North Carolina Barbecue Turkey Food

EASY NORTH CAROLINA BARBEQUE

Steps:

• Trim the fat from the roast; place in slow cooker and cook on Low overnight, at least 8 hours.
• To make the sauce, whisk together the vinegar, melted butter, salt, lemon juice, crushed red pepper, hot sauce, black pepper, and sugar in a bowl.
• Carefully remove the roast to a cutting board. Pull the meat from the bone with a fork. Return the pork to the slow cooker. Pour the sauce over the pulled pork. Simmer for 1 hour more.

CLASSIC CAROLINA BBQ RUB

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, mix well.
• Use as a dry rub on beef, chicken, lamb or pork.
• If making ahead of time, store in an air tight container in a cool place for up to six months after preparation.

NORTH CAROLINA PULLED-PORK BARBECUE

Steps:

• Bring vinegar to a boil with sugar, red-pepper flakes, 2 tsp salt, and 1 Tbsp pepper in a small nonreactive saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then cool. Set aside 2 cups vinegar sauce to serve with sandwiches.
• While sauce cools, score pork skin in a crosshatch pattern with a sharp knife (forming 1-inch diamonds), cutting through skin and fat but not into meat. Pat meat dry and rub all over with 1 Tbsp each of salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before grilling.
• Prepare grill for indirect-heat cooking over low heat, leaving space in middle for disposable roasting pan.
• When coals have cooled to about 300°F (45 minutes to 1 hour; when most coals will have burned out), put disposable roasting pan on bottom rack of grill between the 2 remaining mounds of coals, then fill pan halfway with water. Add a couple of handfuls of unlit charcoal to each charcoal mound, then put grill rack on so hinges are over coals.
• Oil grill rack, then put pork, skin side up, on rack above roasting pan. Grill pork, with lid ajar (for air, so coals remain lit), basting meat with sauce and turning over every 30 minutes (to maintain a temperature of 250 to 275°F, add a couple of handfuls of coals to each side about every 30 minutes), until fork-tender (a meat fork should insert easily) and an instant-read thermometer inserted 2 inches into center of meat (avoid bone) registers 190°F, 7 to 8 hours total.
• Transfer pork to a cutting board. If skin is not crisp, cut it off with at least 1/4 inch fat attached (cut any large pieces into bite-size ones) and roast, fat side down, in a 4-sided sheet pan in a 350°F oven until crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.
• When meat is cool enough to handle, shred it using 2 forks. Transfer to a bowl.
• Serve pork, cracklings, and coleslaw together on buns. Serve reserved vinegar sauce on the side.

NORTH CAROLINA BARBECUE

Steps:

• Rinse meat and pat dry.
• Sprinkle meat with ground red pepper (I use lots!).
• Place in crock pot on low for 8-10 hours.
• Place meat under broiler for 5-7 minutes for a crusty top.
• Shred meat with fork and a knife and slowly add vinegar and red pepper flakes.
• Add salt to taste (I usually add a little black pepper as well).
• Keep warm until time to serve.

NORTH CAROLINA BARBECUE TURKEY

Steps:

• Rinse cavity of turkey, and pat dry with paper towel. Place turkey, breast-side down, in a deep bowl or roasting pan. Combine barbecue sauce, vinegar, pepper, and sugar; pour over turkey. Let marinate, refrigerated, at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Light a charcoal fire, and let it burn until the coals have become a white ash. Alternatively, heat half of a gas grill set on medium-high.
• Brush the entire turkey with the marinade. Place the turkey on the grill, breast-side up, near but not directly over the coals, or on the side of the gas grill that is not turned on. Close the grill lid, and cook turkey 4 to 4 1/2 hours, until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the leg and breast is 160 degrees. Baste with the marinade every 30 to 45 minutes, rotating the turkey a quarter turn each time. Add coals heated in a firestarter chimney as needed to maintain an even temperature.
• When the turkey is fully cooked, remove from the grill, and let sit for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with tomato-herb gravy if desired, or additional barbecue sauce.

EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA BARBECUE

Steps:

• Add hickory, oak, and maple chunks or chips to your smoker. Refer to the directions for your smoker to determine the correct amount of chips for the meat and for lighting instructions. When the chips are ready, add the pork and smoke it for 2 to 2 1/2 hours at 250 degrees F. Remove the pork and wrap it in heavy-duty aluminum foil.
• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.
• Cook the pork for 6 to 8 hours or until the meat is tender and falls apart when the bone is removed. Chop the pork coarsely and mix in salt and barbecue sauce, to taste. Serve with more barbecue sauce on the side.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, red pepper, garlic, and salt over high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-high. Boil for 15 to 20 minutes and then remove from the heat. Let cool then add the black pepper.

NORTH CAROLINA-STYLE BBQ TURKEY

Steps:

• 1. For the brine: In a large stockpot, bring 6 quarts water, 1 1/2 cups salt, brown sugar, coriander, ginger, and bay leaves to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the salt and sugar are dissolved. While the brine is simmering, fill a bucket (or pot) big enough to hold a turkey with the ice. Pour the brine over the ice. When the brine has cooled, add the turkey. Place a heavy object like a plate or lid on top of the turkey to keep it submerged in the liquid. Brine in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours.
• 2. For the sauce: Heat the vinegar and granulated sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Off the heat, stir in the ketchup, honey, 1/4 cup salt, red pepper, and black pepper. Reserve 1 1/2 cups for passing at the table.
• 3. For the turkey: Prepare an outdoor grill with a medium-high fire for both direct and indirect grilling. Position a drip pan under the grate on the indirect side of the grill. Sprinkle the cavity of the turkey with salt and stuff with the celery, lemons, onions, and parsley, then tie the legs. Place the turkey breast-side up over the drip pan. Toss 1 cup of the soaked wood chips onto the coals. Cover the grill and rotate the lid so that the vent holes are directly over the meat. To maintain a medium-low smoky fire, add about a dozen pieces of charcoal and another cup of wood chips to the fire whenever the fire dies down. Rotate the turkey about every 45 minutes to prevent the side closest to the coals from overcooking.
• 4. After 1 hour, begin basting the turkey every 20 to 30 minutes with the remaining 2 1/2 cups of sauce. (Keep the grill covered between basting.) Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh, not touching the bone, registers 165 degrees F, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 15 minutes before carving.
• Serves: 8-10 (analysis done for 10)
• Nutrition Information (per serving):
• *Sauce for passing included
• Calories: 1109
• Total Fat: 50 grams
• Saturated Fat: 14 grams
• Total Carbohydrates: 23 grams
• Protein: 132 grams
• Sodium: 2009 milligrams
• Cholesterol: 503 milligrams
• Fiber: 0.5 grams
• Serves: 32
• Nutrition Information (per 2 tablespoons):
• Calories: 28
• Total Fat: 0 grams
• Saturated Fat: 0 grams
• Total Carbohydrates: 7 grams
• Protein: 0 grams
• Sodium: 56 milligrams
• Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
• Fiber: 0 grams