Best Carolina Chopped Pork Barbecue Sandwiches With Spicy Vinegar Sauce Recipe Epicuriouscom Recipes

NORTH CAROLINA PULLED-PORK BARBECUE

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 BBQ SANDWICHES

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.

CAROLINA PULLED-PORK SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Make dry rub:
• Mix first 5 ingredients in small bowl to blend.
• Place pork, fat side up, on work surface. Cut each piece lengthwise in half. Place on large baking sheet. Sprinkle dry rub all over pork; press into pork. Cover with plastic; refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)
• Make mop:
• Mix first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate.
• Following manufacturer's instructions and using lump charcoal and 1/2 cup drained wood chips for smoker or 1 cup for barbecue, start fire and bring temperature of smoker or barbecue to 225°F. to 250°F. Place pork on rack in smoker or barbecue. Cover; cook until meat thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 165°F., turning pork and brushing with cold mop every 45 minutes, about 6 hours total. Add more charcoal as needed to maintain 225°F. to 250°F. temperature and more drained wood chips (1/2 cup for smoker or 1 cup for barbecue with each addition) to maintain smoke level.
• Transfer pork to clean rimmed baking sheet. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Shred into bite-size pieces. Mound on platter. Pour any juices from sheet over pork. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Transfer pork and any juices to baking dish. Cover with foil; chill. Before continuing, rewarm pork, covered, in 350°°F. oven about 30 minutes.)
• Divide pork among bottoms of buns. Drizzle lightly with barbecue sauce. Top with coleslaw. Cover with tops of buns.

CAROLINA CHOPPED PORK BARBECUE SANDWICHES WITH SPICY VINEGAR SAUCE

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.