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All of these sauce recipes are way, way off base. Eastern NC born and raised right here. I've been eating eastern NC chopped barbeque since I was old enough to eat meat!!!! Growing up my dad was the cook at every pig pickin' and has always made his own eastern NC barbecue sauce. I'm currently employed at an eastern NC BBQ restaurant!!! Boss Hog's Backyard BBQ in Washington and Greenville, North Carolina if anyone is ever out in our neck of the woods, feel free to come have a taste of real eastern NC chopped BBQ! Grilled chicken and ribs are also amazing (with a thicker, sweeter rib-appropriate sauce if you want it) and both the barbecue and rib sauce are both homemade from a special recipe. If anyone knows their eastern NC barbecue sauce, it's me. It practically runs through my veins. So believe me when I say that NONE of these recipes posted here are even REMOTELY close. Anyone who makes these sauces MIGHT very well enjoy them, but you are NOT eating eastern NC chopped barbecue, kiddos! Trust me!

And as for the tomato dispute, Lexington-style barbecue sauce is a thick, heavily tomato-based sauce that 90% of the population of eastern NC will agree is disgusting. On a less biased note, it's EXTREMELY different from eastern NC barbecue sauce. BUT to dispute a few previously made comments, eastern-NC-style barbecue sauce absolutely DOES contain some tomato. Ketchup, of all things, actually. Not a lot. It's a very, very runny practically watery sauce, and the list of ingredients has several (very important!) ingredients that none of these recipes listed here seem to cover. Sugar, hot sauce and a few other things being among the forgotten ingredients.

Sadly, I'm not willing to part with the recipe. As a true eastern North Carolinian, I'd just invite all of y'all over for a pig pickin' but alas, no can do.

Best of luck finding that true eastern NC barbecue experience. Just a heads up, you aren't going to find real eastern NC barbecue anywhere west of Raleigh (and that landmark is a generous one.) If you want real eastern NC barbecue, come to the coast!

To Raiders 757

I'm actually a North Carolinian, who transplanted to Williamsburg. I used to live within 10 miles of Allen & Sons in Pittsboro N.C., and after eating that stuff, Pierces in Williamsburg is just plain pathetic! Though, honestly, their hushpuppies were pretty tasty!

@ intheyearofthepig

That was a great post!!!

I must say though, that even what some of us call "bad BBQ", is still more often than not, better than a lot of other options out there. It makes me wonder, is there a such thing as bad BBQ?

@ roxi

That sounds like a tastey idea. I've used Coke as a marinade before, but never thought of putting in a Carolina style sauce.

Thanks for the idea!