This slow-roasted Kalua pork is constructed from juicy pork shoulder rubbed with sea salt and baked with seasonings till it’s fall-apart tender. Pile this flavorful pulled pork into sandwiches or over rice, topped with a fried egg.
Savory kalua pork, or Hawaiian pulled pork, is an island-style pork roast crammed with smoky taste and a touch of zesty garlic and ginger. You’re going to like it!
I may virtually style the island air when this slow-roasted kalua pork hit the desk the opposite night time. Genuine kalua pork is a pig cooked in a Hawaiian imu, a sort of underground oven. For this do-it-yourself model, I rubbed juicy pork shoulder with sea salt and liquid smoke to imitate these conventional smoky flavors. After a few hours in a traditional oven, this Hawaiian pulled pork almost shred itself. It was THAT tender!
Why I Love This Juicy Kalua Pork Recipe
- Sluggish-roasted. This pork will get the total “spa” bundle: a massage with savory seasonings adopted by a decent wrap in foil, then a protracted, low roast in a 325ºF oven. By the point it emerges, the kalua pork is unfastened and tender, good for shredding.
- Stuffed with taste. I like the mixture of smoky, garlicky flavors with a little bit ginger within the combine. You don’t want any fancy substances to season this straightforward kalua pork, both. Every little thing is probably going already in your kitchen!
- Versatile. Serve this kalua pork tucked into pulled pork sandwiches or luau-style with a fried egg, rice, and grilled pineapple. It additionally makes an excellent addition to rice bowls and poke bowls, or you should use it as a filling for lettuce wraps and pork tacos.
Components You’ll Want
These are some notes on the substances wanted for this kalua pork recipe. Scroll right down to the recipe card on the backside of the submit for the printable recipe, and afterward, observe the step-by-step with pictures.
- Olive Oil – Select an unrefined olive oil or one other oil with a excessive smoking level for searing.
- Pork – The very best cuts for pulled pork recipes like kalua pork are slow-cooking cuts, like pork shoulder (like I take advantage of right here) or pork butt. These cuts have a very good quantity of fats that renders whereas the pork cooks, making it flavorful and further tender.
- Garlic and Ginger – Recent garlic cloves, chopped into halves, and a recent knob of ginger reduce into sticks. You’ll tuck the herbs into holes within the pork so that they infuse the meat with taste whereas it cooks.
- Sea Salt – Conserving with the theme, I take advantage of Hawaiian sea salt (alaea salt), which is coloured purple by the Islands’ volcanic clay. Any gentle sea salt works, although I don’t advocate desk salt as the flavour is saltier and sharper.
- Liquid Smoke – Sadly, I don’t personal an imu the place this kalua pork can smoke for hours, so I take advantage of a “shortcut” within the type of liquid hickory smoke. In the event you don’t have liquid smoke, the following greatest various is to substitute 1½ teaspoons of smoked paprika as a substitute.
Recipe Ideas
- Don’t rush it. The key to fall-apart tender kalua pork is to prepare dinner it over low warmth for a protracted interval. Don’t attempt to rush it by cranking the temperature.
- Verify the pork for doneness. The baking instances can fluctuate relying on the sizes of your pork items and your oven. I like to recommend checking the pork after 3 hours after which baking it for longer as wanted. Use a meat thermometer to examine the temperature. It’s completed when the inner temp reaches 165ºF.
- Save the cooking juices. Fastidiously unwrap and shred the pork after cooking, and let the leftover juices acquire within the bowl or baking pan. You’ll stir them again into the pulled pork afterward.
- Sluggish Cooker choice. Put together the pork per the recipe, however prepare dinner it in your crock pot for 8 to 9 hours, or till it shreds simply.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Retailer the leftover kalua pork in an hermetic container within the fridge for 3-4 days. I like so as to add kalua pork leftovers to a Hawaiian-style poke bowl, or I’ll bake the shredded pork into pulled pork mac and cheese!
- Reheat. Heat leftovers within the microwave, or you’ll be able to cowl the pork with foil and reheat it within the oven till it’s scorching all through.
- Freeze. Seal the cooled pulled pork inside a freezer bag and freeze it for as much as 2 months. Thaw the pork within the fridge earlier than reheating.
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Prep. Preheat your oven to 325ºF.
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Season the pork. Pierce the pork throughout with a carving fork. Insert ginger and garlic into the holes you made with the fork. Rub the pork with Hawaiian salt after which with liquid smoke.
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Sear the pork. Warmth the olive oil in a big pan over medium-high warmth. Sear the pork on all sides.
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Wrap the pork. Place the pork on a big piece of parchment paper and wrap it round. Then, wrap the meat with aluminum foil, sealing it tightly. Place the pork on a rimmed baking sheet.
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Bake. Bake the pork for 3-4 hours or till the inside temperature reaches 165ºF and the meat shreds simply.
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Shred the pork. Take away the pork from the oven. Fastidiously open the aluminum foil and parchment paper and acquire all of the cooking juices. Shred the pork with meat claws or two forks. Then add it to a big bowl or serve it on a baking tray. Drizzle and toss the pork with the cooking juices.
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Garnish and serve. Simply earlier than serving, garnish the pulled pork with chopped parsley.
- Hawaiian salt is a staple of Hawaiian delicacies. The purple number of this salt provides an earthy nuttiness as a consequence of its mineral content material. Though this salt has a selected taste and is part of many Hawaiian dishes, you should use coarse salt or Fleur de sel for those who should not have it. These will present the wanted crunch.
- Serve Kalua pork with cooked rice, fried eggs, or cooked cabbage. You too can use this pork for sandwiches, sliders, or tacos.
- The simplest approach to shred a bigger quantity of meat is with meat claws.
Energy: 361kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 45g | Fats: 19g | Saturated Fats: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 2g | Monounsaturated Fats: 9g | Ldl cholesterol: 152mg | Sodium: 1048mg | Potassium: 788mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.05g | Vitamin A: 14IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 3mg
Dietary information is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values could fluctuate in keeping with the substances and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
Methods to Make Kalua Pork (Hawaiian Pulled Pork)
Earlier than you start, reduce the pork shoulder into three even-sized items. You’ll bake them collectively, nevertheless it cuts down on the cooking time. Then, observe these steps to prep, bake, and shred your kalua pulled pork:
- Season the pork. Begin by reducing the pork into three items and piercing it throughout utilizing a carving fork or skewer. Subsequent, tuck the ginger and garlic tightly into the holes. Afterward, use your palms to rub sea salt and liquid smoke evenly over the pork.
- Sear it. Now, sear the ready pork in a big pan with olive oil over medium-high warmth, simply sufficient to brown it on all sides. Then, seal the pork tightly in foil, and place the wrapped pork items onto a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake. This pork ought to sluggish roast at 325ºF for 3-4 hours. Earlier than you’re taking it out, examine that the inner temperature reaches 165ºF.
- Shred the pork. Lastly, unwrap the kalua pork (save these cooking juices!) and shred it utilizing a pair of forks. You are able to do this in a bowl or on a rimmed baking tray, it’s as much as you. After that, drizzle the pork with the cooking liquid and provides it a sprinkle of recent parsley for serving.
