This slow-roasted Kalua pork is constituted of 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 full of smoky taste and a touch of zesty garlic and ginger. You’re going to find it irresistible!
I might virtually style the island air when this slow-roasted kalua pork hit the desk the opposite evening. Genuine kalua pork is a pig cooked in a Hawaiian imu, a sort of underground oven. For this home made 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 practically shred itself. It was THAT tender!
Why I Love This Juicy Kalua Pork Recipe
- Sluggish-roasted. This pork will get the complete “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 free and tender, excellent for shredding.
- Filled with taste. I like the mixture of smoky, garlicky flavors with just a little ginger within the combine. You don’t want any fancy substances to season this simple kalua pork, both. All the things 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.
Elements You’ll Want
These are some notes on the substances wanted for this kalua pork recipe. Scroll all the way down to the recipe card on the backside of the publish for the printable recipe, and afterward, comply with the step-by-step with photographs.
- Olive Oil – Select an unrefined olive oil or one other oil with a excessive smoking level for searing.
- Pork – The most effective 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 an excellent quantity of fats that renders whereas the pork cooks, making it flavorful and additional tender.
- Garlic and Ginger – Recent garlic cloves, chopped into halves, and a contemporary knob of ginger lower into sticks. You’ll tuck the herbs into holes within the pork in order that they infuse the meat with taste whereas it cooks.
- Sea Salt – Preserving 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 suggest 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. If you happen to don’t have liquid smoke, the subsequent finest different 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.
- Test the pork for doneness. The baking occasions can differ 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 test 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 accumulate within the bowl or baking pan. You’ll stir them again into the pulled pork afterward.
- Sluggish Cooker possibility. 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 may cowl the pork with foil and reheat it within the oven till it’s sizzling 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 accumulate 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 result 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 in the event you shouldn’t have it. These will present the wanted crunch.
- Serve Kalua pork with cooked rice, fried eggs, or cooked cabbage. You may also use this pork for sandwiches, sliders, or tacos.
- The simplest strategy 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 offered as courtesy. Values could differ in line with the substances and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
The right way to Make Kalua Pork (Hawaiian Pulled Pork)
Earlier than you start, lower the pork shoulder into three even-sized items. You’ll bake them collectively, nevertheless it cuts down on the cooking time. Then, comply with these steps to prep, bake, and shred your kalua pulled pork:
- Season the pork. Begin by slicing 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 arms 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 gradual roast at 325ºF for 3-4 hours. Earlier than you’re taking it out, test 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 contemporary parsley for serving.
