

I have had RO's only two times in my life and there is nothing that compares to the slaw, however i an willing to try the recipes shown. I live in California but my husband was born and raised in Gastonia. There is nothing out here on the west coast that even resembles RO's! Only thing is we dont have Dukes brand and what is pimento spred? If anyone has answers please let me know!!!!