The Eastern NC Chopped Pork Sandwich
Chapter 4 — The Sandwiches & Plates
An authentic chopped pork sandwich hides behind no tomatoes, no thick molasses, no sweet rubs. If you've ever sat under the wafting oak smoke at the Skylight Inn in Ayden, waiting for a tray of chopped whole-hog, you know the tradition relies strictly on the stark balance of smoke, fat, and acid. Swap the cinderblock pit or a hundred-and-fifty-pound hog for a standard Weber kettle locked at 225°F. Take a heavy cleaver to the meat, fold in that shattered, salty pork skin, and drench it in apple cider vinegar and crushed red pepper flakes. Serve it on a squishy white bun.
Before you start
Shake the mop sauce together the day before.
Combine the vinegars, Texas Pete, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a mason jar and let it steep at room temp overnight to extract the heat.
Dry brine the pork skin overnight.
Score the skin in a crosshatch pattern without piercing the meat, apply a heavy layer of kosher salt, and leave uncovered in the fridge to draw out moisture for shattering cracklins.
Ingredients
- skin-on pork shoulder8 lb
- kosher salt1/4 cup
- coarse black pepper2 tbsp
- skin-on pork belly2 lb
- apple cider vinegar1 1/2 cup
- distilled white vinegar1/2 cup
- Texas Pete hot sauce1 tbsp
- crushed red pepper flakes1 tbsp
- light brown sugar1 tbsp
- kosher salt1 tsp
- coarse black pepper1 tsp
- green cabbage1 med
- mayonnaise1/2 cup
- salad dressing1/4 cup
- white granulated sugar1/3 cup
- celery seed1 tsp
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
- plain white hamburger buns10 large
Method
- 01
Fire the smoker or set up your kettle snake.
Target 250F to 275F using hickory or oak wood to mimic the traditional pit. For a charcoal kettle, arrange an overlapping ring of briquettes with wood chunks on the first half, lighting just the head of the snake for a slow burn.
- 02
Season the meat and start the smoke.
Brush the wet salt off the skin and pat it completely dry. Season only the exposed meat side with 2 tablespoons coarse black pepper and a light dusting of salt, then place it skin-side up on the grate.
- 03
Push through the stall with no crutch.
Around 160F internal, the meat will stall; do not wrap it, as trapping steam will ruin the cracklin skin.
- 04
Mop the meat hourly.
After four hours, begin lightly dabbing the meat sides with your steeped vinegar sauce, taking care to keep the skin bone-dry.
- 05
Prepare the sweet pale yellow slaw.
Pulse the cabbage chunks in a food processor until very finely minced like relish, then fold in the mayonnaise, salad dressing, white sugar, celery seed, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Refrigerate to meld.
- 06
Pull the pork when probe-tender.
Take the meat off the fire when it hits 190F to 195F internal and a meat probe slides in with zero resistance.
- 07
Blister the skin into cracklins.
If the skin isn't rock hard, slice it off in a single sheet and broil it in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes until it puffs and shatters.
- 08
Rest the meat in a faux Cambro.
Place the skinless shoulder in an uncovered foil pan, drape loosely with foil, and rest inside a dry cooler for at least one hour.
- 09
Chop the meat and skin together.
Pull the bone, transfer the meat to a heavy board, and aggressively chop the pulled meat with the shattered cracklins using a meat cleaver.
- 10
Dress the chopped pork and build the sandwich.
Toss the meat with a half cup of the vinegar mop, pile it high on a plain bun, and top with the sweet yellow slaw.
Notes
Execute the indoor oven workaround if you lack a smoker.
Prep the skin overnight as directed. Rub the meat with 1 tablespoon of smoked salt and 1 teaspoon of high-quality liquid smoke. Roast uncovered on a wire rack over a foil-lined baking sheet at 300F for 6 to 8 hours until 195F internal, then finish the skin under the broiler.
From Cook BBQ at Home.