Crockpot Kalua Pork is one of my ‘go to’ meals when I want something simple, easy and impressive. Serve it up with some Tropical Fruit from Dole and some coconut rice, maybe a little teriyaki sauce, and you are swept away to a Hawaiian Luau in your own kitchen.
My husband grew up in Hawaii. He misses it really badly. He is convinced that some day we will live there. Getting me on an airplane is a miracle, so if we ever do move there, we would have to be millionaires, because I would not come back to visit family, we would have to pay for them to come visit us. I did, however, go with my family to visit in 2007. That flight was a nightmare. I was so glad we made it in one piece, not because of a rough airplane ride, but because we had 4 small children with us.
While we were in Hawaii, we had fun visiting the places my husband played when he was a kid. We loved visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center, and the luaus. One of our favorite Hawaiian foods at the luaus was the Kalua Pork. They make it by roasting a whole pig in the the ground for hours. When it’s done, the meat tastes salty and smoky. Perfect. Simple. Easy. Well, if you happen to have a whole pig, and a place to bury it in the ground, that is.
When we got home, we missed the Kalua Pork. I searched online for a simple at home way to make it. I found a recipe that required banana leaves and the oven. I didn’t have banana leaves, and I didn’t want my oven turned on all day when it was summer. So I came up with a method to make it in the crock pot. This method makes the meat so juicy and tender. It couldn’t be more simple. The only ingredients are, a pork roast, kosher salt and Hickory Liquid Smoke. We’ve been making it this way for 7 years now and it’s way better than even any of the Hawaiian restaurants I’ve been to.
Are you planning a trip to Oahu any time soon? If you are, check out my husbands web site. You’ll see all the fun places we loved on our trip along with some great tips on traveling there with the kids. You’ll find it at Oahu Travel Tips.
How to make Kalua Pork in the Crock Pot:
8-10 pound Picnic Pork Roast
1-2 teaspoons Hickory Liquid Smoke (to taste)
1 tablespoon Kosher Salt (to taste)
Add 1 cup water to the crock pot. Add the pork roast and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred with a fork removing fat and bone in the process. Sprinkle with salt and liquid smoke a little at a time until it reaches the taste you want. Easy~! Serve with coconut rice and tropical fruit.
Oh yum!! That sounds delicious!!!! Pinning.
Thanks for pinning Yvonne!
Wow my mouth is literally watering! This looks amazing! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks Jessica!
I’m so excited to try this Kalua Pork, it sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Audra!
Are you serious? It’s that simple and I’ve never made it???
I know Alison! You’ll have to try it now!
I love liquid smoke!
Ashlee, it’s the best invention ever huh? Well, maybe not ever, but it’s pretty dang good!
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it. I’m always looking for more easy crock pot recipes!
Thanks Kimberly!
Okay, I seriously love this stuff. We went to Maui on our honeymoon and I could not get enough of this! Can’t wait to try it out. mmm, thanks for sharing this recipe, Annette!
Awesome Aimee! You’re welcome!
I cannot see the recipe. I don’t know it’s my browser, but this is all I see.. [amd-zlrecipe-recipe:2]
I had to make a few changes to my blog, sorry about that. I fixed it now 🙂
Can’t wait to make this! You mentioned serving it with coconut rice, I’ve never heard of that but it sounds delicious. Do you have a recipe for that too???
Yes, it’s on my post about Hawaiian BBQ Chicken, but it’s so easy! You just add the rice you want to use, then pour a can of coconut milk over the rice. Then add enough water so that when you stick your fore-finger into the water and touch the top of the leveled rice, the water will come to your first knuckle. Does that make sense? Then just cook in as you normally do in the rice cooker or on the stove.
Okay, this may be a silly question, but the pork roast has been in crock pot for almost 8 hrs now. Do I take it completely out and shred it (taking off bone and fat) and then add liquid smoke and salt?
There is now a lot of water in crock pot, so I want to make sure I don’t put shredded pork back into crock pot in juice/water and then add other ingredients. 🙂
Thx.
Hi Sasha, I always leave about 2 cups of the juices in the crockpot with the shredded meat, otherwise it gets really dry quickly.
We’ve been making this for years and love it! Except we use the whole bottle of liquid hickory smoke. I had a friend who also grew up in Hawaii and she shared this with me when I was doing a cultural study on Hawaiians for a graduate class. We put it on baked potatoes with all the fixin’s. It’s awesome.
I have made Kalua pig in the oven before. I put whole bananas around the roast & sealed it in foil. Have you put bananas or their peals in with the roast while it is cooking?
I have never made Kalua Pig with bananas or banana peels before. Sounds interesting. I have used cabbage and green onions before though. Thanks for the suggestion.
Do you have to use a picnic roast? Can you use a loin? I want to make this for a bunko party, and there will be twelve of us!
I’ve only used a shoulder because it shreds perfectly. Let me know if a loin worked for you!
Can I cut the recipe in half? I have only got about 4 lbs pork
Yes! That works!
You can find frozen banana leaves at an Asian store. Wrap roast with it and cook in crock or in oven. Also, need to be very careful with smoke., it can cause some serious indigestion
Thanks for the tips Sandi!