Smoked pulled pork (rub against salt-and-pepper), served as sliders

Use a bone-in pork butt; no trimming needed. Score the fat on top to help it render.

Mix the rub: 6 tbsp brown sugar, 3 tbsp coarse black pepper, 2 tbsp garlic powder, 2 tbsp ancho chili powder and about 1 tbsp onion powder. Salt the meat separately, then apply the rub.

Season the second butt with a 50-50 by volume mix of kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper.

Smoke at 250 degrees the whole time over pecan wood with a clean fire; leave untouched for about three hours.

At about four hours the internal temperature was 156; wait for closer to 170 and for the top fat to render (it gives like jello rather than springing back). Swap the butts' positions to cook evenly.

Once the bark is dark enough, spray the meat with apple cider vinegar every 30 to 45 minutes, avoiding the fat.

At about six hours, internal temperature in the high 160s and the fat starting to render, wrap tightly in two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil and return to the smoker, or finish in the oven.

Cook until about 203 to 204 internal and it feels like butter when probed.

Rest at least an hour so it cools slowly and does not dry out when pulled.

Pull out the bone; if it comes out cleanly the butt is tender. Pull the meat, shredding only as it is used so it does not dry out.

For sliders, halve a King's Hawaiian roll and fill with pork, slaw and a yellow mustard-based Carolina barbecue sauce.