Mustard Free Eastern Carolina Vinegar BBQ Sauce
Tangy, fiery, and deeply rooted in tradition, this vinegar-based BBQ sauce is the kind of condiment that makes pulled pork sing. Most store-bought BBQ sauces are a minefield for anyone avoiding mustard, with the ingredient hiding in blends, spice mixes, and "natural flavors" you can't always trace. This one is refreshingly transparent — just two vinegars, three peppers, sugar, and salt, whisked together in a single saucepan. The double hit of apple cider and white vinegar gives it that sharp, bright backbone Eastern Carolina is famous for, while cayenne and red pepper flakes build a slow, satisfying heat. Letting the sauce cool off the heat allows the pepper flakes to steep and the flavors to deepen into something that tastes like it's been a family secret for decades. Make a jar on Sunday and you'll be reaching for it all week — it keeps in the fridge for up to four weeks and only gets better with time.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- 1
Combine the apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, red pepper flakes, black pepper, cayenne, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking until the sugar and salt are fully dissolved, about 3–4 minutes.
- 2
Remove from the heat and let the sauce cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes, so the pepper flakes steep and the flavors meld.
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