Kalua Pork

Name: Kalua Pork
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 480 min
Total time: 500 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Hawaiian
Ingredients: 6 lbs pork shoulder (bone-in); 2 tbsp Hawaiian sea salt (or coarse sea salt); 1 tsp liquid smoke; 8 large banana leaves (or aluminum foil); 1 cup water

Tender, smoky pulled pork slow-roasted in the oven with banana leaves and Hawaiian sea salt. A simpler home version of the traditional imu-pit dish.

500 minEasyServes 8320 cal/serving

HawaiianDinnerOvenStandard

Cook this free in the appFree. No download, no account. The screen stays awake and each step can run its own timer.

Ingredients

6 lbs pork shoulder (bone-in)
2 tbsp Hawaiian sea salt (or coarse sea salt)
1 tsp liquid smoke
8 large banana leaves (or aluminum foil)
1 cup water

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pat the 6 lbs pork shoulder (bone-in) dry and score the fat cap in a crosshatch pattern.
2

Rub the entire surface generously with 2 tbsp Hawaiian sea salt (or coarse sea salt) and 1 tsp liquid smoke.
3

Line a large roasting pan with 8 large banana leaves (or aluminum foil), overlapping them to create a bed. Place the pork skin-side up on the leaves.
4

Add 1 cup water to the pan and wrap the leaves tightly around and over the pork to seal it.
5

Cover the pan tightly with foil and roast for 7 to 8 hours, until the meat shreds easily with a fork.
6

Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes. Discard the leaves and shred the pork, discarding bones and excess fat.
7

Toss shredded pork with pan juices before serving.

Cook this free in the appCooking it now? The app keeps the screen awake and times each step. Free, nothing to install.

Keep this recipe

Prints the ingredients and method only.

Meal Prep 30 recipes in one printable PDF. $5, no account.

Questions

How much time should I plan for Kalua Pork?

As written, 500 minutes: 20 of prep and 480 of cooking. The longest single stretch is step 5 (overnight, or about 8 hours): "Cover the pan tightly with foil and roast for 7 to 8 hours, until the meat shreds easily with a fork."

What temperature do I cook Kalua Pork at?

For Kalua Pork, the oven is set to 350 F (about 175 C) in step 1. The longest stretch at that heat is overnight, or about 8 hours, in step 5.

Why score it in Kalua Pork?

Step 1 reads: "Pat the 6 lbs pork shoulder (bone-in) dry and score the fat cap in a crosshatch pattern." The shallow cuts in step 1 let fat render and seasoning reach further in, and they keep the surface from curling as it tightens in the heat.

How many calories are in Kalua Pork?

One serving (the recipe makes 8) is about 320 calories, with 38 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate and 18 g fat, plus 850 mg sodium.

Can I make Kalua Pork ahead?

Yes, it takes well to being made ahead. Refrigerate what is left of Kalua Pork within two hours and eat it within three days. Reheat covered in a 300 F oven until warmed through.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,544 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.