North Carolina Pulled Pork

North Carolina Pulled Pork

North Carolina Pulled Pork is one of our traditional recipes we make every Summer. We will make 10 or more pounds so we can freeze most of it and enjoy it all year long until the next Summer, if it lasts that long. There are many styles of BBQ, across the country, and we’ve made most of them using all the traditional meats. North Carolina Pulled Pork is still our favorite when we make pork.

This is a Western Carolina Style, which means the rub and sauce are a bit sweeter with a sweet tomato base for the sauce. The Mopping Sauce is more Eastern Carolina, which uses vinegar as the base just as an Eastern Carolina BBQ uses as the base. The mopping sauce keeps the meat moist during it’s 6 to 8 hour journey, without adding any vinegar flavor. The spices do add some extra flavor to the crust while cooking.

We have used all of our BBQ Rubs with this recipe, so you can easily use any of our rubs if you prefer one over another.

Serve with your favorite coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni & cheese or other favorite side dish. You might want to double the recipe if your grill has room so you’ll have some leftovers since your guests might finish a single recipe.

Serves 6 to 8
6 to 8 hours Total Cooking Time

Ingredients:
1 bone-in Boston butt pork roast, about 4 to 5 pounds
North Carolina BBQ Rub, about 1 tablespoon per pound
Hickory Chips, soaked in water for an hour
Mopping Sauce (see below)
Your Favorite BBQ Sauce for serving

Directions:
Trim the pork roast of an excess fat, but leave a nice cap on it. This helps to keep it moist while grilling. Rinse and pat dry. Rub well all over with the North Carolina BBQ Rub. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or 3-4 hours in the refrigerator if you have the time.

Set up a 250 degree grill at one end of your gas or charcoal grill. Clean grates with a wire brush. Lightly oil the grates with vegetable oil. Place the meat at the other end of the grill. Add the soaked hickory chips to your smoker box or on your charcoal, according to your grill’s instructions.

Every 15 to 20 minutes, baste the meat with the hot mopping sauce. Replenish your hickory chips as necessary to keep a good smoke going. Grill for 6 to 8 hours. The internal temperature should be 195 degrees when an instant read thermometer is inserted into the thickest part.

Let stand 15 minutes. Shred pork with 2 forks. Chop up the burnt crust and mix in to give extra flavor to the meat. Serve with coleslaw, Macaroni & Cheese or your favorite BBQ side dish.

Carolina Mopping Sauce
Ingredients:
2 Cups Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Cup Water
3 Tablespoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tablespoon Smoked Spanish Paprika
1 Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, add all ingredients and whisk to combine. Heat over medium heat and keep warm on low when using.