Hawaiian Slow Cooker Kālua Pork
Hawaiian Slow Cooker Kālua Pork. Easy to prepare and no hands on cooking make this pork recipe a breeze to make and turns out perfect every time. Serve with sticky rice and sautéed baby bok choy or cabbage.
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 6-8 pounds pork shoulder or Boston butt roast*
- 1 Tablespoon liquid smoke Hickory or Mesquite flavor
- 2-3 teaspoons red Hawaiian Sea salt 2-3 Tablespoons for a larger roast- over 6 pounds***see notes
- Banana leaves - optional I personally don't use them in the slow cooker, but I do when we cook it in our smoker - see notes for smoking instructions
Instructions
- Rinse and pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towel, do not trim off excess fat and place in the slow cooker.
- Pierce all over with a fork, pour the liquid smoke evenly over the roast and sprinkle liberally with the sea salt.
- Place the lid of the slow cooker on and set the time for eight to twelve hours on LOW.
- Check at about eight hours for doneness. If not done let go the full 12 hours, checking every hour.
- If you have used banana leaves you can remove them before shredding the pork.
- Remove around 2 cups of liquid (500ml) and set aside. This should be most of the cooking liquid removed. Shred the pork with forks and then add some of the liquid back in to keep the pork from drying out. You might not add all the liquid back in, save it for storing the pork if there are leftovers.
- The pork should be kept warm-hot in the liquid before serving. You can place the banana leaves on a platter then serve the pork on top of them or use fresh banana leaves for serving. Do not eat the banana leaves.
- The pork saves well kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer, keep some of the cooking liquid with it. Thaw in refrigerator if frozen. It can be reheated on low in the slow cooker.
Notes
1. If using banana leaves, which can be found at any well stocked Asian grocery store, international store or Mexican grocery, place some leaves in the bottom of the pot reaching up the sides. Place the roast on top of the leaves, then add the liquid smoke and salt and wrap tightly with the leaves tucking them back under the roast. you can tie with cooking twine if wanted but its not necessary if the leaves are wrapped tightly enough. Cook the same as a non wrapped roast. This will give the pork more of a Lau Lau style flavor. You can also use Ti leaves, although those are harder to source. Both the banana leaves and ti leaves aren't edible so discard before shredding the pork. You can use fresh banana leaves on your serving platter under the pork if you like.
2. The reason the roast is pierced with a fork is to get the flavor from the salt and smoke deep into it, it won't dry it out. There is no extra liquid needed since this is made in a covered crock pot.
3. If cooking the Kalua pork in a conventional oven instead of slow cooker, place the roast on a large piece of foil, pierce all over, add the liquid smoke and salt and wrap tightly with foil, place in a roasting pan and pour ¼ water in the pan. Roast at 325 deg F for about 5 hours for 3lbs of pork shoulder, and longer for bigger pieces up to 8 hours. Checking every 30 min for doneness after the original 5 hours. Shred as stated above. You can also wrap the pork in banana leaves and then with the foil.
4. We have also made this recipe in our electric smoker. Set temperature to 275 Deg F. Our smoker has a water tray that we keep an eye on to make sure that it is filled the whole time. Prep the roast as above but tightly wrap in banana leaves. You can place the wrapped roast in an aluminum pan and place in smoker ( we place it in the middle) or you can place it just on the smoker rack, not in a pan. Smoke until the pork is easily falling apart when shredded with a fork and internal temp is around 190 Deg F. We time it with an hour to an hour and a half of cooking per pound of meat. Usually start with an hour a pound then check it ( say a 6 lb roast we check at 6 hours) then determine from there how much more time to smoke it.
5. This pork can be frozen after cooking! Keep in airtight freezer bags with the cooking liquid. We use a vacuum sealer which keeps the pork fresher longer. Thaw in refrigerator, reheat in the slow cooker, oven or in a pan on the stovetop, don't microwave.
6. Another popular way to make Kalua pork is with the addition of green cabbage. Depending on how much cabbage you like or how large of a roast you are making usually 1-2 heads of green cabbage is best. Wash and chop into bite sized pieces. When the pork is done cooking - add some of the liquid released from the pork to a large sauté pan over medium high and add the cabbage. Sauté until soft. You can place the cabbage first on a serving platter and top with the shredded pork or you can mix the cabbage in with the pork before serving.
**** I have had so many comments on the amount of salt used. IF the roast is smaller, UNDER 6 pounds ( 4 pounds is usually smallest I find in the store or from my butcher) use less salt, 2-3 teaspoons, UP to a tablespoon if desired. If you have a larger roast OVER 6 pounds up to 10-12 pounds use 1-3 Tablespoons. The only seasoning the roast gets is from the salt and I personally like to err on the side of saltier. If you don't want it as salty, use less. You can always add more salt at the end of cooking. But please don't yell at me in the comments that I ruined your dinner. Unless I am physically in your kitchen, the cooking is all on you.