An easy and versatile homemade Vinegar Based BBQ Sauce. This recipe is inspired by barbecue in the Carolinas and great on low and slow pork and chicken. This vinegar-based sauce is a tangy sauce with a hint of sweet.
Vinegar sauces have a liquid texture versus the thicker KC Style sauce, and have a base of apple cider vinegar, hot sauce, and spices like black pepper.
We love and respect all worlds of BBQ and various styles of BBQ sauces. For a rundown on different styles of sauces see this Guide to Regional BBQ Sauces from around the United States.
This barbecue sauce is inspired by Carolina style BBQ, and is easy to adapt to whatever you like. A North Carolina BBQ sauce is most commonly a simple and quick vinegar based BBQ Sauce that's great on pulled pork and chicken.
Our recipe is a nod to both styles but heavily influenced by Eastern Carolina style sauce because that is our personal favorite and amazing on pork shoulder and ribs.
See below in the recipe card on how to embellish it to make it a mustard-based sauce (Carolina Gold), which is another amazing Carolina gem.
When I think of Carolina style BBQ I think of whole hog smoking, ribs, and all things pork. Pork isn't everything, but is a big influence among the greatest pit masters throughout the region. Because of the acidity, we find this vinegar based style of sauce to be a great pairing for BBQ and wine or to adapt with a little bit of fruit jam.
Our goal with this vinegar-based bbq sauce is balancing the acidity and the heat for balance on the taste buds. There is no liquid smoke in this simple recipe.
This style of sauce comes together fast and easy.
After we have simmered the sauce and let come to room temperature we store the sauce in the refrigerator. Because the pH level of this sauce is so high it has a long shelf life in the refrigerator of up to one year. But it won't last that long because you are going to use this simple sauce all the time.
North Carolina and South Carolina are the states where the vinegar and mustard style sauces originated.
Up to one year because it's vinegar based with a high pH level.
A Carolina BBQ sauce recipe is the style.
From mustard sauce to chimichurri we have a whole range of original barbecue sauce recipe options.
And for a rundown on different styles of BBQ sauces, check out this post.
This will make any pork recipe shine, from pulled pork to whole hog. Here are a few of our favorites:
*This post was originally published in 2014 and updated in 2023 with new recipe details and specifics on ingredients. The original recipe remains the same.
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Mary (a certified sommelier and recipe developer) and Sean (backyard pitmaster) are co-authors of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and have been creating content for the IACP nominated website Vindulge since 2009. They live in Oregon on a farm just outside Portland.
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The post Vinegar Based BBQ Sauce Recipe (Carolina Style) appeared first on Vindulge.