Vinegar BBQ Mop – a Carolina-style pork sauce
This tangy vinegar BBQ mop sauce does something magical when added to pork. Here’s how to create your own BBQ sorcery:
It’s widely recognised that there are several regional styles of barbecue sauce around the United States. Texas, Kansas City, Eastern North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and arguably some lesser known spinoffs too. The main difference being their use, or omission, of ketchup, mustard, vinegar, sweet notes, or in Alabama’s case, mayonnaise.
And that’s not even including the new school of sauces with whacky ingredients like pickle juice and coffee… As barbecue styles continue to permeate state lines, the hallmarks that once delineated regional variations are slowly being blurred, with many BBQ joints offering 2-3 different sauce options, some places giving their customers a choice of six or more!
In some ways, it’s blasphemous of me to generically refer to this recipe as “Carolina-style”, since the region has at least three internal variations. But, it’s also common and accepted nomenclature, so let’s just roll with it, yes? The point is, whatever you decide to call it, it really is a magical addition to pulled and chopped pork.
I consider this Eastern North Carolina version closer to a dressing, mop or a french dip in consistency, as opposed to a sauce. In fact, I’m a fan of using both this dip and sauce in a pulled pork sandwich – the dip works to subtly flavor the pork and keep it moist, while the sauce can be added in moderation on top, so the sweetness isn’t overpowering.
Vinegar BBQ Mop – a Carolina-style pork sauce
Ingredients
1 c cider vinegar
1/2 c hot water
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Place brown sugar and hot water in a non-reactive bowl, and stir well until dissolved.
- Add all other ingredients and stir to combine.
- Apply liberally to chopped or pulled pork and mix through. Refrigerate for up to one week.
Notes
The inclusion of oil (and for that matter, mustard) in this recipe is not typical, but helps coat the meat and keep it moist.
Related Posts
7 Comments
Leave A Comment
About Jess Pryles
Jess Pryles is a full fledged Hardcore Carnivore. She’s a live fire cook, author, meat specialist and Meat Science grad student. She’s also a respected authority on Texas style barbecue. Australian born and raised, she now lives in Texas.
I loved the “Vinegar], “Carolina Style”, BBQ sauce. Very tasty!
I will certainly use this again. It goes good with everything, even just bread. Thanks!.
Is this ok to mop hog during cook?
Just an outstanding mop recipe! Easy to make. A great tasting combination of ingredients that’s not to hot and not to sweet! I especially like the addition of olive oil and mustard powder to help bind the mop sauce to the pork while enhancing the flavor. If you’re a fan of this classic sauce then you can’t go wrong with this particular recipe!!
10 out of 10!!
Very nice. I’m sure it would still be amazing if you followed it 100%. I adjusted it for my taste.
-Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother.
-Thai peppers fresh dried and added to a grinder – Instead of red chili flakes.
-EVOO instead of Veg Oil.
-Horseradish powder instead of Mustard powder.
This was exactly what I was looking for.. super easy, great flavor, not too spicy or sweet for anyone’s taste. I ramped up the hot pepper flakes amount and added a little cayenne since I like spicy. It was really good
perfect will be my favorite
This is exactly what my Lazyboy crock pot Carolina barbecue needed. I’ve tried other recipes but this is my go to from now on. Word of advise: Don’t change this recipe, it’s spot on!