North Carolina Vinegar BBQ Sauces of the “Eastern Carolina” style may vary in nuanced or minor ways, but true to form, they must share the following flavor profile: watery thin, tangy, with a little spicy vinegar kick.
No ketchup in this sauce, folks. In fact, if you see any hint of “red,” it’s likely from cayenne or Tabasco. In the early days of whole pig roasting along the Eastern Carolina coastline and even down into the northeast portion of South Carolina, Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce was meant to cut through the rich and fatty pork, impart some flavor and a little zing, and cleanse the palate.
I really like Eastern Carolina style barbecue. Being here in Central Florida, it’s not an option to get it pre-made, at least not in any form I consider high quality. My only option is to try to replicate it as best I can at home using one of the Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce recipes you see below.
As I don’t operate a traditional brick fire pit, my pitiful recreations are but shadows of what the folks mentioned in this post create.
I will, however, be heading up to North Carolina again soon. Most likely, I’ll be hitting just the Lexington area – but I’ll take a tomato-infused North Carolina vinegar-based BBQ over none at all!
Best Carolina Vinegar BBQ Sauce Recipes: A History
Being a history teacher, I love reading about the backstory behind the early Eastern Carolina BBQ sauce recipes.
One of the best, if not the very best resource you can pick up if you are interested in the history of North Carolina BBQ is a book entitled Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue by John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed.
You may remember me talking about John Shelton Reed and his efforts over at TrueCue.org – a site dedicated to preserving the history of true wood-smoked NC style BBQ and heralding the BBQ establishments in North Carolina that still cook using traditional methods vs. gas or electric smokers. (See my post on TrueCue.org here.)
Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce Recipes Defined
The origins of North Carolina BBQ sauce recipes derive from a history of basting meats with salted acidic marinades and mops dating back long through the ages. In the US – and specifically in the early years of British colonization along the North and South Carolina coastlines – this basting or mopping liquid was known as katchup (ketchup).
Not to be confused with the tomato version we think of today, the first printed ketchup recipe dates back to Eliza Smith’s 1727 recipe found in The Compleat Housewife, or Accomplish’d Gentlewoman’s Companion – shown as follows:
Take a wide mouth’d bottle, put therein a pint of the best white-wine vinegar; then put in ten or twelve cloves of eschalot peeled and just bruised; then take a quarter of a pint of the best Langoon white wine, boil it a little, and put to it twelve or fourteen anchovies washed and shred, and dissolve them in the wine, and when cold put them in the bottle.
Then take a quarter of a pint more of white-wine, and put in it mace, ginger sliced, a few cloves, a spoonful of whole pepper just bruised, let them boil all a little; when near cold, slice in almost a whole nutmeg, and some lemon peel, and likewise put in two or three spoonfuls of horse-radish; then stop it close, and for a week shake it once or twice a day; then use it: ‘Tis good to put into fish sauce, or any savoury dish of meat; you may add to it the clear liquor that comes from mushrooms. — Eliza Smith (1727)
Today’s Eastern Carolina Vinegar BBQ Sauce recipes remain virtually unchanged from the one you see from Smith above. No matter what variations you see in the two recipes I share below, you’ll note that salt and acid play a key role.
Authentic Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce Recipes
I want to preface this list of Eastern Carolina Vinegar BBQ sauce recipes by stating that we all have our preferences. Though you may have favorite combinations that remain staples in your pork prep, I hope you will give one of these a try. I think you’ll like them.
Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce Recipe #1 – Old-Time Eastern North Carolina BBQ Sauce
This recipe comes directly from the Reeds’ Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue, and I again urge you to check out this book either in Kindle or Hardback form, as it’s an amazing read.
- 1 Gallon Cider Vinegar
- 1 1/3 Cups Crush Red Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Black Pepper
- 1/4 Cup Salt
Mix the ingredients and let stand for at least 4 hours. This one requires no refrigeration.
Reed then goes on to explain that the Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce recipe used at the the famous Skylight Inn – Ayden, NC – makes things even simpler by using Texas Pete instead of crushed red pepper.
Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce Recipe #2 – Dennis Rogers’ Holy Grub
Reed then goes on to reference a sweet and sour version of Eastern Carolina BBQ sauce – referencing Dennis Rogers’s “Holy Grub Sauce.”
- 1 Gallon Cider Vinegar
- 1 Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar or 1/2 Cup Molasses
- 3 Tablespoons Crushed Red Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Cayenne
- 1/4 Cup Salt
Again, mix the ingredients and let stand for at least 4 hours.
Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce Recipe #3 – Draper’s Carolina Pig Dip
Shane Draper over at Draper’s BBQ has been a good friend of mine for a long time. An expert pitmaster who crafts some amazing rubs and sauces, he sent me his favorite Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce Recipe:
- 1 gal Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 cup Paprika
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cup White Sugar
- 1/3 cup Salt
- 2 tbsp Cayenne
- 2 tsp Cayenne
- 2 tbsp Black Pepper
- 2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 cup water
- 1 pck xanthan gum (.32 oz — or 9 grams)
Blend well and let sit refrigerated overnight so the flavors can meld together nicely.
Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce Recipe #4 – Barn Goddess Carolina Q Sauce
I reached out to my good friend Lori Frazee (AKA the Barn Goddess) for her “go to” Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce Recipe. She’s an amazing pitmaster, and I really respect her culinary skills. You’ll notice she kicks up the spice a bit with this one!
- 3 Cups Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Cups Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Hot sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Red pepper flake
- 2 Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1/8 Cup salt
Mix together and heat until sugar and salt is dissolved. This sauce can be served hot or cold. Shake well before using.
Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce Recipe #5 – Vince’s Carolina Sweet Heat
I put an all call out for a good Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce recipe via a video on my Facebook Page. Gotta love my readers! Vince Collier offered up this one, so I’m sharing it here.
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup apple juice or white grape juice
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
- Dash of salt
Directions
1. Combine ingredients in a non-reactive bowl
2. Wisk until sugar dissolves and pepper flakes begin to settle
3. It is best when left to sit a day or two.
Looking for a Ready-Made Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce?
Looking for a ready-made, yet authentic sauce that stands true to a trusted Eastern Carolina BBQ sauce recipe? Try Scott’s Carolina Barbecue Sauce (16 oz). Though Scott’s BBQ in Goldsboro, NC stopped cooking in wood only pits long ago, the sauce developed by Reverend Adam Scott and tweaked by his son in 1940 remains true to its Eastern North Carolina roots.
This stuff is thin… but it packs a PUNCH! So much so that there’s a story of a burglar who hid in a barrel of the stuff waiting out the cops and stayed in the sauce for as long as he could stand it prior to having to flee. The story goes that Scott’s didn’t press charges – figuring that the burglar had suffered enough!
Great Video on Eastern Carolina BBQ
To round out this post on Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce Recipes, I wanted to share the following two videos. The first features Michael and Bryan Voltaggio as they visit Wilber’s BBQ in Goldsboro, North Carolina. The second is a video from Munchies.tv featuring the history of Skylight Inn in Ayden, NC.
Wilber’s BBQ – Goldsboro, NC
Skylight Inn – Ayden, NC
For the record: The first public sale of Whole Hog BBQ took place in Ayden, North Carolina, in the 1930’s.
184 years later, Sam Jones is carrying on the family tradition of cooking Whole Hog BBQ as the 7th Generation pitmaster of his family’s BBQ restaurant, The Skylight Inn. Since 1947, The Skylight Inn has become an icon in the BBQ world for selling one thing and one thing only: chopped Eastern Style North Carolina Whole Hog Pork–served on a bun or in a tray with cornbread.
As Sam Jones says, when the customers arrive at Skylight Inn, “they’ve already made the decision of what they’re gonna be eating for lunch, it’s just a matter of how much of it they’re gonna have. — Munchies.Tv
Wilber’s BBQ and the Skylight Inn both meet the TrueCue.org test for making authentic North Carolina BBQ. To qualify for True ‘Cue NC certification, a restaurant must meet the following criteria:
- Be located in North Carolina.
- Cook the barbecue using wood coals or charcoal as the sole heat source.
- Avoid electricity, gas or any other non-wood heat source for the barbecue other than to ignite the wood, to keep the finished barbecue warm, or to re-heat the finished barbecue.
- Serve the barbecue on site at the location where it is cooked (exceptions may exist for food trucks and other mobile purveyors, but a restaurant that serves barbecue cooked by another business does not qualify).
- Offer regular business hours, with barbecue available on the menu regularly (at least monthly).
- Serve chopped or pulled pork shoulder, Boston butt, hams, or whole hog on the regular menu. Offering additional meats is acceptable — and irrelevant.
- Provide a sauce or dip that is regionally appropriate.
At present, the folks at TrueCue.org believe there are no more than fifty or so restaurants in North Carolina that serve True ‘Cue (out of many hundreds of barbecue restaurants across the state’s 100 counties).
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Great article. I just took a road trip with my girlfriend to The Skylight Inn in Ayden, NC and it was mindblowing. She’s from southern Virginia and has always sworn that North Carolina BBQ can’t be beat, but I’ve been skeptical because I grew up on BBQ brisket. The chopped pork at Skylight Inn with the crispy skin mixed in with the whole hog BBQ has me questioning my own existence. Life changing.
They had a real simple vinegar pepper sauce on the table along with their house sauce. It seemed to be just vinegar and whole peppers, maybe some salt and sugar. Are you familiar with this style of sauce. I loved it. Is there more to it than that if I want to make something similar at home? Any tips would be appreciated.
I think the recipes you see here are pretty solid. They should get you on the right track. Glad you enjoyed NC BBQ!
Not sure how old this is, but Brannon Gren, that pepper and whole vinegar sauce is just that – cider vinegar and whole peppers – and it is used on cooked greens, like collard or turnip.
I live in Kinston and make it a point to head to Ayden on Fridays for their BBQ. But turkey BBQ has now become my to die for, lol.
Use a simple ACV mixture with a tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cayenne or make it easier with Texas Pete (flavor to taste preference) 1tsp salt and 1 tsp red pepper flakes. Bring it to a boil on the stovetop, take off the heat and let it cool to room temp. You can omit the red pepper flakes if using Texas Pete however it does give it a little more punch. I’m heading to see family this weekend and Skylight Inn is at the top of the list! That place is freaking awesome and it hasn’t changed much in my over 40 years of enjoying the bbq.
I made the Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce Recipe #5. I used Honeycrisp apple cider instead of apple juice, and doubled up on the amount cause I like it sweeter. I know this is an article about BBQ, but we used it on slow cooker pork shoulder that cooked for about 7 hours yesterday. AMAZING!
ps – probably sacrilege I bet this would kick butt with peach cider/vinegar. I’m going to try that when the farm stand opens up next year.
Hey Chuck! First, a very Merry Christmas to you, sir! Thank you so much for commenting here. I am a fan of All Things BBQ… So what you have done here with your slow cooker completely works for me! I love that you have added your own twist to this recipe. That’s what cooking is all about as far as I’m concerned. We take what we learn and we had our own likes and personalities into making good food for friends and family. Don’t be a stranger here. And be sure to let me know if there’s anything else you would like to learn about BBQ wise.
Merry Christmas to you as well! Gotta say that I love this site. I made a beef tenderloin roast for Christmas Dinner and used the sauce all over mine, my mother and law did too.
Just bought my first crock pot yesterday. Did you put anything else on the meat? Did you cook it on high or low? Thanks very much.
Hi Chuck, basically its meat, BBQ Rub, a cup or two of apple juice, set on low, and go! Here’s a recipe for crockpot pork you might try.
To all crock pot users,first rub salt and pepper all over then sear on grill for a good crust ready for slow cooker with recipe #5, amazing enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is The.Best site you could refer anyone to regarding home ccanning! Thanks for referring her to a safe canning site!
Now I’m going to do exactly that because it does sound Amazing!
I want to can one of these recipes..to give as gifts. I use the water bath method for my other canned items. Should I keep the pint jars in the water bath for 20 minutes? Or what do you suggest?
That’s a great question. Honestly, I’m not quite sure how to steer you here. This article from the National Center for Home Food Preservation might help.
Since most of these are largely vinegar, I am not sure you need to even hot water bath can them. Vinegar has an infinite shelf life as does sugar, honey, and such as that. So if you are not adding a large number of other ingredients you most likely are able to just jar them up and give them as is. HOWEVER, that being said, the site that Kevin referred you to is the gold standard for canning. So be sure to double check with them first.
Thanks, KB! 🙂
To all crock pot users,first rub salt and pepper all over then sear on grill for a good crust ready for slow cooker with recipe #5, amazing enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Everybody is leaving out the most important ingredient and process. All old (1800’s) folks cooked their veggies to death with a chunk of salt pork. Nothing nutritious was lose because of digestibility and the pot likker was consumed. Likewise,, their sauce was boiled for a while with a chunk of smoked meat. Try this recipe. 1 cup red and 1 cup white vinegar, heaping tbsp. crushed red, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tbsp. salt..3 or 4 ounces smoked bacon. boil 15 minutes. Red pepper can be altered to taste and the brown sugar may be increased or omitted. Most old timers gagged at the thought of sugar on meat. Most bbq sauce today is Chinese bbq .Add sugar to bottle ketchup wit a nipple for most today.
Hello, Michael. On my search for an authentic, old-time North Carolina Vinegar BBQ sauce I came across your comment here. I was just curious if you would share any references you may have in regards to the cooking techniques of the 1800’s? Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Best Wishes, David Beard
Hi,
I don’t like hot food . Does all of this cayenne and pepper flakes make this too hot ? I don’t want to ruin the meat. Help. I can’t wait to try the recipe but am afraid to start.
Thanks.
Laurie
Hi Laurie – You can always cut the heat down by half and see how that goes. Remember, a Carolina style vinegar sauce is meant to be worked into finely chopped up pork butt. This cut can take a great deal of seasoning without that seasoning coming across as being too strong. I’d suggest starting with half the required “heat” ingredients and going from there.
Hi. Is 2T of crushed red pepper (in sauce #5) a misprint? Can I decrease the amount without hurting the final product?
Thanks
Hello, yes. I’d say you’re fine making that adjustment.
I love your article and the recipes you included! I’m a North Carolinian living in Germany, and I miss barbecue (though there are good places here in Berlin). The Germans love pork BBQ almost as much as Americans do.
I’m going to try a few of the recipes and then make some slow cooker pulled pork! Thanks!
Hey David! Thanks man! Germany, huh? Are you military? I lived with my brother’s family at Patch Barracks in Vaihingen outside of Stuttgart for a while years back. Loved it!
I’ve eaten at Wilbur’s many times. It is amazing family style and one of The.Best Eastern NC BBQ joints around!!! I lived in Eastern NC for 9+ years, and went to college there. So we ate a Lot of ENC BBQ.
Awesome. ENC BBQ is the best in the word. I really, really like Sam Jones, Skylight Inn and Kings. However, I love B’s in Greenville. As far as sauce goes, keep it simple. Stick with cider vinegar, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt. Toss in a little Texas Pete and maybe some cyan if you like to turn it up. Check out the North Carolina bbq trail website. By the way, if you add ketchup to your ENC sauce, you should be shot. 😀
Scott’s is the standard.
Growing up in Goldsboro, most restaurants had Scott’s on their tables. This was a long time ago; 70’s 80’s. I have tried over the years to reverse engineer Scott’s, having lived outside of North Carolina for many years. I have many times broke down and ordered it directly from the Scott website. Anyway, recipe #1 is the closest to Scott’s with my own tweaking. I usually use plain white vinegar. The apple cider is more acidic. I also use more fine ground black pepper than the recipe calls for. I try to emulate the “silt” that rests in a bottle of Scott’s when it’s not in use. I taste and compare with what I know as I go. I also bring it all together with about a twenty minute simmer and let it rest on the hot burner ’til it cools. Yes this step makes a difference. It kinda blends it better.
On making crock pot BBQ I have a few suggestions that are worth trying. I now live in Hawaii. The REALLY big difference between Lexington and Eastern North Carolina is “whole hog”. Cooking the whole pig all together makes a huge difference flavor-wise, and texture-wise. I have used butts before and they always lacked something for me. They lack connective tissue, fascia, cartilage, and significant bone tissue. These things add a great deal of pizazz when you’re cooking something slow.
At the market here, there is a grocery chain that sells spareribs with the erector muscles ( the ones that go along the spine) attached. They aren’t the pretty and uniform Back ribs or the other fancy grilling ribs. They are the leftover usable parts from the ribs. These babies are loaded with cartilage, connective tissues and bones. All that is missing is the skin. Anyway I recommend going through the market meat counter and trying to find the cuts that have the most to offer in the way of tissue variety. These scrap ribs are awesome. I call them scrap because they are sold at a lower price than the “pretty’ trimmed ribs. Also for the price (about $2.50/lb.; and that is a Hawaii price) I don’t mind throwing them in the crockpot. Keep in mind there will be a good bit of throw away from this but the taste is worth it.
I load the crockpot with the scrap ribs and cook on high for about 45 minutes and and set to low for at least a few hours. You can’t over cook it with all the fat and connective tissue in the meat. you just don’t want to under do it. ‘Bout five to six hours is a minimum. I do NOT put any thing else in the crockpot with this meat. Just cook it. And yes I understand that in North Carolina the hog is sauced while it cooks. This is crockpot BBQ, trying to emulate pit.
After about five six hours turn it off at let it cool. Once it’s cool enough to handle, (I usually wear disposable gloves for this step; also trash can nearby) I pick through it all throwing away the bones and extra fat and cartilage. I do keep some of the fat. Once I have picked through it all I add sauce with a little liquid smoke hickory added. Sometimes I have had to make this in two batches. I only have the regular crockpot, not one of the bigger new ones. Anyway, I mix in the sauce with the meat in a foil half pan add gradually and taste as I go. You can always add more but you can’t take it back out. Massage it in with gloved hands. If it’s a little wet stick the pan in the oven and bake around 375, remove and mix periodically until its the desired consistency.
Fix some hush puppies and green coleslaw and you got a mini pig pickin’.
Hawaii is a “whole hog” state also. They cook the whole pig in a hole in the ground lined with river stones; (kinda like a brick pit). They put hot stones inside the pig too. It’s covered in sea salt and green Ti leaves, wrapped in chicken wire and cooked over Kiawe (it’s a type of mesquite) coals. That’s Kalua Pig. You can make a convincing Kalua pig the same as above except make the sauce with two cups of water, two tbs. Mesquite liquid smoke, and two tbs. Sea Salt. Preferably Hawaiian style sea salt which is kinda like rock salt but smaller. Most of it comes from California anyway.
Bring it to simmer for about fifteen twenty minutes. then massage it into the meat. Make some Hawaiian style mac salad and you got a mini luau
Mele Kalikimaka Y’all.
The salt in the recipes, is it iodized table salt or Kosher?
Hi, William – I suggest table salt or Kosher which’s as fine as table salt for these recipes. Thanks for your question!
The actual first whole hog barbecue restaurant was located in Rocky Mount N.C. !! It was Bob Melton’s Barbecue which opened in 1922..