Cooked in a new-fangled old-fashioned electric roaster,

served with Goldsboro Coleslaw, buns from Icebox (Potato) Rolls and

Lexington Barbecue Sauce (recipe below BBQ recipe).

From Craig Clairborn’s Southern Cooking

A Southern Barbecue. It is, of course, possible to prepare one main dish of any given meal and call it authentic. When it comes to a Southern barbecue, however, I feel it essential that you also offer your guests all the “fixin’s” as well. The barbecue recipe offered here is one that I created after a lengthy visit to numerous barbecue pits in North Carolina. My version is not made in a pit, but is cooked for several hours in the oven and then, briefly, smoked in a home barbecue grill to give it more flavor. You serve it chopped or sliced (I prefer it chopped) on barbecue buns with coleslaw and a “dip” made with vinegar and spices. The dip is actually spooned onto the meat after it is placed on half a bun. You can either spoon on coleslaw or serve it separately, along with potato salad. I might add that, for the sake of “down-home” authenticity, you should use bottled mayonnaise rather than homemade.—Craig Claiborne, Southern Cooking (1987)

NORTH CAROLINA BARBECUE SANDWICH WITH PORK BARBECUE AND LEXINGTON BARBECUE DIP
8 servings

8 hamburger buns
3 C chopped Pork Barbecue (see recipe below)
¼ C Lexington Barbecue Dip (see recipe below)
2 C Golden Coleslaw

Open buns, spoon equal portions of chopped Pork Barbecue onto bottom half of each bun, spoon a little Barbecue Dip on top of each serving, and top with equal portions of Coleslaw. Cover sandwiches and serve.

PORK BARBECUE
About 2 pounds, 8 or more servings

Several years ago I traveled for the New York Times to Lexington and Greensboro, North Carolina, to sample and explore the barbecue of each region. When I returned, I submitted a full account of may adventures, including the establishments in which I had dined, the techniques fort barbecuing, a description of the professional ovens used, the woods burned, and so on. My editors requested recipes for preparing a barbecue in the home and I insisted that you cannot reproduce the same product in home ovens—it simply would not work because of the smoking conditions. They were insistent and I lay awake at night trying to find some compromise. At 6:00 A.M. I decided to experiment. I heated my home oven to 500 degrees, put in a batch if pork loins on a rack, and baked them 15 minutes. I reduced the oven heat to very low—250 degrees—and baked the pork 5 hours until it was meltingly tender. I smoked it briefly on my barbecue grill to give it flavor, and chopped it to serve on hamburger buns. I have had numerous Southern cooks tell me that it is the best homemade barbecue they have ever sampled.

2 boneless pork loins, about 2 ½ lb each, each tied with string
Salt “to taste, if desired”
Black pepper to taste, preferably freshly ground

Preheat oven to 500^o. Rub pork lightly with salt (if using) and pepper, place on a rack inside a baking dish, and bake 15 minutes. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 250^o, and bake pork 5 hours longer, turning once each hour of baking time. Heat charcoal grill, arrange 2 handfuls soaked wood chips—“such as hickory, oak, or mesquite”—on coals, separating them so that they are not placed directly under meat. Put meat on lightly greased grill, cover cooker, and let smoke at a low temperature about 10 minutes. “Take care that the coals or hot surface do not flame up as the meat cooks. You can even scrape away the coals from directly beneath the meat, allowing it to cook away from intense heat.” “The pork is now ready to be served. It may be served sliced, cut into chunks, or finely chopped. The finely chopped version is generally considered the best.” Serve on plates or as filling for sandwiches.

LEXINGTON BARBECUE DIP
“Spoon a small amount of the sauce over barbecued meats and poultry.”
About 1 ¾ cups

¾ C distilled white or cider vinegar
¾ C ketchup or chili sauce (either preferably homemade—see recipes in Basics and Canning … sections)
Salt “to taste, if desired”
Black pepper to taste, preferably freshly ground
¼ tsp crushed hot red pepper flakes
1 tsp sugar
¼ C water

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let stand until cool.