**Savor the Smoky, Tangy Goodness of North Carolina Chopped Barbecue: A Culinary Journey through Three Tempting Recipes**
Embark on a delectable culinary adventure with North Carolina's iconic chopped barbecue, a dish that captivates taste buds with its smoky, tangy, and downright irresistible flavors. This regional specialty has been passed down through generations, with each recipe holding unique stories and traditions. In this article, we present three mouthwatering variations of North Carolina chopped barbecue, each offering a distinct twist on this classic dish. From the classic vinegar-based sauce to the rich and smoky Lexington-style, and the unique Eastern-style with its tomato-based sauce, these recipes will tantalize your taste buds and leave you craving more. So, fire up your grill or smoker, gather your ingredients, and let's embark on a journey into the world of North Carolina chopped barbecue.
EASY NORTH CAROLINA BARBEQUE
I just love vinegar-based barbeque. I looked high and low for an easy recipe for North Carolina barbeque; this is it! Be warned; your friends will want the recipe. Eat it with a fork or on rolls with coleslaw.
Provided by Phil
Categories Meat and Poultry Recipes Pork Pork Shoulder Recipes
Time 9h10m
Yield 10
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Trim the fat from the roast; place in slow cooker and cook on Low overnight, at least 8 hours.
- To make the sauce, whisk together the vinegar, melted butter, salt, lemon juice, crushed red pepper, hot sauce, black pepper, and sugar in a bowl.
- Carefully remove the roast to a cutting board. Pull the meat from the bone with a fork. Return the pork to the slow cooker. Pour the sauce over the pulled pork. Simmer for 1 hour more.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 448.6 calories, Carbohydrate 4.2 g, Cholesterol 134.1 mg, Fat 37.5 g, Fiber 0.7 g, Protein 23.4 g, SaturatedFat 18.6 g, Sodium 1630.3 mg, Sugar 2.8 g
NORTH CAROLINA PULLED-PORK BARBECUE
This classic pulled pork is the ultimate holiday weekend grilling project.
Provided by Ruth Cousineau
Categories Backyard BBQ Summer Grill Grill/Barbecue Gourmet Graduation
Yield Makes 8 servings
Number Of Ingredients 4
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.
CAROLINA-STYLE PORK BARBECUE
I am originally from North Carolina (where swine is divine) and this recipe for the slow cooker is a family favorite. My husband swears my authentic Carolina 'cue is the best BBQ he has ever eaten! -Kathryn Ransom Williams, Sparks, Nevada
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Lunch
Time 6h30m
Yield 14 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 15
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.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 453 calories, Fat 22g fat (6g saturated fat), Cholesterol 85mg cholesterol, Sodium 889mg sodium, Carbohydrate 35g carbohydrate (14g sugars, Fiber 3g fiber), Protein 27g protein.
GRANDMA'S CHOPPED BARBECUE
Provided by Sunny Anderson
Time 6h15m
Yield 16 servings
Number Of Ingredients 19
Steps:
- Heat the oven to 250 degrees F.
- With the tip of a knife, make 8 (2-inch) pockets all around the pork and insert a smashed garlic clove in each.
- In a small bowl, combine the seafood boil seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Rub the seasoning all over the pork then let rest at room temperature up to 2 hours.
- Place the pork in the bottom of a roasting pan and add enough vegetable stock to fill it to an inch deep. Cover very tightly with several layers of aluminum foil, getting the seal tight is really key here. The steam being locked in breaks down the pork to make it pull-worthy.
- Roast the pork, covered, in the oven for 2 hours then pull back the aluminum foil a bit and prick with a fork. If it is tender, remove the aluminum foil and a place back in the oven for 1 more hour. If it isn't tender yet, cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour more, making sure to add more stock if needed. Once tender remove the aluminum foil all together. If the liquid evaporates here, it's ok; it has done its job. Remove from oven then let rest at room temperature, then chop down to small chunks and mix with enough of Sunny's Pork Sauce, recipe follows to make it wet or dry to your taste.
- In a saucepot on medium-low heat, add the oil. Add the onions, garlic, and season with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook until both are tender, but not browned and then add the ketchup, vinegar, orange juice, and Sriracha. Taste and then add the sugar, to taste. This should be a loose sauce. Refrigerate or use right away.
EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA BARBECUE
Provided by Food Network
Categories main-dish
Time 10h50m
Yield 6 large servings
Number Of Ingredients 8
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.
GRANDMA'S NORTH CAROLINA PORK BARBECUE
This pork roast is so good and tender. What really makes this pork roast recipe different is the homemade sauce. It's tangy and sweet with a little bit of spice. The meat soaks up all the sauce after being cut up and infuses the flavor. This was great on a bun with a side of coleslaw, but the meat is so good it can be eaten...
Provided by Barbara Gabriel
Categories Pork
Time 6h15m
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- 1. Place roast in roasting pan. Combine remaining ingredients. Stir well and pour over roast.
- 2. Cover and bake for 5-6 hours at 325 degrees.
- 3. After cooking time remove meat and chop with knife and fork.
- 4. Return to meat to sauce, discarding bone and fat. Serve on buns.
- 5. Roast can also be cooked in a slow cooker on Med-High setting for 3-4 hours, check for tenderness and turn roast halfway through cooking time. When done remove meat and chop with kinife and fork. Return to meat sauce, discard bone and fat. Serve on buns.
CAROLINA CHOPPED PORK BARBECUE SANDWICHES WITH SPICY VINEGAR SAUCE
Provided by James Villas
Categories Sandwich Pork Vinegar Summer Grill/Barbecue Bon Appétit
Yield Makes 12 servings
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Combine first 8 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Simmer over medium heat 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 2 hours.
- Place handful of torn newspaper in bottom of charcoal chimney. Top with 30 charcoal briquettes. Remove top rack from grill. Place chimney on lower grill rack. Light newspaper; let charcoal burn until ash is gray, about 30 minutes.
- Open bottom grill vent. Turn hot charcoal onto 1/2 of bottom rack. Using metal spatula, spread charcoal to cover approximately 1/3 of rack. Fill 2 small foil loaf pans halfway with water and place next to charcoal on bottom rack. Sprinkle 1 cup chips over coals.
- Place top rack on grill. Arrange pork shoulder halves on top rack above loaf pans. Cover grill with lid, positioning top vent directly over pork. Place stem of meat thermometer in top vent with gauge on outside and tip near roast (thermometer should not touch meat or grill rack); leave in place during cooking. Use top and bottom vents to maintain temperature between 250°F and 325°F, opening vent wider to increase heat and closing to decrease heat. Leave other vents closed. Check temperature every 20 minutes.
- Cook pork 3 hours. About once an hour, light more charcoal in chimney set on bricks or cement to replenish charcoal in grill. Add 12 hot ash-tinged briquettes and 1 cup drained wood chips when cooking temperature drops below 250°F. Using sharp knife, make several crosswise slashes in meat (do not cut through). Brush with some of sauce. Cover and continue cooking pork until meat thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 165°F, about 2 1/2 hours longer, adding additional hot briquettes and chips as necessary to maintain temperature and basting occasionally with sauce.
- Transfer pork to cutting board; remove any tough rind. Chop meat into bite-size pieces. Transfer meat to large bowl and add enough sauce to moisten. Arrange bun bottoms on work surface. Top buns with pork; cover with tops. Serve, passing additional sauce.
SLOW COOKER CAROLINA BBQ
Miss the tarheel tradition of a pig pickin'? Then find yourself a crock pot, a big pork shoulder, some cider vinegar and get cooking! While ground and crushed red pepper will provide the basic heat - go the extra mile and find some Texas Pete (or Trappey's) pepper sauce to bring the taste of Carolina to your kitchen.
Provided by coolmonkshoes
Categories Meat and Poultry Recipes Pork Pork Shoulder Recipes
Time 12h15m
Yield 10
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Place the pork shoulder into a slow cooker and season with salt and pepper. Pour the vinegar around the pork. Cover, and cook on Low for 12 hours. Pork should easily pull apart into strands.
- Remove the pork from the slow cooker and discard any bones. Strain out the liquid, and save 2 cups. Discard any extra. Shred the pork using tongs or two forks, and return to the slow cooker. Stir the brown sugar, hot pepper sauce, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes into the reserved sauce. Mix into the pork in the slow cooker. Cover and keep on Low setting until serving.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 292.8 calories, Carbohydrate 3.6 g, Cholesterol 90.5 mg, Fat 17.3 g, Fiber 0.3 g, Protein 27.6 g, SaturatedFat 6.2 g, Sodium 775.5 mg, Sugar 2.9 g
Tips:
- Choose the right cut of meat: Pork shoulder (also known as pork butt) is the traditional cut used for chopped barbecue. It is a tough cut of meat, but it becomes tender and flavorful when cooked slowly.
- Use a good quality barbecue sauce: The sauce is what makes chopped barbecue so delicious, so it is important to use a good quality sauce. Look for a sauce that is thick and flavorful, with a balance of sweet, sour, and smoky flavors.
- Cook the meat slowly: Chopped barbecue is best when cooked slowly over low heat. This allows the meat to become tender and the flavors to develop.
- Shred the meat: Once the meat is cooked, it should be shredded. This can be done with a fork or with two forks. Shred the meat into small pieces, about the size of a nickel.
- Mix the meat with the sauce: Once the meat is shredded, it should be mixed with the barbecue sauce. Use enough sauce to coat the meat, but not so much that the meat is swimming in sauce.
- Serve the chopped barbecue: Chopped barbecue can be served on a bun, with coleslaw and pickles. It can also be served over rice or potatoes. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Conclusion:
Chopped barbecue is a delicious and easy-to-make dish that is perfect for a summer cookout or a casual get-together. With a few simple ingredients and a little bit of time, you can make chopped barbecue that will be enjoyed by everyone.
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