Best-Ever Kalua Pork (My Hawaiian Family's Recipe!)

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 ½ pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 3-4 large pieces

8-10 cloves garlic, sliced in half lengthwise

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large banana leaf, thawed if frozen & cut into 3 smaller pieces (see Recipe Notes)

2 tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt (see Recipe Notes)

1 1/2 tablespoons liquid smoke, divided

2 cups water or chicken stock

Directions

Preheat the oven

to 325 degrees F, ensuring a rack is positioned in the center of the oven.

Stud the pork with garlic:

Using a sharp paring knife, carefully cut a few deep slits into each piece of pork shoulder, then insert sliced garlic into each pocket.

Sear the pork

Add the olive oil to a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a lid over medium-high heat (I use a 5-qt Dutch oven). Once the oil is hot & shimmering, carefully add in the prepared pork. Work in batches, as necessary, to avoid overcrowding the pot (which prevents browning). Cook for 4-5 minutes per side, until nicely browned. Transfer the browned pork to a plate, remove the pot from the heat & set aside to cool.

Wrap the pork in banana leaves:

Place the seared pork in the center of one of the pieces of banana leaf. Season with the Hawaiian sea salt & 1 tablespoon of the liquid smoke, using your hands to rub the salt & liquid smoke all over the surface of the pork. Arranged the seasoned pork in a small pile at the center of the banana leaf, folding the corners & edges of the banana leaf into the center to encase the pork. Carefully flip & set the wrapped pork seam side down on the second section of banana leaf. Repeat folding with the remaining pieces of banana leaf. Note: The banana leaf may split a little bit as you work, which is okay. Just work quickly & do your best to completely encase the pork in the banana leaf.

Braise the kalua pig

Carefully set the banana leaf-wrapped pork seam side down in the pot used to sear the pork. Pour the water or chicken stock around the sides of the banana leaf-wrapped pork. Cover the pot & transfer the pot to the oven. Cook for 2 1/2 – 3 hours, until the kalua pork is fall-apart tender.

Finish the kalua pork

Carefully transfer the pork to a plate or cutting board. Use tongs or 2 forks to shred the pork into bite-sized pieces. Once shredded, transfer to a large mixing bowl. Season with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon liquid smoke & a few spoonfuls of the cooking liquid in the pot as desired, stirring to combine. At this point, you can enjoy your Hawaiian kalua pulled pork immediately or cool & store for later use (see Recipe Notes for storage & freezing directions).

KALUA PORK & CABBAGE: My favorite way to enjoy this kalua pig is a pretty classic preparation of Kalua Pork and Cabbage. When I cook kalua pig and cabbage, I mostly eyeball things, but here's the gist of how it's done (the below steps yields 1 generous portion, multiply as desired for more servings!)

Add a couple of teaspoons of neutral cooking oil to a skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot & shimmering, add in roughly 1/2 cup of kalua pulled pork & a couple of handfuls of finely shredded cabbage. Stir to combine.

Once the pork is hot & the cabbage begins to wilt, pour in a few teaspoons of shoyu (or soy sauce/tamari/coconut aminos). Stir to combine & continue to cook 1-2 minutes more.

Serving: Kalua pig & cabbage begs to be served over a pile of rice! If you want to take your meal to the next level, drizzle with spicy mayo & serve alongside Hawaiian mac salad. Enjoy!

Nutrition

• Calories: 246
• Total Fat: 13.1 g
• Saturated Fat: 3.9 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 92.6 mg
• Sodium: 1606.5 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 2.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.1 g
• Total Sugars: 0.8 g
• Protein: 28 g