Pulled Pork

Pulled Pork is probably the purist form of barbecue. This Southern Barbecue tradition originated with whole hogs cooked in pits, sometimes for days, shredded by hand and served up on plain white bread. Variations abound from here with all manner of sauces, rubs and cole slaws (typically served on top of the meat in a sandwich). Today most pulled pork is prepared with pork shoulder roasts known as a picnic or a Boston Butt. However you like it, these pulled pork recipes make a great meal.

There are four different styles of BBQ in the Carolinas alone.

Piedmont style/Lexington style

Lexington style barbecue (occasionally referred to as Piedmont style) uses a thin "red" ("dip") sauce that is seasoned with ketchup, vinegar, and pepper, along with other spices that vary from recipe to recipe. It is most common in the Piedmont (central) and western areas of the state.

This style is dominated by wood-smoked pork shoulder. As with other styles of barbecue, the recipes vary widely, and can include many different ingredients, and range from slightly sweet to hot and spicy. The sauce also serves as the seasoning base for "red slaw" (also called "barbecue slaw"), is tangy and sweet slaw, which is made by using Lexington-style barbecue sauce (or similar) in place of mayonnaise.

The pulled pork is often served as a sandwich on a hamburger bun, topped with the cole slaw.

Recipe for Carolina Pulled Pork (dry rub, mop, vinegary sauce w/ ketchup)

Eastern NC

Eastern-style barbecue is a whole-hog style of barbecue, often said to use "every part of the hog except the squeal". Eastern-style sauce is vinegar- and pepper-based, with no tomato whatsoever. The Pee Dee region of SC serves a spicier version of this. With Eastern Slaws, the ketchup disappears, and the mayonnaise (or whipped salad dressing) is almost universal. It typically consists of whole hog, chopped and mixed with bits of cracklin' (the crunchy, smoky skin of the hog). The meat served sauced.

Northeastern Carolina Barbeque Sauce for Pulled Pork

South Carolina style

Whole hog. Mustard based. Tends to be more of an orange mustard+ketchup in the lowcountry, and more exclusively mustard in Columbia. Meat is usually served sauced. Carolina barbecue is traditionally eaten on a hamburg bun with a mayo-less coleslaw that's made with the same sauce that goes on the pulled pork.

South Carolina Mustard Barbecue Sauce

Mountain style

The forgotten type. Served in far Western NC. Pork shoulder. Sweet/hot ketchup based sauce. More commonly associated with Tennessee. Meat is served dry.

Upstate SC BBQ restaurants often serve the meat dry and provide a selection of sauces.

Memphis-Style Pulled Pork