Smoke map · Vinegar, chop, whole hog
The Carolinas
Carolina barbecue is pork plus acid. The hog is the old form. The shoulder is the backyard form. Sauce tells you which county you landed in. This book gives you both a Tidewater chop and a gold-barrel shoulder. Whole-hog principles live on the Cinderblock Hog card — not a full hog how-to.
| Meat | Whole hog in the east. Shoulder in Lexington and western NC. Shoulder or hash-adjacent pork in South Carolina. |
| Wood | Oak and hickory. Fruitwood if that is what you have. The sauce is louder than the wood. |
| Sauce | Eastern NC: thin vinegar-pepper, no tomato. Lexington / western NC: vinegar with a tomato blush. South Carolina: mustard gold. |
| Plate | Chopped pork, a puddle of dip, slaw, a cheap bun or a tray. |
Eastern NC
Whole hog, fine chop, skin mixed back in if you have it. Tidewater Dip: vinegar, crushed pepper, salt, almost no sugar.
Lexington / western NC
Shoulder, not hog. Dip picks up ketchup or tomato paste. Outside brown is prized and chopped back through the pile.
South Carolina gold
German mustard in the pantry became a pit sauce. Tangy, yellow, a little sweet. Pork still leads.
Sides
Vinegar slaw · Mayo slaw · Hush-adjacent cornbread if you must · Pickles · Banana pudding (after)
Cooks in this book
- Tidewater Chop — weekend
- Gold Barrel Shoulder — weekend
- Cinderblock Hog Notes — advanced