Get my Southern Pork Barbecue recipe and cook barbecue like a pro, low and slow (even indoors).
Smoked pork barbecue shredded and ready to be plated. It has natural smoked flavor and pink-ish color from the smoke imparted on the grill. Add sauce as desired and serve with corn bread, potato salad, baked beans, hush puppies, slaw, or your favorite Southern sides and fixin’s.
Food Safety Tip: Date and refrigerate leftovers. Freeze or eat within three days.
This is a beautiful season to enjoy an Autumn get-togethers with friends and family over a slow-roasted barbecue. Birthdays, special events, and sports games are just a few reasons we like to come togther during fall’s beautiful weather. Barbecue is a meaty meal that tends to bring the crowd and feed them too. Whether you like pork shoulder, ribs, beef brisket, turkey breast, or chicken, this dry rub seasoning and vinegar sauce will be your new go-to for barbecued meats. No time to make your own sauce? Try locally owned #RodneyScott of Rodney Scott’s BBQ Sauce for a flavorful, tenderizing, vinegar-based sauce.
Don’t let the size of a beef brisket, pork shoulder or butt deter you from making a barbecue for yourself, ask the store butcher to cut the meat in 1 pound pieces if you like and freeze the rest until you are ready. Cooking the meat portion all at once and freezing the prepared food in servings makes future meals quick and tasty as well. These recipes are generally written to serve two people, use mostly locally found ingredients, and are simple instructions for beginner or professional cooks.
Start oven roasted barbecue with a whole, bone-in “Boston Butt” pork roast that weighs almost seven pounds and your favorite roasting rack. Yes, this is the same rack your grandma used for the Thanksgiving turkey. This roasting pan and rack is used weekly at my house for our Sunday roasted chicken and root veg dinner. If you don’t have one then borrow it, check swap meets and resale shops for one, or invest in a new set because it will change your cooking routine and up your cooking skills. Spray the rack with oil so the meat doesn’t stick and line the pan with aluminum foil or baking parchment paper, never wax paper so do not improvise here. If you don’t have foil or parchment then leave the pan empty for juices to collect on the bottom. Never add liquid.
SAVAGE CAROLINA SPICED RUB, makes enough savory seasoning to cover 1 brisket or pork shoulder
INGREDIENTS :
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar, stir with a fork to remove clumps
1/4 Cup Paprika
1/4 Cup Chili Powder
1/4 Cup Granulated Garlic or powder
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper, ground fresh if possible
2 Teaspoons Granulated onion
2 Teaspoons Granulated Celery
2 Tablespoon plus 1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Red Chili Pepper Flakes and 1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Powder, if heat is desired
PREPARE :
Combine sugar and all seasonings in a glass bowl. Stir together with a fork until well blended. Coat the meat on all sides, rub it in and pat it on well so all that good flavor doesn’t fall off. Cook within 1 hour.
Food Safety Tip: Do not store or reuse leftover seasoning mix because of the possibility of cross-contamination.
CAROLINA VINEGAR SAUCE FOR BARBECUED, OVEN ROASTED OR SMOKED MEATS, yields about two cups or 16 ounces.
INGREDIENTS :
1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Cup White Vinegar
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
3 Teaspoon Prepare Yellow Mustard
1/4 Cup Tomato Paste
1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Chili Pepper Flakes, add more if you prefer a spicier sauce
PREPARE :
Combine all in a medium sauce pot and stir to blend paste in well. Heat on low until liquid is barely bubbling. Stir and try not to breath in the vinegar fumes. Simmer on low heat until volume reduces to about 2 cups, stirring frequently. Turn off heat, stir, move pot to an unused burner, and allow to cool a few minutes before using. Pour warm sauce over sliced or shredded meat prior to serving and on the side for meats. Store sauce in a glass container in a refrigerator. Use within 5 days.
HOW TO USE : Choose one of these methods to make delicious, perfectly cooked barbecue. Use a digital thermometer in meat for the best results.
1. Smoke seasoned meat over indirect heat at 250 degrees F for about 4 hours. Use hard woods to create smoke such as Apple, Hickory, or Pecan wood chunks as well as charcoal. You see an orange battery-powered digital thermometer in the photos that can tell the direct temperature of the meat, not just the smoker itself. This helps the cook to regulate the cooking process better for more even cooking at the temperature you want. For this recipe, we want to cook low and slow. Remove meat from grill, and baste in vinegar sauce after the meat has turned dark with smoke. Put meat on a roasting rack over a pan lined with parchment or foil and bake 250 degrees F for three to four hours depending on level of tenderness desired. If you have a smoker that keeps temperatures regulated better than a basic grill used here, you are able to smoke the meat until completely done. Look for an internal temperature at least 220 degrees. Allow meat to rest at least 15 minutes prior to cutting or shredding. Discard the bone and excess fat. There will be a pink “smoke ring” in the meat and smoky flavor throughout.
2. Bake on a roasting rack over a pan lined with foil or parchment paper. Do not add liquid to the bottom of pan. This method allows meat to dry roast slowly on low temperature as fats drip off. The skin forms a crispy bark to help seal in the meat juices. Bake on the middle rack at 220 degrees F for 50 minutes per pound of meat. Use a digital thermometer to check temperature, which should read at least 165 degrees Farenheit. Once done, allow meat to rest at room temperature at least 15 minutes before shredding with two big serving forks. Meat will be very hot so be careful here. Toss out the bone, chunks of fat and skin. Mix meat with warm sauce and serve with a bun, corn bread, on a platter, or your favorite way.
Scroll through a slide show to see steps to making Southern Potato Salad. Cabbage Cole Slaw, baked beans, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and white rice are all favorite Southern sides to serve with your barbecued meat along with yeast rolls or sliced bread. Pickled veggies such as hot peppers, okra, onions, and pickled cucumbers are all delicious condiments to serve alongside barbecued meat. They add a bit of cool tangy flavor without adding much fat and calories.
The Carolina Cuisine Network 