Indulge in the tantalizing flavors of North Carolina-style pulled pork sandwiches, a culinary delight that captures the essence of Southern barbecue. These delectable sandwiches feature tender and succulent pulled pork slathered in a tangy and spicy vinegar-based sauce, nestled between two soft and fluffy buns. The article presents a comprehensive guide to creating this iconic dish, offering two enticing recipes that cater to different taste preferences.
For those who favor a classic and authentic experience, the first recipe showcases the traditional Eastern North Carolina-style pulled pork. This recipe emphasizes the harmonious balance between vinegar, pepper, and salt, resulting in a sauce that tantalizes the taste buds without overpowering the natural flavor of the pork.
The second recipe introduces a Western North Carolina-style pulled pork that incorporates a bold and smoky flavor profile. This version features a delectable blend of spices, including paprika, cumin, and chili powder, that infuse the pork with a rich and savory taste. The smoky undertones add an extra layer of depth and complexity, creating a sandwich that is both satisfying and unforgettable.
Whether you prefer the classic Eastern or the smoky Western style, this article equips you with the knowledge and techniques to craft mouthwatering North Carolina-style pulled pork sandwiches that will be the star of any gathering. Embrace the flavors of the South and embark on a culinary journey that promises to tantalize your taste buds and leave you craving more.
NORTH CAROLINA-STYLE BBQ PULLED-PORK SANDWICHES
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Categories main-dish
Time 15h30m
Yield 8 to 10 servings, with leftovers
Number Of Ingredients 21
Steps:
- Make small holes all over the pork shoulder with a thin sharp knife and stuff in garlic cloves. Rub the meat all over with the Memphis Shake; cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Prepare an outdoor grill with an indirect medium-hot fire with a mix of briquettes and hardwood charcoal in half of the grill. Set grate over coals. Place pork, skin side up, in an aluminum pan with about 1 1/2 cups water on the cooler side of the grate. Toss 1 cup of the soaked and drained wood chips onto the coals and cover the grill, making sure the lid's vents are directly over pork.
- When the coals cool to medium-low heat, preheat a chimney-full of hot briquettes and hardwood charcoal. Whenever smoke stops coming out of the vents, about every hour, add more hot coals and 1 cup of soaked and drained wood chips to the fire. The goal is to maintain a medium-heat, smoky fire (but don't worry if it is hotter when the coals are added and cooler while preheating the coals). Rotate the pork when you add coals so it cooks evenly. Cook the meat until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork registers 180 degrees F, about 6 hours.
- Set aside 1 quart of the North Carolina-Style Vinegar BBQ Sauce. Once the pork reaches 180 degrees F, begin mopping the entire surface of the meat every 20 minutes with some of the remaining sauce and the pan drippings. Continue to cook the pork, covering the grill between mopping, until an instant-read thermometer registers 200 degrees F, about 1 to 2 hours more.
- Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest for at least 15 minutes. Remove the outer skin and discard. Cut large chunks from the bone and shred, using 2 forks or your fingers, (when cool enough to touch) or chop. Toss with about 1 cup of the reserved barbecue sauce for every 3 cups of meat. Tuck the pork into the soft rolls and serve with pickles.
- Whisk paprika, brown sugar, oregano, garlic, ancho powder, salt, and celery salt in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 months.
- Heat the vinegar and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Off the heat, stir in the ketchup, honey, salt, red pepper, and black pepper.
SLOW COOKER CAROLINA-STYLE PULLED PORK
A moist and tender, slow-cooked pulled pork with a Carolina-style, vinegar based BBQ sauce.
Provided by Christin Mahrlig
Categories Main Dish
Time 8h50m
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- Place chopped onion on bottom of a slow cooker.
- Trim excess fat from Boston Butt and place in slow cooker on top of onions.
- Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour on top of pork. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.
- Combine all ingredients for BBQ Sauce in a medium saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove pork from slow cooker (after 8-10 hours) and place in a large bowl. Use forks to shred the meat.
- Discard the majority of liquid in the slow cooker. Return meat to slow cooker and add BBQ Sauce. Cover and cook on low 30 minutes. Serve.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 405 kcal, ServingSize 1 serving
NORTH CAROLINA-STYLE PULLED PORK
Melanie Dunia didn't know much about barbecuing when she was hired as a sous chef at The Pit in 2013, but her experience working in Asian restaurants turned out to be a real help: On one of her first days, The Pit's head chef asked her to roll a couple hundred of the restaurant's beloved BBQ Soul Rolls - North Carolina-style pulled pork, collards and carrots in an egg roll wrapper. "They were so impressed, but it was nothing for me!" she says. In just a few years she shot to the top spot in the kitchen and became the only woman in the region running a pit.
Provided by Food Network
Categories main-dish
Time 9h
Yield 15 to 20 servings
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Preheat a grill to medium low and prepare for indirect cooking: On a gas grill, preheat the grill, then turn off the center burners. On a charcoal grill, light the coals, then push to the edges of the grill, creating an open space in the middle; put a disposable aluminum drip pan in the middle of the grill under the grates.
- When the grill registers 250˚ F, place the pork on the grill grates over the cooler part. Cover the grill and cook the pork until the skin is crisp, the meat easily falls off the bone and a thermometer inserted into the center of the pork (away from the bone) registers 190˚ F to 200˚ F, 7 to 10 hours (if using charcoal, adjust the air vents and add more coals as needed so the temperature stays around 250˚ F).
- Meanwhile, make the barbecue sauce: Combine 1 cup water, the vinegar, hot sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes, 2 1/2 tablespoons salt and 2 teaspoons black pepper in a pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar and salt dissolve. Let cool.
- If using a gas grill, turn off the heat and carefully transfer the pork to a cutting board. If using a charcoal grill, do this quickly, as the grease may cause the coals to catch fire. Let the pork rest at least 30 minutes, then pull the meat off the bone with tongs and a large fork; discard the bones and any large pieces of fat. Chop the crispy skin and stir into the meat. Transfer to a bowl and toss with 1 to 2 cups of the barbecue sauce. Serve on buns with the remaining sauce.
NORTH CAROLINA-STYLE PULLED PORK
This recipe is delicious, especially when smoked with hickory chips on a charcoal grill. A spicy rub and a zesty vinegar sauce turn pork into a North Carolina favorite.
Provided by Doug
Categories Main Dish Recipes Pork 100+ Pulled Pork Recipes
Time 15h
Yield 10
Number Of Ingredients 19
Steps:
- In a small bowl, mix mild paprika, light brown sugar, hot paprika, celery salt, garlic salt, dry mustard, ground black pepper, onion powder, and salt. Rub spice mixture into the roast on all sides. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
- Prepare a grill for indirect heat.
- Sprinkle a handful of soaked wood over coals, or place in the smoker box of a gas grill. Place pork butt roast on the grate over a drip pan. Cover grill, and cook pork until pork is tender and shreds easily, about 6 hours. Check hourly, adding fresh coals and hickory chips as necessary to maintain heat and smoke.
- Remove pork from heat and place on a cutting board. Allow the meat to cool approximately 15 minutes, then shred into bite-sized pieces using two forks. This requires patience.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together cider vinegar, water, ketchup, brown sugar, salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and white pepper. Continue whisking until brown sugar and salt have dissolved. Place shredded pork and vinegar sauce in a large roasting pan, and stir to coat pork. Serve immediately, or cover and keep warm on the grill for up to one hour until serving.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 425.9 calories, Carbohydrate 12.1 g, Cholesterol 134.9 mg, Fat 23.1 g, Fiber 0.8 g, Protein 39.1 g, SaturatedFat 8.3 g, Sodium 1698.4 mg, Sugar 10.1 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.
NORTH CAROLINA PULLED PORK
I got this from an North Carolina native and it is the best. It is pretty much foolproof. This is made in the slow cooker.
Provided by skibunny2k
Categories Main Dish Recipes Pork 100+ Pulled Pork Recipes
Time 9h15m
Yield 6
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Preheat slow cooker on Low for 15 minutes.
- Season pork shoulder with salt and pepper; place pork in preheated slow cooker. Mix ketchup, brown sugar, and vinegar in a bowl; pour over pork.
- Cook on Low for 8 hours. Transfer pork to a large platter and slice into 3 to 4 pieces. Shred meat with 2 forks and return to slow cooker. Continue to cook for 1 hour.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 209 calories, Carbohydrate 17.8 g, Cholesterol 56.8 mg, Fat 6.4 g, Fiber 0.1 g, Protein 19.7 g, SaturatedFat 2.3 g, Sodium 265.1 mg, Sugar 16.3 g
SPICY CAROLINA STYLE PULLED PORK (IN CROCK POT) RECIPE
i made this last week, my first attempt at pulled pork, and it was a winner. i had a spicy carolina style pp sandwich at a native american festival, and got into a chat with the cooks. this was the recipe, from what i can recall as it was told to me. by the way, this is by no means a low fat dish. trying to make it low fat will just not be the same. please enjoy it the way it was meant to be. pork fat rules!
Provided by buckytom
Categories One Dish Meal
Time 4h15m
Yield 6-8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- combine the brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper, and rub the mixture over the roast. wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate a few hours, overnight is best.
- in a bowl, combine the vinegar, worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. mix well.
- place the quartered onions in the bottom of the crock pot. unwrap the roast, and place on top of onions. drizzle most of the vinegar mix over the roast, reserving some to add to the shredded meat at the end.
- cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, or high for 4 to 5 hours.
- remove the meat and onions to a cutting board. remove skin and set aside. using two forks (or your fingers, if you have asbestos hands), pull and shred the pork. chop the onions, and mix into the shredded meat. using a fork, remove some of the fat from under the skin, mince, and add to the shredded meat and onions as needed for moisture and flavor.
- serve on warm buns or crusty hard rolls, with the remaining vinegar mixture on the side.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 980.7, Fat 68.5, SaturatedFat 23.7, Cholesterol 268.4, Sodium 1115.7, Carbohydrate 19.3, Fiber 2.5, Sugar 12.2, Protein 66.5
CAROLINA-STYLE PORK BBQ SANDWICHES
Arguably, some of the best 'cue in the country can be found in North Carolina, where two distinct types of slow-cooked pig prevail. The first is Eastern barbecue, which is distinguished by slow-cooking a whole hog and including both the white and dark meat in chopped sandwiches and platters. Eastern 'cue boasts just a hint of vinegar and red pepper, which is added to the meat mix rather than used as a sauce. Western North Carolina 'cue (aka Lexington-style) is made from pork shoulder only. In addition to incorporating plenty of vinegar, sugar, and spices, it also mixes in a good amount of ketchup to create an actual sauce for the pork. This slow-cooker recipe falls somewhere in between.
Provided by Kendra Bailey Morris
Categories Pork Sandwich Grill/Barbecue North Carolina
Yield Serves 10 to 12 (about 8 cups of meat)
Number Of Ingredients 24
Steps:
- Make the pork:
- Spray the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray.
- Put the onions in the slow cooker. Make slits in the pork roast and insert the garlic cloves. Rub salt, pepper, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes into the meat. Place the pork in the slow cooker fat side up and pour in the vinegar and apple cider. Cover and cook on low for at least 10 hours and up to 12 hours, until the meat is falling-apart tender.
- Transfer the meat to a large bowl and shred it with two forks. Set aside.
- Make the sauce:
- Pour 2 cups of the pan juices into a measuring cup; discard any leftover juices still in the pot. Let cool and skim off any visible fat. Pour this liquid into a saucepan. Add the water, ketchup, cider vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, paprika, dry mustard, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker and add 1 cup of the sauce mixture (more if you like it wet). Give it a stir and set the slow cooker to warm until ready to serve.
- Assemble the sandwiches:
- Serve the pork straight from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon, along with buns, slaw, and hot sauce. Serve the additional sauce on the side.
NORTH CAROLINA PULLED PORK BBQ SANDWICHES
Make and share this North Carolina Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches recipe from Food.com.
Provided by Rita1652
Categories Lunch/Snacks
Time 4h20m
Yield 10-12 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- BBQ Sauce:.
- In medium bowl, combine vinegar, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, salt and hot pepper sauce. Divide sauce into two portions; set aside.
- Pulled Pork:.
- At least 1 hour before grilling, soak wood chips in enough water to cover; drain before using. Rub meat with salt and black pepper. In a charcoal grill with a cover, place preheated coals around a drip pan for medium indirect heat. Add 1/2 inch hot water to drip pan. Sprinkle half of the drained wood chips over the coals. Place meat on grill rack over drip pan. Cover and grill about 4 hours or until meat is very tender. Add more preheated coals (use a hibachi or a metal chimney starter to preheat coals), wood chips and hot water every 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove meat from grill; cover with foil and let stand for 20-30 minutes. Using a fork, shred meat into long, thin strands. Pour sauce over shredded meat; toss to coat. Serve on toasted buns. If desired, top meat with coleslaw. Serve remaining sauce on the side.
- * Note: For gas grills, preheat and then turn off any burners directly below where the food will go. The heat circulates inside the grill, so turning the food is not necessary.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 613, Fat 38.6, SaturatedFat 13.2, Cholesterol 128.9, Sodium 583.4, Carbohydrate 27.7, Fiber 1.1, Sugar 8.4, Protein 34.5
Tips:
- Choose a pork shoulder (also known as pork butt) that is at least 4 pounds. This will ensure that you have plenty of pulled pork for sandwiches.
- Use a good quality BBQ rub. A good rub will help to flavor the pork and give it a nice crust.
- Cook the pork shoulder low and slow. The ideal cooking temperature is between 225 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooking the pork at a low temperature will help to keep it moist and tender.
- Cook the pork shoulder until it reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the pork reaches this temperature, it will be fall-apart tender.
- Let the pork shoulder rest for at least 30 minutes before pulling it. This will help the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, making it even more tender and flavorful.
- Serve the pulled pork on toasted buns with your favorite toppings. Some popular toppings include coleslaw, BBQ sauce, and pickles.
Conclusion:
North Carolina-style spicy pulled pork sandwiches are a delicious and easy-to-make meal. By following these tips, you can make sure that your pulled pork sandwiches are perfect every time.
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