Best Carolina Style Barbecued Pork Loin Recipes

CAROLINA-STYLE PORK BARBECUE

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.

NORTH CAROLINA PULLED PORK

Steps:

• 1. If using the rub, combine the mild paprika, brown sugar, hot paprika, celery salt, garlic salt, dry mustard, pepper, onion powder, and salt in a bowl and toss with your fingers to mix. Wearing rubber or plastic gloves if desired, rub the spice mixture onto the pork shoulder on all sides, then cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, preferably 8.
• If not using the rub, generously season the pork all over with coarse (kosher or sea) salt and freshly ground black pepper; you can start cooking immediately.
• 2. Set up the grill for indirect grilling and place a drip pan in the center.
• If using a gas grill, place all of the wood chips in the smoker box and preheat the grill to high; when smoke appears, reduce the heat to medium.
• If using a charcoal grill, preheat the grill to medium-low and adjust the vents to obtain a temperature of 300°F.
• 3. When ready to cook, if using charcoal, toss 1 cup of the wood chips on the coals. Place the pork shoulder, fat side up, on the hot grate over the drip pan. Cover the grill and smoke cook the pork shoulder until fall-off-the-bone tender and the internal temperature on an instant-read meat thermometer reaches 195°F, 4 to 6 hours (the cooking time will depend on the size of the pork roast and the heat of the grill). If using charcoal, you'll need to add 10 to 12 fresh coals to each side every hour and toss more wood chips on the fresh coals; add about 1/2 cup per side every time you replenish the coals. With gas, all you need to do is be sure that you start with a full tank of gas. If the pork begins to brown too much, drape a piece of aluminum foil loosely over it or lower the heat.
• 4. Transfer the pork roast to a cutting board, loosely tent it with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15 minutes.
• 5. Wearing heavy-duty rubber gloves if desired, pull off and discard any skin from the meat, then pull the pork into pieces, discarding any bones or fat. Using your fingertips or a fork, pull each piece of pork into shreds 1 to 2 inches long and 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide. This requires time and patience, but a human touch is needed to achieve the perfect texture. If patience isn't one of your virtues, you can finely chop the pork with a cleaver (many respected North Carolina barbecue joints serve chopped 'cue). Transfer the shredded pork to a nonreactive roasting pan. Stir in 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the vinegar sauce, enough to keep the pork moist, then cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it on the grill for up to 30 minutes to keep warm.
• 6. To serve, mound the pulled pork on the hamburger buns and top with coleslaw. Let each person add more vinegar sauce to taste.

CAROLINA-STYLE "WHOLE HOG" BARBECUE PORK

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Cut ribs, pork shoulder, tenderloin, pork belly, and pork sirloin in half.
• Combine kosher salt, brown sugar, smoked salt, smoked paprika, black pepper, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne for dry rub in a small bowl with a spoon.
• Season cuts of meat on both sides with dry rub; reserve about 4 teaspoons of the rub to season the cooked pork if needed after tasting.
• Place a piece of heavy-duty foil on a sheet pan. Place a half of ribs down in the center of the foil; top with shoulder, tenderloin, pork belly, and sirloin. Top with other rib half. Wrap tightly in 3 more layers of foil. Transfer to a Dutch oven.
• Roast in the preheated oven until meat is falling off the bone and very, very tender, about 9 hours.
• Remove bones and pull/shred meat before serving. All or some of the rendered fat can be mixed into the meat.

SLOW COOKER CAROLINA BBQ

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.

EASY NORTH CAROLINA BARBEQUE

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.

CAROLINA SMOKED PORK

Steps:

• Preheat smoker to 250 F. Place pork butt in the center of the cooking grate, fat-side down. Cover and smoke 8 hours, undisturbed. Check smoker temperature hourly; add charcoal and use vents as needed to maintain a temperature of 250 F through the duration of cooking.
• Make Carolina BBQ Sauce: In a mixing bowl combine sugar, black pepper, chili powder, crushed red pepper, and hot sauce to make a paste. Add the Sweet BBQ Pit Sauce, followed by vinegar; stir well to combine. The final consistency should be quite fluid, rather than thick. Makes about 2 cups of Carolina BBQ Sauce. (Store in a covered container at room temperature for several months.)
• Check for doneness by placing a digital thermometer into the center of the pork, avoiding contact with the bone. Temperature should register 170 F. Use heat-proof gloves to remove pork to a large cutting board on a flat work surface. Chop the pork: As you chop, the pork will cool, so plan on doing this as the last step before serving. The meat should be tender and falling apart. Pull the bone out of the meat: it should come away smoothly, with no meat clinging to it. Discard bone. Pick through the meat and set aside any bits that you don't want to include in the final dish, such as the barky exterior or excess fat. (You may opt to include everything: Pitmaster Jones says the final mix is up to you!)
• Using one cleaver, begin to chop the meat, using your free hand to carefully steady the pork butt. When the meat is in large chunks, use both cleavers at the same time to finish chopping. Use the cleavers to toss the meat on the board as you go; repeat the chopping-tossing process until the meat is bite-size and well mixed. Drizzle a small amount of Carolina BBQ Sauce on top of the meat; continue chopping and stirring to combine. Add more sauce to taste: the goal is to lightly complement the smoky flavor of the pork without overwhelming it. Makes about 7 lbs chopped pork. (Sam Jones's serving suggestion: Cool leftover pork in the fridge, then serve as a sandwich on white bread with mayonnaise.)

EASTERN NC PULLED PORK BBQ IN A CROCK POT

Steps:

• Quarter and slice the onion into little arches. Place about half an onion's worth in the crock pot as to line the bottom.
• Place the whole pork shoulder into the crock-pot. Take just a small amount of sauce to dampen the shoulder.
• Cover with a generous coating of spice rub, if desired.
• Top with remaining onion slices. Take 75% of the sauce and pour it around the pork shoulder. Then pour the white and cider vinegars around the pork.
• Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours.
• When cooking is complete, remove cover and then carefully pull the bone out of the pork shoulder (BE CAREFUL! IT WILL BE HOT!).
• Carefully remove the meat and half of the onions from the crock-pot and put into a large bowl, leaving behind as much of the cooked vinegar solution behind as possible. A slotted spoon may be needed.
• Then with two forks (or your hands once the meat has cooled a little, if you are so inclined), "pull" (shred) the meat.
• Pour in most of the remaining, "uncooked" sauce, saving a little to add to BBQ sandwiches as desired. (Personally, I prefer using Texas Pete on my sandwiches.).
• Serve as sandwich or BBQ plate.
• Enjoy!