Lip smackingly good! Your biggest problem will be trying to resist snaffling some of this glorious Hawaiian Slow Cooked Kalua Pork before the time is up!
The traditional way of cooking Kalua Pork involves using an underground oven called an “imu.” You would dig a pit in the ground, line it with stones and build a wood fire in the pit to heat the stones. Whack the whole pig in after wrapping it in banana leaves and cover the pit with a layer of dirt to seal and steam the meat. After 6-8 hours the pork would be ready to shred.
This traditional method imparts a unique smoky flavor to the pork, but a more practical way for most people is to use a slow cooker or an oven to achieve similar results. At Camping Scamping we use a dutch oven and cook our Hawaiian Slow Cooked Kalua Pork over glowing embers whenever possible.
As always, amounts in all of our recipes are approximate - we are a family of four with healthy appetites and this does us fine. We avoid offering cooking times as it all depends on your fuel source and how intense the flames are - just double check that everything is cooked through and piping hot! If you are cooking in a slow cooker, we set to low and leave for about 10 hours. If on a fire, it takes about 4 hours for a 1.25kg pork shoulder joint.
Keep reading for the most ridiculously easy recipe for our Hawaiian Slow Cooked Kalua Pork...
Ingredients:
Pork shoulder joint
Hawaiian Black Lava Sea Salt if you can get it (we use Pacifica Hawaii's) or regular rock salt if not.
Liquid smoke, if you are not cooking on flames. We use Stubb's Hickory Liquid Smoke when we are using the slow cooker.
Olive oil
Water if cooking in a Dutch oven over flames to stop the meat sticking. You don't need this if you are using the slow cooker and you can resist removing the lid!!
Method:
Pat the pork dry with kitchen towel and rub with a small amount of olive oil all over.
Place into your cooking pot of choice (dutch oven for Camping Scamping!)
Add liquid smoke if you are using an oven or a slow cooker (not too much - a couple of tablespoons will do!)
Sprinkle over with the black salt.
Cover and resist the temptation to peak too often. Cooking time depends on the size of the joint and cooking method but over a fire it takes about 4 hours.
If on a fire, periodically wiggle the meat and add some water to stop it sticking to the dutch oven.
When it is ready the meat pulls apart easily - shred and remove any string.
Traditionally Kalua Pork is served with lemon and chive rice (literally white rice with chopped chives and lime juice stirred through once cooked - try it, it's delicious!). When camping, we prefer a brioche bun, fire baked chilli corn-on-the-cob and our Red Cabbage & Apple Slaw!
We promise you that Hawaiian Slow Cooked Kalua Pork is well worth the wait!
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