Name: Carolina Chopped or Pulled Pork ’Cue
Yield: Makes at least 10 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, or to taste; Freshly ground black pepper to taste; 2 heaping tablespoons dark brown sugar; 2 tablespoons salt; 1 cup ketchup; 2 tablespoons prepared mustard; One 8- to 9-pound boneless fresh pork shoulder (all skin and fat left on); One 10-pound bag charcoal briquets; ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce; 4 cups cider vinegar; 1 small bag hickory chips (available at nurseries and hardware stores)

Preparation info

Makes at least
10
servings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Glory of Southern Cooking

By James Villas

Published 2007

About

Barbecue (or ’cue) in North Carolina means hog and hog only (preferably whole hog), and this, in all my Tarheel prejudice, is the king of all barbecue: pit-cooked, hickory-smoked, spicy, vinegary, moist, slightly crackly, incredibly succulent chopped or pulled pork shoulder that is cooked at least 8 hours—a Carolina hallmark for centuries. Debate rages all over the state about the virtues of Lexington-style barbecue (with a slightly sweet vinegar-tomato sauce) versus those of Eastern style