Origin: North Carolina (Eastern
Region)
Timeline: Pre-ColonialInfluences: American
There is a distinction in eastern
and western North Carolinian barbecue, Bob Garner, from his Guide to North Carolina Barbecue, wrote,
"From the very beginning, barbecue in North Carolina meant pork. During
the 1500s, the Spanish introduced pigs to the southeastern part of America.
Whereas cattle tended to fare poorly in the region, swine flourished nowhere
more so than in North Carolina."
He explains that the pork would be cooked over an open fire and would be seasoned with “Salty Vinegar", an ordinary table condiment of the time, which consisted of vinegar, salt, red and black pepper, and oyster juice… Salty vinegar liberally laced with pepper (but minus the oyster juice) is still basically the same sauce used on eastern North Carolina barbecue today
There are only two differences
between eastern barbecue and western (Lexington-style) barbecue. The first is ketchup,
and ingredient commonly added to the sauce of western barbecue. The other
difference is that in the eastern regions, they use the whole hog, both
white and dark meat, while in the west they cook only the pork shoulder. He explains that the pork would be cooked over an open fire and would be seasoned with “Salty Vinegar", an ordinary table condiment of the time, which consisted of vinegar, salt, red and black pepper, and oyster juice… Salty vinegar liberally laced with pepper (but minus the oyster juice) is still basically the same sauce used on eastern North Carolina barbecue today
 |
| Photo: Daniel Pineau |
Ingredients
7 pound pork shoulder, bone in
1 pint homemade barbeque sauce,
7 pound pork shoulder, bone in
1 pint homemade barbeque sauce,
1 gallon apple cider vinegar
1 (28-ounce) bottle Heinz ketchup
22 ounces light brown sugar
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup sea salt
1/2 cup crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Mix all ingredients in a 6-quart stainless steel pot. Bring to a boil then simmer about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand, about 30 minutes. Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
Preparation
1 (28-ounce) bottle Heinz ketchup
22 ounces light brown sugar
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup sea salt
1/2 cup crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Mix all ingredients in a 6-quart stainless steel pot. Bring to a boil then simmer about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand, about 30 minutes. Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
Preparation
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Wrap pork in aluminum foil and place
in a broiler pan. Cook for 7 hours, about 1 hour per pound. Remove from oven
and let stand for 1 hour.
Wearing heavy rubber gloves, pull skin from the meat and discard. Remove most of the fat and all of the bone. Cut meat into 8-ounce chunks and place in large pan.
Place meat on a charcoal fire and cook, covered, for another 30 to 45 minutes, until well smoked, turning meat over every 10 to 15 minutes. Pour barbecue sauce over meat during the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking.
Remove meat from the grill and chop into very small-sized pieces. Serve with additional barbecue sauce if desired.
