Eastern North Carolina vinegar based marinade, perfect for pork.

In the Carolinas, barbecue means pork, period. Especially in Eastern North Carolina, vinegar is used in sauce, and naturally it also finds its way into the marinade. This simple Eastern Carolina-style makes an excellent marinade to add extra flavor to your next pork barbecue.

Special tools: Large plastic bowl with cover
Preparation time: About 5 minutes
Cooking time: None; allow meat marinate overnight
Yield: 2 cups

2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon1 kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, I prefer to grind my own
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste

Mix ingredients together in large plastic bowl. Bowl size depends upon how much meat you're going to prepare. I've found if you pack the pork ribs loosely together, 2 cups of marinade will be enough for about four pounds.

This recipe is as simple as it gets, and will really implant a nice flavor in your ribs before you throw them on your smoker. I prefer to marinate the ribs overnight, but if you only have a few hours, that will be ok. If you like to baste your meat during the cooking process, the leftover marinade will make an excellent baste.

Be sure to discard any leftover marinade, as the liquid should never be reused.

Left: Eastern Carolina marinade is all mixed-up and ready to go. Right: Marinating four pounds of pork ribs.

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