I, (like most with taste buds) love BBQ. If my wife wasn’t so rad, I might’ve married it. (I looked into it..totally okay in Mississippi.) BBQ comes in all shapes, flavors and sizes. Everyone tweeks their recipe just a little different than the next person, as they should. But South Carolina style looked to separate itself.
So much variety from just a few basic principles. Season meat–smoke or slow-cook meat–dress meat (with something sweet and sour). How you get those three rules done is up to you.
SC Gold
Another regional wrinkle in the BBQ tradition is the mustard based style made popular in South Carolina. The areas from Columbus to Charleston were settled by German immigrants. Maybe the Germans familiarity and love for mustard led to the regional style loved there today? I dunno…seems logical enough, Germans do some crazy rad shit. Here is a recipe that is versatile for any pork product or fatty meat. The addition of the liquid smoke in the recipe is for those who can’t, or don’t smoke their meat. Similarly, the butter is for those that like a little cheat to their meat. It’s not needed, but it’s nice.
The Recipe
2c prepared yellow mustard
1c sugar
½c brown sugar
1½c cider vinegar
½c water
½tsp cayenne
2 tsp ground cumin
4 garlic cloves minced
4T minced onion
1tsp fresh black pepper
2tsp Worcestershire sauce
2tsp liquid smoke (Hickory)
2T butter (optional)
Simmer everything together for about twenty minutes over low heat; then whisk in the smoke and butter. Season to taste with salt…I can’t remember if I added any because the meat is already salted from the spice rub. Speaking of spice rub…
2T kosher salt
1T sugar
1tsp paprika, pepper, cumin, thyme
Mix and liberally dust over your pork shoulder before baking or crock potting. Always good to do this the night before, but if you didn’t. Just try to do it as soon as possible before baking, mine was 5 minutes :-|
