How to Make Great BBQ Pork on a Charcoal Grill | America’s Test Kitchen

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North Carolina native Morgan Bolling shows Bridget Lancaster the trick to preparing BBQ Pork over a charcoal grill in a way that achieves a similar effect to that of a pit; by employing a setup called a charcoal snake. Morgan then explains and prepares the two varieties of the BBQ pork made in North Carolina: Eastern (vinegar-based) and Lexington (tomato-forward) styles.

North Carolina Barbecue Pork Recipe:

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41 Comments

  1. Take a delicious looking piece of BBQ pork.
    Me: yummmm!
    Chop it into small bits.
    Me: mmm, ok…
    Mix with sauce and coleslaw, stick the mix into white bread.
    Me: noooo!!!!

    P.S. Loved the loading of the grill with the C of coal brickets.

  9. Sorry, Kansas City boy here, born and raised. My Que has to have brown sugar and molasses in it. I don't like any of the Carolina styles. Too much vinegar. Especially, the mustard based gak they serve in coastal Carolina. Yuk. 🤢

  10. I'm in Salisbury, 15-20 mins from Lexington on 85. I have seen alot more chopped/pulled like Eastern in the western side of NC. But it all depends on preference – I prefer pork butt as a sandwich, smoked chicken shredded, and brisket about no more than 1/4" thick! But what are some of yalls favorite NC pits? We use to have Gary's in China Groove caterer work meals. Or in Charlotte, Macs Speed shop. Smoke Pit has both styles. I went to Western Caroline University up in the mountains about 30-45 mins west of Asheville and there are some awesome places in Waynesville as well! Can't forget College BBQ over by the VA!!

    Edit- I prefer Apple, pecan, cherry, oak over hickory or mesquite wood. But I also tend to smoke with Royal Oak charred chunks and any of the fruit wood mentioned above. But unlike the Weber you used I have a Oklahoma Joe smoker with a fire box. But still, I haven't seen this method before and is pretty cool to try next time I go camping to smoke some meat during the day!

  12. Why yes! This recipe segment did end rather abruptly. The final 60 seconds:

    Bridget: …so beautifully seasons it all the way through.
    B: I think because it is a bit of a thinner sauce…
    Morgan: Yeah.
    B: Just makes its way into every bite there.
    M: I agree and I really like the fine chop here. I mean, I feel like it's really nice.
    M: You get those little bites of bark throughout and then it's still so smoky and then it's a really nice contrast to the bigger shreds of cabbage.
    B: And I love that you made the two slaws to complement the barbecue too. Yeah, it's perfect.
    B: And you can get the recipes for both these slaws on our…
    B: Morgan, thank you so, so much for showing us the light when it comes to North Carolina barbecue.
    M: It was my pleasure, my honor.
    B: Awesome!
    B: Well, if you'd like to make North Carolina barbecue at home, season a pork butt and refrigerate it overnight and then fashion a charcoal snake on the grill.
    B: For Easter Carolina style, chop the pork fine and then season and serve with a vinegar sauce.
    B: And for Lexington style, chop the pork into bigger pieces and then dress and serve with a tomato vinegar sauce.
    B: So, from Cook's Country, the summit of smoky porkiness, it's North Carolina Barbecue Pork.
    M: Gosh, I'm picturing my dream restaurant on a ski slope called Summit of Smoke.
    B: [Laughs]

  18. Grill recipes again, I don't have a grill, or have access to one nor do a good portion of your viewers! If the title said "How to Make Great BBQ Pork on a Charcoal Grill, or in Your Oven" I'd watch! Give us options or you'll loose views. I have no interest in this as I can't make it! Sound logical!?😅✌🗽

  20. Great video!! I love Carolina Style pork. I really need to send you a pair of the food safe and heat resistant Pitmaster Gloves I created so you don’t need to touch the pork with leather gloves or ruin your dish cloths pulling off the smoke-tarnished foil.

  23. I love the way N.C does the hog. Have had good beef bbq in N.C. My preference if im having pork anything N.C. style, if im having beef got to be Texas style. I'm from N.Y. I've traveled both states ate alot of bbq. I love both styles depending on the protein.

  24. It's a good technique, but a guy told me how he blew up a BBQ this way. What he was cooking released a lot of fat into the water. When he put in more coals and covered it again, the heat from the new coals caught the fat on fire, the water suddenly steamed up and blew the lid of the BBQ 20 feet high. This was one of those "Old Smokey" BBQs which you don't see much any more. I don't see any problem with doing it that way. 🙂

  32. I had the good fortune of spending 2 months in the Raleigh area for training, with a $90 per diem for food an entertainment, and got to sample a lot of amazing Q. The Pit in Durham on 55 was hands down my favorite pulled pork of all time.

  37. Eastern NC BBQ is vinegar and peppers only and whole hog. We call it rooter to tooter. Blackbeard and his cronies brought it to the Outer Banks in the early 1700s, when tomatoes were mostly still thought to be poisonous. This is the one I grew up on. I live maybe 30 minutes from Lexington but not crazy about the gloppy, sweet sauce. If I go to Lexington, it's for chicken wings at Christo's.
    We take our BBQ seriously here. When somebody says "pulled pork", we know a Yankee has entered the chat. Not a bad thing, just that we recognize it. We don't pull it. We chop or slice. Coleslaw, some kind of potato dish, and hush puppies are the usual sides, with peach cobbler for dessert. Don't forget the sweet tea. Y'all come on down to eastern NC and have some original BBQ with us. There's always room for one more at the table. 😊

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