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Carolina Gold in Chopped Pork Sandwiches and Chicken-Peach Skewers
A shaded porch, a soft bun, and a little mustard sauce running into the pork make a good invitation to lunch. Start Carolina Gold BBQ, Dry Rub Seasoning on a pork shoulder and build a sandwich around its tangy flavor. Then give the same jar a shorter summer job with chicken-and-peach skewers. Try these recipes!
Mustard-based barbecue is closely associated with South Carolina’s Midlands. The first recipe follows that flavor direction with smoked shoulder and a gold sauce. The second is a summer pairing, bringing the blend into a yogurt marinade alongside firm peaches and red onion. It is a regional-inspired grill supper, not a claim that every Carolina cook makes it this way.
Yellow and brown mustard, brown sugar, tamarind, garlic, cider vinegar, and warm pepper give the blend more than one kind of bite. On pork it works as a rub and sauce base. On chicken it spreads through the marinade, then browns gently on the grill.
Let mustard lead without covering everything
Carolina Gold already contains salt. Start without extra salt on the meat, then taste the sauce before adjusting. Hydrating the sauce blend with warm water and briefly heating it produces a rounder starting point than a cold-water mustard paste. The chicken marinade needs only a thin coating when it reaches the grill.
Classic cook · smoked shoulder with a gold sauce
Carolina Gold Smoked Chopped-Pork Sandwiches
Smoke a modest shoulder, chop or pull it roughly, and dress it lightly. A soft bun and a small amount of vinegar slaw make the sandwich easy to eat without hiding the pork.
Carolina Gold Smoked Chopped-Pork Sandwiches
Featuring: Carolina Gold BBQ, Dry Rub Seasoning
Equipment: Smoker, thermometers, foil, small saucepan
The starting ratio: 3 tablespoons rub on a 4-pound shoulder, plus 2 tablespoons in the gold sauce.
Ingredients
For the pork
- 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of very thick exterior fat
- 3 tablespoons Carolina Gold BBQ, Dry Rub Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- ½ cup unsalted chicken broth
- 8 soft plain sandwich buns
For the gold sauce
- 2 tablespoons Carolina Gold BBQ, Dry Rub Seasoning
- ¼ cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
For the quick slaw
- 2 cups finely shredded green cabbage
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Season the shoulder. Prepare a smoker for indirect cooking at 275°F. Pat the pork dry, coat with oil, and distribute 3 tablespoons rub over all surfaces. Set in the smoker away from direct flame.
- Smoke and wrap. Cook until the bark is set and the center is around 165–175°F, often 3–4 hours. Wrap tightly in heavy-duty foil with the broth beside the meat. Continue at 275°F until a probe enters easily, commonly around 200–205°F. The full cook may take 6–8 hours; allow extra time if it is still tight.
- Mix sauce and slaw. During the cook, whisk the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Simmer gently for 2 minutes, then let stand for 15 minutes and taste; add a little warm water if too thick. Separately toss the slaw ingredients and refrigerate until serving.
- Rest and chop. Rest the wrapped pork for 30 minutes. Reserve the juices and skim their fat. Pull or roughly chop the meat, removing large fatty pieces. Moisten with a little skimmed juice, then toss with about half the gold sauce.
- Build the sandwiches. Fill the buns with warm pork and a little slaw. Offer the remaining sauce separately. Sauce and slaw work overlap with the long smoking time.
Dress a small spoonful of pork before saucing the whole batch. Mustard and vinegar should brighten the meat, not drown it.
Recipe notes
This recipe uses shoulder, not lean pork loin. The tenderness temperatures are well above the minimum for whole-cut pork because shoulder needs time for its connective tissue to soften. The slaw has its own small salt measurement; the pork starts without extra salt.
Serve it with
Serve on sandwich paper with plenty of napkins. Beans or corn can sit nearby, but the sandwich itself needs very little fuss.
Second use · a mustard-yogurt marinade
Carolina Gold Chicken-and-Peach Skewers
Firm peaches bring juicy sweetness to the tangy chicken coating. Choose fruit that still holds a wedge, then turn the skewers gently so the chicken cooks through before the peaches soften too far.
Carolina Gold Chicken-and-Peach Skewers
Featuring: Carolina Gold BBQ, Dry Rub Seasoning
Equipment: Grill, 4–6 skewers, clean tray, meat thermometer
The starting ratio: 1½ tablespoons rub and ½ cup yogurt for 1½ pounds chicken thighs, with 2 firm peaches.
Ingredients
For the skewers
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 1½ tablespoons Carolina Gold BBQ, Dry Rub Seasoning
- ½ cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 large firm-ripe peaches, each cut into 8 thick wedges
- 1 small red onion, cut into sturdy petals
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken. Combine the rub, yogurt, oil, and lemon juice. Toss with chicken and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Keep the peaches and onion out of this marinade until threading.
- Prepare the grill. Heat a grill to medium-high, about 400°F, with a cooler area available. Use sturdy metal skewers, or soak wooden skewers according to their package directions.
- Thread with room to turn. Lift chicken from the marinade, letting thick excess drip away. Alternate it with peach wedges and onion on 4–6 skewers without packing tightly. Discard leftover marinade.
- Grill gently. Cook for about 12–16 minutes, turning a quarter-turn every 3–4 minutes. Move to the cooler area if the marinade or fruit darkens too quickly. Check several of the thickest chicken pieces from the side with a thermometer; all must reach 165°F.
- Rest and serve. Set on a clean tray and rest for 5 minutes. Serve whole on the skewers, sliding food off carefully at the table.
Use firm-ripe peaches, not soft fruit that is already dripping juice. If yours are delicate, grill the fruit on separate skewers and remove it as soon as tender.
Recipe notes
The photo shows the tray just after grilling. The small browned spots and cooking juices belong to the food; no extra sauce or raw rub is added for appearance.
Serve it with
Serve with rice and a simple green salad. The grilled fruit supplies the sweet side of the plate.
A porch lunch and a grill supper from one jar
Keep the sandwich paper and the skewer tray practical. The pork can be chopped to order, the slaw can land where it lands, and the peaches do not need matching grill marks. What matters is warm meat, a clear mustard character, and people ready to eat.
Explore Carolina Gold BBQ, Dry Rub Seasoning
Regional inspiration: Discover South Carolina: mustard-style barbecue in the Midlands.
Carolina Gold BBQ - Dry Rub Seasoning
$9.25
If your barbecue likes a little tang with its swagger, Carolina Gold BBQ belongs in the rotation. This bold mustard-based dry rub brings yellow mustard, brown mustard, brown sugar, garlic, tamarind, apple cider vinegar, paprika, turmeric, black pepper, and cayenne together… read more
FAQs
Is there actual gold in this jar, or am I just paying for a fancy name?
While we didn't slice up 24-karat bars, the legendary combination of tangy mustard, sweet brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar notes delivers a pure Southern treasure. It’s essentially a liquid-gold flavor profile converted into a hardworking dry rub that gives your pulled pork or chicken absolute pitmaster royalty status.
Can this dry rub satisfy my deep-rooted addiction to Carolina mustard sauce, or am I going to be disappointed?
Think of this blend as your favorite tangy, bold Carolina sauce stripped of its water weight and packed with an extra punch of fire and backbone. It delivers that iconic "mustard belt" kick directly into the meat's crust, meaning you get all of the zesty, sweet-tart satisfaction without the messy drips ruining your shirt.
If I rub this onto fish, tofu, or vegetables, will the barbecue traditionalists kick me out of the state?
They might give you a suspicious look at first, but one bite of the earthy turmeric, garlic, and tamarind crust will have them asking for your secret. This blend has way too much bold personality to be locked up exclusively on pork shoulders, so feel free to live dangerously in your kitchen.
