Eastern North Carolina Barbecue Recipes

EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA BBQ SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the white vinegar, cider vinegar, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper in a jar or bottle with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 days before using so that the flavors will blend. Shake occasionally, and store for up to 2 months in the refrigerator.

CAROLINA-STYLE PORK BARBECUE

Steps:

• Cut roast into quarters. Mix brown sugar, salt, paprika and pepper; rub over meat. Place meat and onions in a 5-qt. slow cooker., In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and seasonings; pour over roast. Cook, covered, on low 6-8 hours or until meat is tender., Remove roast; cool slightly. Reserve 1-1/2 cups cooking juices; discard remaining juices. Skim fat from reserved juices. Shred pork with two forks. Return pork and reserved juices to slow cooker; heat through. Serve on buns with coleslaw.

EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA BARBECUE SAUCE WITH A WEST COAST TWIST

Steps:

• Whisk honey, black pepper, red pepper flakes, salt, apple cider vinegar, and white distilled vinegar together in a bowl. Let sauce sit overnight to blend flavors together.

EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA-STYLE BARBECUE SAUCE

Steps:

• Whisk ingredients together in a bowl. Drizzle on barbecued meat. Covered, sauce will keep about 2 months.

NORTH CAROLINA PULLED-PORK BARBECUE

Steps:

• Bring vinegar to a boil with sugar, red-pepper flakes, 2 tsp salt, and 1 Tbsp pepper in a small nonreactive saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then cool. Set aside 2 cups vinegar sauce to serve with sandwiches.
• While sauce cools, score pork skin in a crosshatch pattern with a sharp knife (forming 1-inch diamonds), cutting through skin and fat but not into meat. Pat meat dry and rub all over with 1 Tbsp each of salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before grilling.
• Prepare grill for indirect-heat cooking over low heat, leaving space in middle for disposable roasting pan.
• When coals have cooled to about 300°F (45 minutes to 1 hour; when most coals will have burned out), put disposable roasting pan on bottom rack of grill between the 2 remaining mounds of coals, then fill pan halfway with water. Add a couple of handfuls of unlit charcoal to each charcoal mound, then put grill rack on so hinges are over coals.
• Oil grill rack, then put pork, skin side up, on rack above roasting pan. Grill pork, with lid ajar (for air, so coals remain lit), basting meat with sauce and turning over every 30 minutes (to maintain a temperature of 250 to 275°F, add a couple of handfuls of coals to each side about every 30 minutes), until fork-tender (a meat fork should insert easily) and an instant-read thermometer inserted 2 inches into center of meat (avoid bone) registers 190°F, 7 to 8 hours total.
• Transfer pork to a cutting board. If skin is not crisp, cut it off with at least 1/4 inch fat attached (cut any large pieces into bite-size ones) and roast, fat side down, in a 4-sided sheet pan in a 350°F oven until crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.
• When meat is cool enough to handle, shred it using 2 forks. Transfer to a bowl.
• Serve pork, cracklings, and coleslaw together on buns. Serve reserved vinegar sauce on the side.

EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA BARBECUE

Steps:

• Add hickory, oak, and maple chunks or chips to your smoker. Refer to the directions for your smoker to determine the correct amount of chips for the meat and for lighting instructions. When the chips are ready, add the pork and smoke it for 2 to 2 1/2 hours at 250 degrees F. Remove the pork and wrap it in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Cook the pork for 6 to 8 hours or until the meat is tender and falls apart when the bone is removed. Chop the pork coarsely and mix in salt and Barbecue Sauce, to taste. Serve with more Barbecue Sauce on the side.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, red pepper, garlic, and salt over high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-high. Boil for 15 to 20 minutes and then remove from the heat. Let cool then add the black pepper.

EAST CAROLINA BBQ SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a jar or shaker. Seal and shake until sugar has completely dissolved. Use or store at room-temperature for up to 2 weeks.

EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA BBQ SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the white vinegar, cider vinegar, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper in a jar or bottle with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 days before using so that the flavors will blend. Shake occasionally, and store for up to 2 months in the refrigerator.