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Epicurious
Gourmet

North Carolina Pulled-Pork Barbecue

4.6

(26)

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As anyone from eastern North Carolina will tell you (often passionately and at great length), barbecue means a whole hog cooked low and slow over a banked pit. The meat is pulled or chopped into moist strands, dressed with some remaining "mop" (the vinegar-and-red-pepper basting sauce), and mixed with cracklings. For us, however, the whole hog had to go. Instead, we used pork shoulder: It's easier to handle and not such a huge investment of time and money. People from western North Carolina, in fact, prefer shoulder meat, but they sweeten the sauce with tomato or ketchup.

Cooks' note:

Pork can be roasted in a large roasting pan, covered with parchment paper and then foil, in middle of a 350°F oven. Roast 1 hour, then pour 1 cup vinegar sauce over meat. Roast 1 hour more, then baste with 1 cup more sauce. Continue to roast, covered, adding water (1/2 cup at a time) to pan if needed, until fork-tender (a meat fork should insert easily), about 2 hours more. Cut off skin (see recipe above) and roast in a 4-sided sheet pan on lowest rack of oven. Meanwhile, return pork to oven and roast, uncovered, on middle rack, until meat is browned and skin is crisp, about 45 minutes more (5 to 6 hours total roasting time, depending on size of roast).

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