Eastern North Carolina Pulled Pork

Ingredients

• 1 bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt), 8 to 9 pounds
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons coarse black pepper
• 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cups cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes, for the sauce
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon salt, for the sauce
• 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper, for the sauce
• 5 chunks hickory wood

Before you cook

• Trim the fat cap on the shoulder down to about a quarter inch.
• Mix the salt, pepper and one tablespoon of red pepper flakes together.
• Rub the seasoning over the entire shoulder, working it into the crevices around the bone.
• Let the shoulder sit uncovered at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Whisk the vinegar, water, two tablespoons red pepper flakes, hot sauce, salt and pepper in a jar.
• Shake the sauce and leave it on the counter for at least 4 hours so the pepper bleeds into the vinegar.

Steps

1. Bring the smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and put two chunks of hickory on the fire.
2. Set the shoulder fat side up on the grate and close the lid.
3. Smoke for 6 hours, adding a wood chunk each hour for the first three hours only.
4. Check that the bark is dark brown and firm before you touch anything else.
5. Keep cooking until a probe slides into the shoulder with no resistance and the center reads 203 degrees Fahrenheit, about 3 more hours.
6. Wrap the shoulder in foil and rest it in a dry cooler for 1 hour.
7. Unwrap the shoulder over a large pan so you catch the juices.
8. Twist the blade bone; it should pull out clean, which is your real test of doneness.
9. Pull the meat apart with your hands or bear claws, chopping the darkest bark pieces in with the rest.
10. Pour in the vinegar sauce a half cup at a time, tossing and tasting until the pork is tangy and just moist, then serve with coleslaw.