Eastern North Carolina Vinegar Sauce

[North Carolina Mike]

1 quart apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs +1 tsp salt
1 Tbs black pepper
1 Tbs crushed red pepper
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 bottle (6 oz or 9oz) Texas Pete hot sauce

Put it all in a sauce pan and heat it to a simmer, don't need to boil it.
Pour into a container after it cools. We actually use several containers one of which is the Texas Pete bottle which comes with a nice flip cap. We don't refrigerate it.

[bbqLuv]

tx 4 sharing

[Attjack]

I like that style of sauce quite a bit.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

We use the empty cider vinegar jugs, but we burn through a lot of the stuff. I use a similar recipe, but never simmered, and always placed in the fridge (don't think is has to be, but like the contrast of cool to hot in addition of the flavor)

[ecowper]

I really like Texas Pete hot sauce, great call on using it in this recipe. Gonna put a batch together and use on my next pork shoulder!

[ecowper]

Yup, thinking that I would mop with it and then put out a bottle for folks to add to their sammich :-)

[gcdmd]

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs ecowper
Thank you

[WayneT]

I spritz it on ribs and butt during the smoke as well as put some out for dippin’.

[DavidNorcross]

I really enjoy the flavor of a vinegar based sauce. Thanks for sharing.

[Mr. Bones]

Many Thanks fer sharin with us!

[gcdmd]

That looks good. Thank you for sharing, Mike.

How do you use it, before, during, or after the cook?

[North Carolina Mike]

Missed your question earlier but to answerer it now: My family prefers chopped rather than pulled pork so I sauce it when chopping. Only use salt and pepper on the shoulder when cooking.

[Dalmore]

Sub in Molasses instead of brown sugar and this is how my family made it when I was growing up in NC. Of course, my grandparents eyeballed everything so amounts were not recorded.

I make it now with white vinegar and about half the brown sugar you use. It's a little more acidic, less sweet that way. Although I like the flavor, I dropped molasses b/c I never use it for anything else and ants always seem to find a way to get in the jar while my wife keeps brown sugar all the time.

[Murdy]

I make it quite a bit. Very similar recipe. We add molasses and Worcester, and thicken a tad with cornstarch at the end (got this off line somewhere).

[Troutman]

So Texas Pete in a Carolina sauce, gotta love that !!! So Mike, where did you say you're from again? (just messin' ya )

[Hulagn1971]

Yep, ecowper is right. Texas Pete is made right down the road from me in Winston.
"Texas Pete® products are manufactured in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the company's home since it was founded in 1929."

https://texaspete.com/tw-garner-food-company-clarifies-texas-pete-ownership/

[gcdmd]

It used to be an ingredient in Paula Deen's grillades recipe, which is very good. I usually make it with pork shoulder, rather than beef.

https://www.food.com/recipe/paula-deens-grillades-and-grits-114608

Now, she recommends her own hot sauce.

https://www.pauladeen.com/recipe/grillades-grits/

[WayneT]

Funny story: Stephen Raichlen came to Winston-Salem a few years ago for a presentation about his books. He grilled several items and talked about how he uses hot sauces. Someone from the audience asked him if he uses Texas Pete and said he had never heard of it. Needless to say, he got schooled real quick about Texas Pete in its hometown.

[Murdy]

ecowper We had Texas Pete and Crystal, IIRC. Can't really remember if that was Fort Bragg or Germany or both.

[ecowper]

Crystal was in Germany .... Durkee's was at Fort Lewis and Fort Stewart (at least when I was there) .... now that you mention it.

[latenight71]

My first thought was - wow, that must be great sauce if they remember it from mess halls way back then. Then recalling the flavor of food served in mess halls way back then it's not surprising the sauce is all you remember!

[klflowers]

Thanks, I really like this type sauce. I'll be making it soon. I'll probably put it on everything. I'll bet it is really good on some collard greens.

[North Carolina Mike]

We mostly use this sauce on chopped or pulled pork. My wife will pour it over a bowl of store bought pork skins. We keep a bottle of peppers in vinegar for greens but have put this sauce on them.
Can add some ketchup to thicken it and use it on chicken. It goes on at the end of the cook so the sugar in the ketchup does not burn too much. My wife and daughter like it a little burnt.

[ecowper]

So, having a going away party for the girls, before they go off to college in the Fall. And decided I’m going to keep things simple, with pulled pork, coleslaw, etc. Made up a batch of this and going to do one pork butt East Carolina style and one more my traditional style with MMD. Will put both out and see which does better :-)

Man, the house smells like vinegar and pepper right now … in a good way!