Eastern North Carolina Vinegar Pulled Pork
This is the old-school Eastern style. Pork shoulder cooked low on hickory, mopped with thin cider vinegar, then chopped or pulled and dressed in vinegar, crushed red pepper, and salt. No tomato anywhere. Tangy, peppery, and bright. Plan on 10 to 12 hours.
- Method
- Low and slow smoke
- Total time
- 12 hr
- Target internal temp
- 200F to 203F
- Gear
- Offset smoker, hickory, Folding Fork
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Serves
- 10 to 12
Ingredients
- 1 bone-in pork shoulder, 8 to 9 lb
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- For the sauce: 2 cups apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
The Cook
- 01
Season the shoulder simply with salt and black pepper.
- 02
Set the offset to 225F to 250F with hickory.
- 03
Mix the vinegar, crushed red pepper, salt, and optional sugar. Let it sit so the pepper bleeds into the vinegar.
- 04
Smoke the shoulder, mopping it with some of the thin vinegar sauce every hour or so once the bark sets. Failure point: mopping too early washes off the rub before the bark forms, so wait until hour 3 or 4.
- 05
Ride through the stall. Wrap only if you must.
- 06
Pull at 200F to 203F when a probe glides through.
- 07
Rest 1 hour wrapped.
- 08
Chop or hand-pull with the Folding Fork, then dress generously with the remaining vinegar-pepper sauce and toss.
Doneness
200F to 203F. The shoulder should give no resistance to a probe and shred with a twist of the fork.
Pro Tip
Do not dress the pork until right before serving if you are holding it. Vinegar will keep cooking the meat and turn it mushy if it sits dressed for hours.
Questions
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