# NC Vinegar BBQ Sauce



## AL SEARS

Several years Back at Local Moose lodge a Member from NC would cook up some pork shoulders and make a tub of pulled pork with side dish of cole slaw at any rate he had a good size pan with ladel along side pan of pork ,in pan was this vinegar, crushed red peppers and one other ingredient i cant recall, many put cole slaw on top of pulled pork with a shot of this vinegar, any rate it was some fine eating can any one recall any thing along this line, not sure where he was from in NC I was close to Pungo/Knotts Island. Would like to put this spread out for local fishing club in Big Bend area of FL any help be appreciated al


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## fishinmama

think maybe you want to add a little brown sugar to cut the acidity of the vnegar & the heat of the peppers -- not much tho - maybe a tablespoon or so for 2 cups vinegar.


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## mutualchris

Maybe try a little ketcup.


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## sprtsracer

AL SEARS said:


> Several years Back at Local Moose lodge a Member from NC would cook up some pork shoulders and make a tub of pulled pork with side dish of cole slaw at any rate he had a good size pan with ladel along side pan of pork ,in pan was this vinegar, crushed red peppers and one other ingredient i cant recall, many put cole slaw on top of pulled pork with a shot of this vinegar, any rate it was some fine eating can any one recall any thing along this line, not sure where he was from in NC I was close to Pungo/Knotts Island. Would like to put this spread out for local fishing club in Big Bend area of FL any help be appreciated al


I am sure the NC folks will chime in here, but NC is divided when it comes to B-B-Q Sauce between West and East. The Western NC folks for the most part prefer the tomato based dark sauce and the Eastern folks prefer the vinegar based sauce. Here's a recipe' for the sauce you mentioned and the one I prefer, but what do I know...I'm originally from West Virginia

Barbecue Sauce:

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk well to dissolve the sugar. Place in a squeeze bottle and dress the pulled pork sandwiches to taste. 
Yield: about 2 cups

Of course, for a big gathering, you'd have to increase the quantities, but this is the best one I know of...for my tastes anyway. Some don't use as much ketchup and increase the mustard, but try this one first in the small batch at home and see what you think. I will sometimes make a pork roast in a crock-pot after I rub it with liquid smoke, and then "pull" it and add the sauce to the meat and mix it before I put it on the buns. And yes, topping it with cole slaw really sets it off. Of course, in WV, we make our hot dogs topped with chilli, slaw and onions, so the slaw is an absolute must! Hope this helps!


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## hokieboy

Yea down in NC we have lexington style and eastern style. The eastern style has more kick to it where as the lexington style has a more vinegary taste. Let me know which one you are looking for i have recipes for both. I also have some more ketchup based ones that are thicker then the vinegar based ones let me know what your looking for...


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## AL SEARS

I believe i am looking for the pretty plain(vinegar) liquid style dont seem to recall and red tint to vinegar,brown sugar may have been just the item i was over looking,so please pass on what ever recipes you think fits my request and Yes some Cole slaw sets it off nice , My Wife has to have chili on dogs and must have dijon and onions on brats. Thanks for any info , cant wait to smoke this shoulder AL


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## basstardo

Just post the recipes anyway. I'm pretty curious to see them all.


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## red_fish

i would post my TOP SECRET eastern nc family recipe but i might get in trouble for "recipe burning" lets just say viniger peppers and brown sugar are some good starters


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## fishinmama

AL -- go to google --- type in eastern nc bbq sauce - the first 2 recipes from "allrecipes" seem to fit the bill for what you are looking for


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## AL SEARS

Will try the ideas passed on and will goggle NC BBQ and see what I come up with, we have a bash of Many of Big Bend area fisherman every one brings something ,usually get some good treats .lot of guys do lot of smoking of meats. (Wild Hog/Venison/ Fish)so i will give it a try on this pork shoulder Thanks for infomation will advise how every thing turns out Al


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## SkunkApe

red_fish said:


> i would post my TOP SECRET eastern nc family recipe but i might get in trouble for "recipe burning" lets just say viniger peppers and brown sugar are some good starters


Red, you're cracking me up!!  What's the difference between posting a detailed fishing report vs. a detailed recipe report.....

Seems Chefs and fisherman have more in common than you would think! I know somewhere out there in cyberspace, there's some cooking websites that have the same drama for "burning" a recipe.... It's all ludicrous! 

Skunk


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## Gnatman

*It sounds more like...*



AL SEARS said:


> I believe i am looking for the pretty plain(vinegar) liquid style dont seem to recall and red tint to vinegar,brown sugar may have been just the item i was over looking,so please pass on what ever recipes you think fits my request and Yes some Cole slaw sets it off nice , My Wife has to have chili on dogs and must have dijon and onions on brats. Thanks for any info , cant wait to smoke this shoulder AL


...South Carolina BBQ sauce to me. Nothing red in there but chili peppers.

Try googling South Carolina barbeque sauce and you will get a number of recipes.

IMHO, SC BBQ is da bomb!


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## sprtsracer

Gnatman said:


> ...South Carolina BBQ sauce to me. Nothing red in there but chili peppers.
> 
> Try googling South Carolina barbeque sauce and you will get a number of recipes.
> 
> IMHO, SC BBQ is da bomb!


OK...I can see it now. NC vs. SC vs. TX vs. KC vs. TN vs. VA. Sand Flea will end up having to lock a thread in the recipe forum of all places, LOL. :beer:opcorn:


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## welshman

*You can order it*

From here...

http://www.scottsbarbecuesauce.com/


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## Newsjeff

This is the closest yer gonna find to Easter NC BBQ sauce. Not exactly perfect, but close enough.

Eastern is the real deal. None of that red, tomato paste crap. 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Eastern-North-Carolina-BBQ-Sauce/Detail.aspx


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## Outrigger

*good eats*

Despite my narrow-framed diminutive stature, very little can stand between me and a decadent-tasting NC pulled-pork sandwich…i rightfully account myself a discriminating connoisseur of the stuff…actually my college roomy hailed from the sleepy southern hamlet of Tarboro NC…a stone’s toss from Greenville NC and the campus of East Carolina University and more importantly B’s Barbeque…the Holy Grail of Eastern NC bbq’ing…there you’ll find cardiothoracic surgeons from Pitt Memorial Hospital, migrant workers, average joe’s and cash-strapped collegians queued up shoulder-to-shoulder in the rain just for the chance to banquet on their heavenly fare…seems that they always ran out of chicken by 2 o’clock and you just might have to “settle” for one of their mouth-wateringly scrumptious slaw-topped pork sandwiches.

Here in the D.C. area we have lots of BBQ establishments…mostly southern transplants offering their own interpretations of bbq…i have been to a few, but every place i visit i always compare it to the memorable savor of B’s…one place i can say that does it right is Carolina Brothers out in Ashburn VA right around the corner from my beloved Washington Redskins practice facility…i cycle past it on the bike trail just about every day and bought some bottles of their sauce for my first-ever, slow-cooked pork butt (shoulder)…10 hours cooking to be exact the other night…it was all consumed by family and friends in one sitting.

I found myself in your shoes about a year ago desperately scouring the web for vinegar-based bbq sauces…I bought a counter-ful of ingredients and set to work whisking up batches of sauce…I only gave it one go-round and didn’t get to fine-tweaking the ingredient proportions…but I’ll tell you that ones I did make were overpoweringly vinegary and not as flavory as B’s or Carolina Bros…sweet, spicy with a tangy kick at the end…you’ll need to try a few you think might be good and go from there…but if you’re going to the trouble of dry-rubbing and slow-cooking several pork shoulders, and want an award-winning sauce, here is the link to their website…if you want you can pm me contact info and I can find out about shipping you a bottle or two of their sauce which retail for about $5….good luck and bon appétit.

www.carolinabrothers.com


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## Newsjeff

Outrigger said:


> a stone’s toss from Greenville NC and the campus of East Carolina University and more importantly B’s Barbeque…the Holy Grail of Eastern NC bbq’ing.


I graduated from ECU in 1993. 

You are correct, sir. B's BBQ is that good. 

It should be on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Parker's ain't too bad, either. Good fried chicken, too.


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## basstardo

Newsjeff said:


> Eastern is the real deal. None of that red, tomato paste crap.


Truer words have never been spoken. That looks like a good recipe Jeff.


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## fishinmama

here's the other one (besides newsjeff's) that i suggested AL google -- the same, but different -- uses pepper flakes instead of sauce
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Eastern-North-Carolina-Barbeque-Sauce/Detail.aspx

but i agree - no tomato products in my sauce - yuck


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## big brother

I am a little hesitant to get my dog in this fight, but I do the pig pickin's for the college where I teach. A crowd of 3-400 is not unusual, I cook whole hog (I don't really care for the singular taste of butts) and can do 4 on my cooker. I used to spend a lot of time making my own sauce, a recipe passed down to me from my grandfather, who got it from his father who cooked for his company during the War of Northern Aggression. The sauce was good, but Scotts or Smithfields is just about as good. 
If there is a secret to good BBQ it is what you do about 18 hours before cooking. This was also passed to me, a dry rub of salt, pepper, *&%%)(<, &*$%#@, and (&&^@#%$^*&, massaged into the pig makes all the difference. If you have ever eaten BBQ that all looked the same color, it had no rub. Little Brother Tommy (the Carolina Cast Pro) will probably get the secret ingredients when I die, perhaps you can get it from him. LOL
charlie
afterthought-it is a Wayne County NC recipe, so you can understand my affinity for Scotts.


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## tom_s

A friend of mine makes it with Sauer's barbecue sauce,apple cider vinegar,red pepper flakes,and a shot of apple juice..Pretty good!..Found some bottled stuff called "Tilly's Sauce",made by Malbon's BBQ thats probably the best bottled stuff you can get,but be warned it's like 7 bucks a bottle,and well worth it!


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## sprtsracer

Made some of this up yesterday after slow-cooking a shoulder in the crock-pot all day. Pretty tasty, actually. Got a "hungerin'" for this stuff again after reading this thread for 2 days.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cider vinegar 
2 tablespoons molasses 
1 tablespoon ground dry mustard 
1/2 cup butter 
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar 

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix cider vinegar, molasses, ground dry mustard, butter, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Cook and stir until all sugar has dissolved. Do not allow the mixture to come to a boil.


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## surfchunker

*my secret*

is the molasses makes a huge difference ... I don't use pork but vension and people fight over it ... cole slaw is a must for me too ... and a little brown sugar also ...


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## sprtsracer

surfchunker said:


> is the molasses makes a huge difference ... I don't use pork but vension and people fight over it ... cole slaw is a must for me too ... and a little brown sugar also ...


Yup! I keep a jar of blackstrap molasses around all the time. It's also good to sop buttered biscuits in for breakfast! My grandmother used to get sulphur from the drug store and mix it in. Not sure what that did for it, but I hope it's not the same as what boiled eggs do to you!


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## wdbrand

If they took the vinegar away from you flatfooted tarheels, you couldn't boil water. Ruins a good BBQ after a tiny bit. wdbrand.


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## Rockstar

Alright fellas... get yourself a pork butt...

1 1/2 tbls. brown sugar
1tbl. paprika
2tbl. essence (google it)
1/2tbl. cumin
1tbl. salt
1tbl. cracked pepper
1tbl. cayenne pepper ground

Rub the pork with this, wrap, and pop in fridge...

In a seperate bowl... mix 

1/2cup apple cider vinegar
1/2cup distilled vinegar
1tbl. spoon crushed red pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke or to taste... you don't want to over do it. (pop it in the smoker if yah got one.)

Set this to the side and let it marinate overnight (as well as the rubbed BBQ)

You're ready to cook, pour your 'wet mop' (da vinegar in the bowl) over the BBQ, wrap the pan with plastic, then foil... and slow cook that sucker for 8-12hrs. Mix with 1/2 BBQ sauce (i like smokey cattlemans) and 1/2 vinegar sauce.. serve with slaw on toasted kaiser. It's alot of work, but this is hands down some GOOOD BBQ.


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## AL SEARS

I thank you one and all, it will take me some time to go through all of these recipes for the Grand winner who gets to come down to West Coast of Fl and go fishing on the Flats with me (FREE), wife also said Freezer full so not much room for Pork shoulder/Boston Butts/guess i could buy a freezer for Me.(Need one for bait and Ice any way)

I did not expect this Great response, Thanks for all great recipes, Wife gave away Crock pot so get a new one of those, as i can see a need for one. 

In event any one is head for west coast of Fl get in touch with me for any problems/questions i can help you with. AL


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## Chugg'n & plug'n

i always put a touch of ketchup in mine. i don't sauce it up a whole lot like westerners, but just enough to help it grab to the meat. i use apple cider vinegar too, but i also marinade and baste the shoulder with plain apple cider during the smoking process. mmmm mmmm i'm hungry


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## WNCRick

OK, if we're gonna argue BBQ (which is a birthright in this state) don't forget to argue red or white coleslaw, type and mixture of wood used for smoking, along with rubs and sauces.
Just thought i'd simplify things.


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## Flipper

I use this one:

1 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Mix and allow ingredients to mesh for 4 to 8 hours.

Great as a chicken marinade/basting sauce, too.


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## hokieboy

Flipper thats is pretty much a lexington style sauce. With you being in HP you ever do any fishing or field casting around High Point. If so shoot me a pm as not to steal this thread. I am from there and home from college time to time...


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## hokieboy

Red slaw on the bbq sandwich and white on the side. The only real difference between the two is that you use ketchup in the red slaw and mayo in the white. Both have there place...


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## Flipper

hokieboy said:


> Flipper thats is pretty much a lexington style sauce.


Actually, that is an Eastern NC style sauce.


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## hokieboy

What do u consider a lexington style sauce then?


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## Flipper

hokieboy said:


> What do u consider a lexington style sauce then?


About the same, but with some form of ketchup included.


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## hokieboy

k. The only reason i ask is b/c i worked at a popular bbq restaurant in HP for 4 years and your recipe was very similar to the one used there...


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## Flipper

Roger, that.  And just because a recipe is designated Eastern or Western, you're not bound by it.


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## hokieboy

deff...


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## Mike G

Here is one that I use...a little less sugar equals a little more tangy, a little more sugar equals a little more sweet.....GOOD.....

North Carolina Barbecue Sauce
Yields: about 1 2/3 cups


1 cup cider vinegar
2/3 cup yellow mustard
1/2 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients over medium heat. Bring to a boil and continue to boil for 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens, stirring constantly. Serve warm. 


Note: This is a super sauce that's good for basting or as a warm dipping sauce.


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## Southern Man

AL SEARS said:


> I believe i am looking for the pretty plain(vinegar) liquid style dont seem to recall and red tint to vinegar,brown sugar may have been just the item i was over looking,so please pass on what ever recipes you think fits my request and Yes some Cole slaw sets it off nice , My Wife has to have chili on dogs and must have dijon and onions on brats. Thanks for any info , cant wait to smoke this shoulder AL


I take apple cider vinegar, crushed red peppers, and butter. (the butter helps the BBQ sauce stick to the meat) Put it on the stove and bring the vinegar to a slow boil, sprinkle in red peppers in to desired hotness, add butter to thicken. The boiling of the vinegar takes care of the acid. 
Be sure you have a well ventilated room, it will take your breath away.
I think this is the recipe your looking for.


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## MinnerTime

This is what your looking for I'm sure.......
http://www.scottsbarbecuesauce.com/


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## Southern Man

MinnerTime said:


> This is what your looking for I'm sure.......
> http://www.scottsbarbecuesauce.com/


Cool I was trying to think of that brand. I take that and mix it 50/50 with Carolina TreeT Original Recipe . Makes one Hellova good sauce.
http://www.carolinatreet.com/


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## red_fish

wdbrand said:


> If they took the vinegar away from you flatfooted tarheels, you couldn't boil water. Ruins a good BBQ after a tiny bit. wdbrand.


hey hey watch it buddy give us some hog jawls and some fat back and look out


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## sprtsracer

red_fish said:


> hey hey watch it buddy give us some hog jawls and some fat back and look out


Now I can get into some good fatback. Especially on the grill...just keep a spray bottle of water nearby! Of course, it works wonders for my cholesterol and does miracles on my plaque in my arteries...but it's sooooooooo good!!!


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## WNCRick

I thought fatback (streaked meat) was steak till I was age 11 or so.


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## big brother

Well boys and girls, I'm into hour 5 of a 14 hour cooking for a pig pickin' I'm doing for the college where I teach. Four whole pigs [about 450 lbs], experience has taught me that 1 or 2 pigs take about 12 hours, then I need to add an hour for each additional pig. I do this once or twice a year and for a pickin' of this size, you gotta love doing it. My "help" will start wandering in around 9 in the morning and they always have a great time. If I ever figure out this picture posting thing I will post some pictures of my cooker.
Eastern Style Forever
charlie


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## big brother

now, about 11 hours after the last post it's all over. all that was left was one pigs foot and a good time was had by all. i'm going home and going to bed.
charlie


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## perchnut

that does it....this summer im going to do a whole pig.....ive been threatening for some time now.....Id love to see a picture of your cooker....


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