North Carolina Ribs

This is Eastern North Carolina barbecue through and through: no tomato, no ketchup, just vinegar, butter, brown sugar, and crushed red pepper doing all the talking. Down here, the sauce is thin, tangy, and spicy, meant to cut through rich pork fat, not cover it up.

The dry rub is dead simple. Salt, coarse black pepper, and red pepper flakes rubbed into the ribs at least an hour before grilling. That’s it. The rub seasons the surface while the heat from the red pepper works its way into the meat.

The vinegar-butter sauce gets simmered for five minutes to meld the flavors, then does double duty as a baste on the grill and a hot dipping sauce at the table.

Pro Tips

• Marinate longer than an hour if you can. Overnight in the fridge gives the rub time to really penetrate and season the meat deeply.
• Baste frequently during grilling but only during the last 20 minutes. Earlier basting causes flare-ups from the butter dripping onto coals.
• Keep the sauce warm for serving. The butter solidifies when cold and the sauce loses its silky consistency.
• Grill over indirect heat to prevent burning. Move the ribs to direct heat only at the end for a final char.

Variations

• Add a tablespoon of smoked paprika to the dry rub for extra smoky color and flavor.
• Use apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar for a rounder, slightly fruity tang.
• Thin the sauce with a splash of beer for a more complex basting liquid.