Kalua Pork – Recipe

When I first had my second daughter, I thought having two under two wasn’t all that difficult. And then people stopped visiting as often (read – the food gifts stopped) and my husband went back to work, and I realized that I had to take care of these two little girls, both of whom were still entirely dependent on me, and still somehow get food on the table. O.O

At this point, the slow cooker became my best friend. I could throw stuff in there whenever I found a spare minute and know that a good meal would be ready without anymore work from me. This Kalua Pork was an instant favorite. Because of the long cook time, I would throw it in the crock pot before bed and wake up to the house smelling amazing.

This recipe is so simple and yet so reminiscent of the pork cooked all day in an imu due to the smoked sea salt.

One of the best things about this recipe is that the final product is so adaptable. Eat it with cabbage a la the usual Kalua Pork + Cabbage, stuff it into tacos or burritos, top some eggs or a salad, mix it with BBQ sauce to make pulled pork, whatever your heart desires!

Kalua Pig

Ingredients

• 3-4 lb pork shoulder or pork butt
• 1 tbs Salish sea salt
• 4-6 slices bacon

Instructions

1. Line the bottom of your slow cooker with bacon (I used 4 slices)
2. Rub salt all over pork shoulder and place over bacon skin side up. If your pork shoulder does not have skin, feel free to cover the pork with the remaining bacon slices. If it does have skin, the extra bacon isn’t necessary, but I’m not going to stop you if you want to add them anyway.
3. Cook on low for 9-12 hours or until the pork shreds easily with a fork.
4. When the pork is done, remove and shred in a separate container, taste and add cooking liquid to season.

Notes

– If you don’t have Salish salt, try substituting with 1 tbs regular sea salt and smoked bacon.

– If you’re cooking this while doing a Whole30 and can’t find compliant bacon (that darn sugar is in everything!), it can be left out and it will still taste good. It definitely does add to the dish, though.

– I find that my slow cooker cooks more quickly than common recommended cooking times. I normally take the shortest recommended cook time and reduce it by one hour. In my cooker, the pork was pull-apart tender after 9 hours. Feel free to adjust the cook time to suit your slow cooker.