Eastern Carolina Vinegar Pulled Pork

Make the rub: stir together the smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Pat the pork shoulder bone-dry and coat every surface, pressing it in. Let it sit 30 minutes on the counter — or, better, uncovered in the fridge overnight so the surface dries and takes a deeper crust.

Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Set the shoulder fat-side up on a rack inside a Dutch oven or a deep roasting pan, add a splash of water to the bottom so nothing scorches, and cover tight with a lid or a doubled sheet of foil.

Low and slow: roast covered for 4 to 4½ hours, until a fork twists clean and the meat surrenders with no resistance (internal temperature around 200°F / 93°C). Bark and tenderness are a time problem, not a heat problem — do not crank the oven to rush it.

While it cooks, build the sauce. Whisk the apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, the remaining tablespoon of brown sugar, the red pepper flakes, hot sauce, finely minced garlic, and a pinch of salt. It is meant to be thin and sharp — no tomato, no ketchup. Let it sit so the pepper blooms.

Rest the pork 20 minutes, then pull it apart with two forks. Discard the big fat seams but keep every bit of the dark bark — chop it back through the meat for the best bite.

Dress the warm pork with about two-thirds of the vinegar sauce, a little at a time, tossing until it glistens but is not soupy. Taste; add more sauce and salt until it sings.

Make the slaw: shred the cabbage and carrot fine and toss with the remaining vinegar sauce and a pinch of salt. Pile the pork on soft buns, slaw on top, extra sauce on the table.