North Carolina Pulled Pork Barbecue with Eastern and Lexington (or Piedmont) style sauces

North Carolina is well known for its pulled pork barbecue. Some even say that this is older and more original barbecue than even Texas barbecue. Like most regional barbecue, the history goes back to what kind of livestock farmers were raising. The history of Carolina pork bbq goes back to the 17th and 18th centuries when hogs and vinegar were common. Eastern-style sauce is vinegar-based with hot peppers. Lexington-stye, or Piedmont-style, is still vinegar-based, but with the addition of ketchup. Ketchup was popularized in the mid-1800s. Lore tells us that men from German ancestry settled in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, and tried to recreate a German dish of pork shoulder with a sweet and sour sauce. They took vinegar, the increasingly popular ketchup, and added brown sugar which started the trend of Piedmont-style bbq sauce. I'm no historian. I'm just sharing the stories I've heard and read. However, you can find out more about Carolina Barbecue in the book, Holy Smoke: The Big Book of Carolina Barbecue.