Kalua Pork and Cabbage
Serves 10
Kalua pig is a traditional, Hawaiian dish made by roasting a whole pig in a pit underground. Kiawe wood is set on fire, hot lava rocks are added, the pig is seasoned with sea salt, and then it's covered with banana and ti leaves. Fortunately, we can approximate the original simply by placing salted pork in a slow cooker. No digging required!
Ingredients
- 3 - 5 pounds pork shoulder
- 1 teaspoon Hawaiian salt (or other coarse sea salt) per pound of pork
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
- 1/2 head green cabbage, core removed (leaves cut into thin strips)
Directions
- Sprinkle pork all over with salt.
- Place pork in slow cooker, fat side up. Sprinkle with liquid smoke.
- Cook on low 6 to 8 hours, until meat is fork-tender. Remove meat, reserving juices. Shred meat and set aside.
- Transfer juices to a large pot and bring to a simmer. Add cabbage and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until bright green and just tender. Add shredded pork and mix to combine.
- Serve with hot rice.
Cook Tips
Skip cooking the cabbage. Instead, use shredded pork to make sliders on Hawaiian sweet rolls and top with cabbage slaw. Alternatively, stuff into small corn tortillas to make kalua pork tacos.
Nutrition
Amount Per Serving (based on 10 servings)- Calories: 150
- Fat: 0.0 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.0 g
- Trans Fat: 0.0 g
- Cholesterol: 60.0 mg
- Sodium: 240.0 mg
- Carbohydrates: 3.0 g
- Fiber: 1.0 g
- Added Sugars: 0.0 g
- Sugar: 0.0 g
- Protein: 20.0 g