Kalua Pork Recipe – 3-Ingredient Hawaiian Style Pulled Pork

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Kalua pork is a Hawaiian-style pulled pork that is made with just 3 ingredients. It’s simple, delicious, and perfect for any occasion.

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Whether you’re looking for an easy weeknight meal or something to take to a potluck party, this kalua pork recipe is sure to please.

The key to Kalua Pork is the long slow cooking process. Popular at Hawaiian Luaus, it is traditionally made by smoking a whole pig in a sand pit, but can be made at home using pork shoulder and cooked in a slow cooker.

I’ve got lots more Luau Party Food recipes for you to try out – right-click and open them in a new tab to read next!

Kalua pork in a bread roll with lettuce with a side of rice. Text overlay says"Hawaiian Style Pulled Pork Kalua Pork"

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Kalua Pork

The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions, to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required and understand the steps and timings involved.

I wanted to make pulled pork for a family gathering, but I also wanted to try a different recipe than my usual slow cooker pulled pork.

I found lots of kalua pork recipes online, but with just three ingredients I wasn’t sure how flavourful it was going to be. But wow, how wrong I was!

Kalua pork in a bread roll with lettuce with a side of rice. Text overlay says"How to Make Kalua Pork in a Slow Cooker"

What is Kalua Pork?

Kalua Pig is the main feature at Hawaiian Luaus, and a big tourist attraction because it is cooked using a whole pig.

Kalua is a traditional Hawaiian cooking method that uses an underground oven called an imu.

The imu is made by digging a large (6′ x 4′ x 3′) pit and lighting a fire in it using koa wood.

It is then layered with rocks which will retain the heat when the fire has burned down. When the rocks are hot, they are covered with banana leaves.

The pig is prepared by rubbing salt all over it, placing rocks inside the body cavity, and wrapped with more banana leaves. 

Once the pig is in the pit, it is covered with wet burlap to provide even cooking and to retain moisture, and that is then covered with a layer of sand.

When the pig is cooked, it is removed from the pit and shredded.

I’m pretty sure we aren’t going to be digging holes in our garden and roasting pigs in it, so it’s good that there is a recipe for kalua pork that can be made in the slow cooker!

Kalua pork in a bread roll with lettuce with a side of rice. Text overlay says"Hawaiian-Style Kalua Pork"

I love using my slow cooker for gatherings because it means I can start the dish off and just forget about it for several hours.

I served the pork with my Tropical Rice Salad, and bread rolls, but you could also serve it alongside plain rice, a macaroni salad, coleslaw, a baked sweet potato, or just a regular green salad.

It tastes good cold too, wrapped up in a tortilla with some lettuce and slaw.

Pulled pork is great for parties as it can feed a crowd and is always a winner! Here are 99 Recipes for a Hawaiian Tropical Party if you need some food inspo!

Special Ingredients for Kalua Pork

Pretty much every recipe I found online called for a specific ingredient which may be a bit tricky to source in the UK – liquid smoke.

Now, we had a bottle of this because I am the sort of person who when she goes on holiday to the USA goes grocery shopping to bring back American ingredients!

Mesquite liquid smoke is said to yield a more authentic flavor than hickory, but use what you can find!

Tesco sells a liquid smoke and barbecue sauce combo which isn’t really what you want for this recipe. But you never know, you might find plain liquid smoke down the World Foods aisle of your supermarket.

Kalua Pork Ingredients on Amazon

           

If you can’t source liquid smoke, as a last resort throw in some smoked garlic (which I know you can buy in the UK) or some smoked bacon – it won’t be as authentic, but it’ll still be tasty!

All recipes called for salt – some specifically saying to use Hawaiian red salt. I guess you could substitute it for Himalayan pink salt, which we seem to be able to buy in the UK these days.

But thanks to the magic of the internet these specialised ingredients can be bought online!

That all said, I just used regular table salt!

Kalua pork in a bread roll with lettuce with a side of rice. Text overlay says"Kalua Pulled Pork"

More Recipes Using Pork

The hero ingredient in this dish is of course pork, so here are some more recipes using the same:

More Pulled Pork Recipes

Looking for more pulled pork recipe ideas? Check these out next:

How Do I Make Kalua Pork in a Slow Cooker?

The printable recipe card below has the full ingredients list and instructions. Any demonstration photos on the card do not print out to save ink.

Hawaiian Style Pulled Pork

Kalua Pork – Hawaiian Style Pulled Pork

Michelle Ordever
Popular at Hawaiian Luaus, Kalua Pork it is traditionally made by smoking a whole pig in a sand pit, but can be made at home using pork shoulder and cooked in a slow cooker/crock pot. So easy, and so delicious!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 hours
Total Time 12 hours 15 minutes
Course Meat & Fish Recipes
Cuisine Hawaiian
Servings 10 -12

Ingredients
  

  • 2.5 kg 5.5lbs pork shoulder, remove the thick layer of skin, but retain some of the fat
  • 2 Tbsp liquid smoke
  • 2 Tbsp salt

Instructions
 

  • Place the pork in the slow cooker and prick all over with a fork.
  • Pour over the liquid smoke and then rub in the salt.
  • Cook on low for 12+ hours.
  • Pull apart and shred with two forks.

Notes

Mesquite liquid smoke will provide a more authentic taste, but you can use hickory if you have that. If you can get a hold of Hawaiian Red Salt, and grind it, use that instead of regular table salt.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Sodium: 1400mg

Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.

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Make It A Special Dinner!

You’ve made the main dish, but what about the rest of the courses?

Here are additional recipes to create a menu for a dinner party or special meal:

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Hawaiian Style Pulled Pork

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