The BBQ Thread

Sounds like y'all know what you're doin' down there! Actually, I don't make this often, partly because the butts are so big and it's a lot of food. But DLSF who is visiting from SF wanted it. Yes, I did use a Carolina vinegar sauce on one of my two sliders. I like the sliders because they're smaller, you know. My second one, I used a Rufus Teague mustard KC sauce, you can see the blurry pic of it in the background of the last photo. But the vinegar does add a nice tangy bite. We also had some homemade coleslaw which we put on top. :D
 
It is a rainy day here in NC. I am thinking about going to the grocery and picking up a smaller pork butt and seeing if I can crank out some pulled pork by late dinner time. Cutting it short on the usual low and slow route, but I like a challenge :) And you all have me jones-ing for some 'Carolina BBQ' ...
 
Boone said:
It is a rainy day here in NC. I am thinking about going to the grocery and picking up a smaller pork butt and seeing if I can crank out some pulled pork by late dinner time. Cutting it short on the usual low and slow route, but I like a challenge :) And you all have me jones-ing for some 'Carolina BBQ' ...
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The best sauce is the vinegar Lexington style. I hate sauces that are thick like gravy. :poop:
 
There is a BBQ joint in Wilson, NC called Parkers. They serve the East Carolina 'chopped' pork style (vinegar). Here is what I think is their sauce recipe.

1 cup Apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 Tbl brown sugar

Here is how I think Parkers smokes their butts:

Parkers BBQ

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Ingredients
8-10 lb pork butt (shoulder) Costco sells boneless in two pieces. 2 smokes
Parkers vinegar sauce

Directions
Inject half of the vinegar sauce and baste. Let sit one hour.
Smoke 6 hours until 165 internal temp (basting with vinegar sauce every 60 minutes after 1.5 hours)
Wrap with foil, basting it first
Smoke until 203 internal temp
Drain juice and save some of it
Wrap back up in foil and store cooler 1-2 hours
Separate and chop
Add remaining sauce to taste.

Smoker temp 235-240 degrees and cherry or apple wood
 
I ended up with an 8 lb bone-in butt (smallest I could find) and here was my process. Dried butt, coated with yellow mustard and then used a McCormack Bourbon Brown Sugar rub on it. Fired up Big Green Egg and added apple wood chunks and 3 heads of garlic to firebox. Got butt in BGE around 11am at 250 degrees. I let it smoke till 3:30 by which time the bark had set up. Then spritzed it every half hour with a 50-50 mix of Apple Juice and Apple Cider Vinegar with some red pepper flakes added. At 5 pm I pulled it off and wrapped tightly with butcher paper and put it back in BGE. An hour later I pulled it off, put it in a thermo bag, wrapped that in a blanket and put it in a cooler to rest for an hour. I had made a Western Carolina sauce as it cooked with apple cider vinegar, a little apple juice, red pepper flakes, garlic and onion powder, a little of the rub, some brown sugar, and ketchup. It was still very thin (that was for you skinsmarydu), and made a little extra.

Pulled the butt out after an hour of rest, shredded with my claws and added about a cup of the sauce to the meat and mixed it well.

Served with homemade Cole slaw and it was really great.

I would say you absolutely can make pro-level pulled pork in 7-8 hours if you use a smaller butt.
 
Boone said:
I ended up with an 8 lb bone-in butt (smallest I could find) and here was my process. Dried butt, coated with yellow mustard and then used a McCormack Bourbon Brown Sugar rub on it. Fired up Big Green Egg and added apple wood chunks and 3 heads of garlic to firebox. Got butt in BGE around 11am at 250 degrees. I let it smoke till 3:30 by which time the bark had set up. Then spritzed it every half hour with a 50-50 mix of Apple Juice and Apple Cider Vinegar with some red pepper flakes added. At 5 pm I pulled it off and wrapped tightly with butcher paper and put it back in BGE. An hour later I pulled it off, put it in a thermo bag, wrapped that in a blanket and put it in a cooler to rest for an hour. I had made a Western Carolina sauce as it cooked with apple cider vinegar, a little apple juice, red pepper flakes, garlic and onion powder, a little of the rub, some brown sugar, and ketchup. It was still very thin (that was for you skinsmarydu), and made a little extra.

Pulled the butt out after an hour of rest, shredded with my claws and added about a cup of the sauce to the meat and mixed it well.

Served with homemade Cole slaw and it was really great.

I would say you absolutely can make pro-level pulled pork in 7-8 hours if you use a smaller butt.
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Sounds great!
I usually cut 8lbs in half, or have the butcher do it. That Carolina vinegar sauce is similar to one that I make, minus the rub , garlic & onion powder. I use a dash of salt & white pepper instead.
 
Skinsfan1311 said:
That Carolina vinegar sauce is similar to one that I make, minus the rub , garlic & onion powder. I use a dash of salt & white pepper instead.
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I've kinda got it memorized, but mine was passed on to me by a former co-worker who was a UNC fan and she threatened me because I was in her car with a Duke lanyard keychain once :ROFLMAO: . She now owns the restaurant we go to for brunch occasionally.

Still, it's absolutely awesome, kinda the "mix to taste" thing. The local BBQ joint I go to has 4 handmade sauces, one of them is vin but not quite right...their mustard sauce, however, would make your head spin like Linda Blair...fabulous. I have a buddy that goes there so often he has the restaurant's labeled squirt bottles in his house. He brings 'em back in and they just fill 'em up for him. :cool:
 
skinsmarydu said:
I've kinda got it memorized, but mine was passed on to me by a former co-worker who was a UNC fan and she threatened me because I was in her car with a Duke lanyard keychain once :ROFLMAO: . She now owns the restaurant we go to for brunch occasionally.

Still, it's absolutely awesome, kinda the "mix to taste" thing. The local BBQ joint I go to has 4 handmade sauces, one of them is vin but not quite right...their mustard sauce, however, would make your head spin like Linda Blair...fabulous. I have a buddy that goes there so often he has the restaurant's labeled squirt bottles in his house. He brings 'em back in and they just fill 'em up for him. :cool:
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Alas....I'm not a big fan of mustard sauces....but I'm always willing to try!
 
Skinsfan1311 said:
Alas....I'm not a big fan of mustard sauces....but I'm always willing to try!
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There's a restaurant in Savannah called Johnny Harris (known for fried chicken...in a seafood town!) that has a bottled one on grocery store shelves, I've heard it's good but never tried it, even when I lived and ate there! I was just curious at my local place and tried it...and since I'm a dipper, I squirt both sauces on my plate and use whatever I'm feelin' for that next bite.
They also have great sides and a cornbread waffle appetizer with this funky seasoned drizzled syrup stuff that's mind-blowing.

Edit, add: Walmart near me used to carry all of the Johnny Harris sauces, but don't anymore here...but they have CC Mambo Sauce!!!
 
Boone sounds about right. No sweet pickles or pickled onions? 🤣 I used to also make spicy pickled okra which are killer. I like that acid to contrast the fat of the pork, even with the Carolina vinegar sauce.

Wish I could have been there to get some! What buns do you use potato rolls?
 
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Wednesday is beef rib special day at the BBQ place, they're usually sold out by 11:30. My friend is working today tearing down a set for a TV show he set up years ago, and I have to take Sabrina to the vet at 2.
Dinner might be take-out. Their brisket is amaze-balls.
 
Done!
We'll be eating them cold at a picnic tomorrow, so I stuck 'em in the fridge for easier slicing tonight. It gives me an excuse to break out the slicer. Will serve 'em with raw onions, hot horseradish and Sweet Baby Ray's

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This was interesting. This is my recent 'hot hold' brisket where I held it at 150 degrees for 17 hours after I smoked it. The extended hold at 150f will melt the fat and connective tissue like they do in the Texas joints. The pic below was that brisket vac sealed and frozen and now thawed.

Look at all that rendered fat! I'm heating it up now for dinner tonight. I'll also add that the only tallow I added was around two tablespoons to soften the bark and I did not inject anything either.

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skinsmarydu said:
I was a Hardee's & an Arby's manager in a long-forgotten life...I know slicers...I'll pay you to ship that plate to me!!! :chef:
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I have a love/hate relationship with the slicer.
I love how great it works.
I hate to clean it...
 
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