Recipe: Basic Eastern North Carolina Basting Sauce

BASIC EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA BASTING SAUCE
Source: The Great American Barbecue & Grilling Manual by Hale Smoky

This sauce is as old as barbecue and, like barbecue, has not changed for over 300 years. It may not perfectly fit your palate, but this is truly "The Mother of Barbecue Sauces." In the place of its birth, this is still the only barbecue sauce. In the beginning, no water was used. Vinegar, these days, is brought to a consistent 5% acidity. In the old days, vinegar was homemade and of variable strength so that the recipes called for pure vinegar. Current palates may find pure current vinegar a tad on the tart side.

1 quart water
1 quart vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon black pepper

This, by the way,, is also the Eastern North Carolina finishing sauce, which is poured or sprinkled on the pulled or chopped barbecued pork.