Kalua Pig vs Pulled Pork.

On the surface they look related. Both start with pork shoulder, both go low and slow, both end up shredded into a pile. But cook them once and the differences land hard. Kalua pig tastes of salt and smoke and almost nothing else. Pulled pork tastes of sugar, paprika, and whatever sauce you tossed it in. They are not the same dish in different costumes.

The real divergence is the seasoning philosophy. Kalua technique trusts the pig and the smoke; the seasoning is a single coarse rub of Hawaiian salt and that is most of it. Pulled pork is built on the rub — brown sugar, paprika, garlic, sometimes mustard, sometimes coffee — and finished with a sauce. One is restraint, one is layered seasoning. Cook them both before deciding which one belongs at your next dinner.