by Amanda Thompson

Created on: May 05, 2009

There are many ways to prepare North Carolina pork BBQ. However, a classic North Carolina style BBQ is smoked slowly for many hours and has a strong vinegar taste. If you have a smoker, I would recommend a hickory and apple wood mixture of wood. Since many of us do not have a smoker in our back yards, I have a few recommendations for getting that same great Carolina smoked BBQ flavor without the smoker. If you have a charcoal grill, you can add these flavors of smoke chips (available at most grocery stores) to the charcoal mixture. Just be sure that you moisten them to ensure getting a good amount of smoke from them before they burn out completely. If you have a gas grill, do not worry. You can still get a well-smoked meat with a gas grill. Simply take 3 parts dry wood chips to 1 part wet wood chips and encase them in aluminum foil pouch. Poke numerous holes in the foil and place the pouch directly on the burner cover on the gas grill. I recommend removing the grill grate above one burner and using that burner for your pouch. You will have to replace the pouch approximately every 45 minutes to one hour to ensure that you keep getting a good smoky flavor.

The cut of meat that is generally used is a pork butt. Although it is called a "butt", the meat actually comes from the shoulder of the pig. It is a fatty cut which makes it perfect for pulled pork BBQ.

Personally, I like to marinate the meat, smoke it and, while smoking it, baste it in a mixture of The Forge's Carolina Marinade and Sauce (recipe below). I usually baste it every time I replace my smoke pouch. It can take 3 or more hours to get a good smoky flavor and for the meat to cook to the point of falling off of the bone. Another option, should you not have a grill or the weather is not conducive to grilling, is to put the meat in a slow cooker (see slow cooker recipe below).

Always smoke the meat with the fat side up. This allows the juices in the meat to seep down into the meat providing more flavor and keeping the meat tender. You do not want to raise the cover on your grill or smoker while in the smoking process any more than is absolutely necessary. You will also want to smoke the meat at low temperatures. I preheat my grill to approximately 300-350 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure that the smoke pouch will heat enough to produce smoke. Once the smoke pouch is smoking well, I turn off the heat on all but the burner containing the smoke pouch and allow the grill temperature to cool to 250 degrees Fahrenheit

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