Eastern-North-Carolina-Inspired Vinegar BBQ Sauce

Who doesn't love a good Eastern NC style vinegar-based BBQ sauce?  We had tons of pulled pork from huge pork butt around the house that I'd done tons of things with--arepas,pupusas, sopes--and I was starting to get a bit tired of it.  Finally, I decided to go ahead and make a nice sauce and make a sandwich the old fashioned way.

This NC-inspired sauce is sure to be a favorite. It's tangy, spicy, and a little sweet.  More than anything, let's not forget that you can make it in a flash!  The two secrets to my version are a touch of ketchup, which is anything but traditional, Worcestershire, and molasses, another twist I brought in.  The ketchup creates an additional layer of sweet tangy-ness, while the Worcestershire and molasses provide some added depth of flavor.  A tinge of garlic flavor rounds out the great flavor of my Carolina vinegar BBQ sauce.  Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 cup cider vinegar
1 generous TB red pepper flakes
2 TB brown sugar
1 tsp ketchup
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp molasses
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 garlic clove, split (remove this once enough garlic flavor infuses into the sauce

Procedure
Place all ingredients in a non-reactive sauce pot over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, to allow sugar to dissolve and flavors to blend.

Remove from heat Allow the sauce to cool to room temperature and enjoy.  It's as simple as that!  Since this sauce is vinegar-based it will keep well too.  What more could you ask for?

*This sauce is best when stored at room temperature*