I do not have an imu in the backyard. I have a slow cooker, a Costco pork shoulder, Hawaiian salt, and a bottle of liquid smoke, and that is how kalua pig happens on a regular week in Honolulu. This is the pot I start in the morning when I want dinner to take care of itself, and it is the pot that feeds me again two or three days later. The cabbage is not a garnish. It sits in the drippings at the end and becomes the “starch” of the plate.
Yield: 8 servings | Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 8–10 hours on low | Total: about 8½–10½ hours (mostly unattended)
Hawaii Grocery Notes
- Costco (Iwilei, Hawaii Kai, Kapolei): boneless pork shoulder / pork butt, usually 4–7 lb. One pack is a week of protein. Also grab a big green cabbage if the price is better than Foodland that day.
- Foodland / Times: alaea (red Hawaiian) salt in the spice aisle; green cabbage; banana leaf if you want the aroma and they have it (optional, not required).
- Don Quijote: liquid smoke if Costco is out; extra cabbage; Hawaiian salt.
- Skip bottled “kalua seasoning kits” that hide sugar. Salt, smoke, pork, cabbage. That is the list.
Ingredients
- 4½–5 lb boneless pork shoulder (pork butt), skin off, excess hard fat trimmed but leave the good fat
- 1 tablespoon alaea Hawaiian salt (or coarse sea salt), plus more to taste after shredding
- 1½ teaspoons liquid smoke (hickory or mesquite)
- ½ cup water
- 1 large green cabbage (about 2–2½ lb), cored and cut into thick wedges
- Optional: 2 tablespoons bacon drippings or lard if your shoulder looks very lean
- Optional: banana leaf to line the cooker, well rinsed
Instructions
- Pat the pork dry. Rub the Hawaiian salt over all sides. If you have time, salt it the night before and refrigerate uncovered; if not, salt it and go.
- If using banana leaf, line the slow cooker. Set the pork in, fat-cap up. Sprinkle the liquid smoke over the meat. Add the water around the sides, not on top of the salt crust. Add bacon drippings if the shoulder is lean.
- Cook on low 8–10 hours, until the pork pulls apart with two forks. A 5 lb shoulder is usually right at 9 hours in my cooker.
- Lift the pork onto a board. Pour the cooking juices into a fat separator or a bowl and skim. You want the juices; you do not want a cup of pure fat on the cabbage.
- Return ½–¾ cup of the juices to the cooker. Add the cabbage wedges. Cover and cook on high 35–50 minutes, until the cabbage is tender and stained with drippings but not collapsed into soup.
- Shred the pork with two forks. Toss with a splash of reserved juices and a pinch more salt if it needs it. Kalua pig should taste like salt and smoke, not like barbecue sauce.
- Serve a heap of pork over a cabbage wedge. That is the plate. No rice, no mac salad, no sweet glaze.
- Cool leftovers in shallow containers. Refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze in meal-size bags. This pot is how the weeknight mixed plate happens later.
Kitchen-Estimate Macros (per serving)
Kitchen estimates only, not lab-tested. Calculated for 1 of 8 servings (about 5–6 oz cooked pork plus cabbage). Your shoulder’s fat cap and how much juice you add back will move these numbers.
| Calories | Fat | Protein | Net carbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~400 | ~30 g | ~28 g | ~3 g |
Notes
- Hidden sugar: stay away from bottled kalua or “Hawaiian barbecue” sauces, and do not finish this with teriyaki. The smoke and salt are the seasoning.
- Instant Pot version if you are home at lunch: 90 minutes high pressure on a 4½–5 lb shoulder, natural release 20 minutes, then sauté the cabbage in the juices.
- Too smoky is easy. Start with 1½ teaspoons. You can add a few drops after shredding; you cannot take it out.
- The cabbage is doing the job rice used to do on a local plate: soaking up juice and making the serving feel complete.
- This recipe is the leftover engine of my week. Plan on it showing up in the mixed plate and in a breakfast skillet with eggs.