Three Carolina Barbecue Sauces for Pulled Pork

By Daniel Hale

I recently went to the Carolina Pig Jig in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Jig is exactly what it sounds like: a pork-heavy barbecue competition where teams serve their take on Carolina barbecue. It’s held during the Got To Be NC Festival in Raleigh, and guests get to taste the barbecue and vote for their favorite.

I knew I was going to get good barbecue. What I didn’t know was how many different personalities pulled pork could have from one plate to the next.

Some competitors served pork with a sharp, vinegary sauce. Others leaned a little sweeter. Some brought the heat. A few let the pork, smoke, and seasoning do most of the talking.

If you don’t know, there is a friendly barbecue sauce war in North Carolina, and I found myself right in the crossfire.

That was the inspiration for this Memorial Day cookout: homemade Carolina barbecue sauce in a few different styles, starting with the two North Carolina classics. There’s something satisfying about making it yourself, especially when you can taste how much the sauce changes the pork.

One sauce is eastern North Carolina-style. The other is western North Carolina-style, often associated with Lexington-style barbecue.

Eastern North Carolina sauce is vinegar-based, thin, peppery, tangy, and spicy. Western North Carolina sauce still has vinegar, but it usually includes tomato for a little more body, color, and sweetness.

North Carolina is pork country. Barbecue here is tied to whole hog cooking, pork shoulders, pig pickin’s, competitions, family gatherings, and long days around smoke. Pulled pork also happens to be a perfect Memorial Day dish. It feeds a crowd inexpensively, can be cooked ahead of time, and pairs with simple sides like slaw, baked beans, potato salad, and grilled corn.

Since this was my first time making barbecue sauce from scratch, I wanted to keep it simple. So I started with the two recipes below.

Eastern North Carolina Vinegar Sauce

Suggested Basic Proportions

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar, optional
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce, optional (I used Texas Pete)

Method
Combine all ingredients in a jar or bowl. Stir or shake until the salt and sugar dissolve. Let stand at least 30 minutes before serving. For best flavor, make it a few hours ahead.

Western North Carolina Tomato-Vinegar Sauce

Suggested Basic Proportions

• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup ketchup or tomato sauce
• 1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar or granulated sugar (see note below)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Hot sauce to taste, optional (I used Texas Pete)

Method
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring until blended. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Cool slightly before serving. Adjust the vinegar, pepper, or sweetness to taste.

BONUS RECIPE: South Carolina Mustard Barbecue Sauce

And since barbecue arguments don’t stop at the North Carolina border, I added one more sauce to the table: South Carolina mustard sauce. It isn’t part of the Eastern-versus-Western North Carolina debate, but it absolutely belongs with pork. Mustard gives the sauce body and tang, while vinegar and heat keep it sharp enough to cut through rich pulled pork.

Suggested Basic Proportions

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup Dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce, preferably Crystal, or more to taste (I used Texas Pete)
• Coarse salt, kosher or sea
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method
Melt the butter in a heavy nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft but not brown, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the mustard, brown sugar, vinegar, and hot sauce. Add 1/2 cup of water. Let the sauce simmer, uncovered, until thick and richly flavored, 6 to 10 minutes.

Taste for seasoning, adding more hot sauce, salt, or pepper as needed. Let the sauce cool to room temperature before serving.

A quick note: I used Monk Fruit & Erythritol Zero Calorie Sweetener in place of the sugar, along with sugar-free ketchup. Regular sugar, brown sugar, and regular ketchup will work, too.

You can toss these sauces lightly with pulled pork, serve them on the side, drizzle them over pulled pork sandwiches, or mix them into chopped pork. The Western sauce also works well on grilled chicken, while the Eastern sauce can brighten up slaw.

Just don’t drown the pork. Start with a little sauce and add more as you go.

The Carolina Pig Jig reminded me that pulled pork has more range than I realized. A little vinegar, pepper, tomato, smoke, and time can take pork in completely different directions.

For Memorial Day, making both an Eastern-style and Western-style North Carolina barbecue sauces gives everyone at the table something fun to argue about, in the best possible way. I realize that at some point I’m going to have to pick a side, but for now, I’m enjoying both.

The presentation of these recipes has been brought to you by Wildfire Outdoor Living, an Arizona-based company specializing in high-performance gas grills and premium outdoor kitchen solutions. Wildfire brings a commitment to cutting-edge technology and industry-leading innovation. Their 304 stainless steel design and illuminated LED knobs, cast stainless steel burners and laser-cut stainless steel cooking grates create products that will provide peak performance. They also allow you to customize your outdoor kitchen with designer finish knobs and handles to meet the growing demand for designer outdoor kitchens.

Thank you Wildfire Outdoor Living!

Carolina Barbecue Sauce: Frequently Asked Questions