Kalua Pig
Kālua Puaʻa·(kah-loo-ah poo-ah-ah)
The Backyard Ohana Potluck: Scaling for the Gathering
If you ask a Hawaiian grandmother how to make kalua pig without digging a four-foot imu in a suburban backyard, she won't hand you barbecue sauce or pineapple juice. She’ll tell you the secret is patience, good salt, and capturing the earthiness of the islands. This canonical adaptation relies on just three mandatory ingredients and the magic of banana leaves, using the steady heat of a slow cooker to perfectly replicate the smoky, vegetative steam of a traditional underground oven while you sleep.
Before you start
Thaw and clean the banana leaves.
Frozen banana leaves are readily available at most Asian or Mexican grocers; wipe them with a damp towel to remove any frost or residue before using.
Pierce the pork butt relentlessly.
Use a sharp knife or a carving fork to stab the meat deeply all over, creating channels for the salt and smoke to penetrate.
Ingredients
- bone-in pork butt5 lb
- Hawaiian Alaea red sea salt1 1/2 tbsp
- liquid smoke2 tbsp
- banana leaves2 large
- green cabbage1 large
Method
- 01
Season the pork aggressively with liquid smoke and salt.
Rub the liquid smoke thoroughly over the entire surface of the meat, then massage the Hawaiian Alaea salt directly into the pierced holes and across the fat cap.
- 02
Swaddle the pork in banana leaves inside the slow cooker.
Line the bottom and sides of your slow cooker insert with the banana leaves. Place the seasoned pork inside, fat-side up, and fold the overhanging leaves over the top to completely envelop the meat.
- 03
Cook on low for twelve to sixteen hours.
Do not add a single drop of water or broth. The pork will release a massive amount of its own rendered fat and juices as it cooks under the leaves.
- 04
Shred the meat and reintroduce it to its own juices.
Carefully transfer the pork to a large tray, discarding the leaves and bones. Shred the meat with two forks, then ladle one to two cups of the hot, smoky cooking liquid back over it.
- 05
Simmer the cabbage in the remaining pork broth.
To stretch the dish for a backyard gathering the local way, pile the chopped green cabbage into a large pot. Top it with the shredded pork, pour over another ladle of the slow-cooker juices, and simmer until the cabbage yields.
Notes
Leave the fat cap alone.
The melting fat continuously bastes the meat during the long cook, perfectly replicating the self-basting nature of a whole roasted pig in an imu.
Do not add water.
It feels wrong to turn on a slow cooker completely dry, but trust the process; the pork will surrender plenty of liquid on its own.
Respect the minimalist seasoning.
Resist the mainland urge to add garlic, onions, or soy sauce, as true kalua pig relies entirely on the interplay of pork fat, mineral salt, and hardwood smoke.
From Cook Hawaiian in America.