While nothing can duplicate the sweet ambrosia of slow, pit-cooked, whole hog Eastern North Carolina barbeque, this is a right close backyard approximation for those of us who find themselves exiled in distant, heathen regions of barbeque heresy. You will need a water smoker (I use a Brinkmann), plenty of hickory wood, and several hours of free time. Prepare your mopping sauce (apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper flakes). Bring your pork roast to room temperature and make several deep incisions all along it. Start your fire, using plenty of charcoal. Soak half your hickory wood, leave the other half dry. When the fire dies down, put your pork roast in the smoker, cover, and start adding hickory wood to your fire pan. The object is to maintain a heavy smoke, combined with a temperature on the cusp between warm and ideal, for about six hours. Every twenty minutes mop (baste) the roast liberally with your mopping sauce. I generally throw three or four garlic bulbs into the fire over the course of the smoking, but that's optional. Now, take the pork roast, put it in a covered dutch oven, pour the rest of your mopping sauce over it, and bake it for one or two hours at 275 degrees, or until the meat is falling apart. Remove, let it cool, then pull the meat into thumb sized or smaller chunks, discarding as much fat as you can. Pack the pulled pork into a 12 1/2 inch skillet, turn the heat to medium, and apply a liberal dose of your pan sauce. Dissolve the salt in water and dump that into the mix. Stir frequently, adding more pan sauce as desired (I end up using about eight ounces per skillet of barbeque). Cook the liquid down until the barbeque is only slightly moist, remove from heat, and serve.

Suggested Wine: Dixie Beer, Serving Ideas : French Fries, Hush Puppies, Coleslaw, Camp Beans.

Llinton@Leo.Vsla.Edu

(Liz Linton)