Kalua Pork

Recipe

Kalua Pork

Authentic-style kalua pork cooked overnight on a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. Banana leaves wrap the salt-rubbed pork butt, keeping it incredibly moist while mesquite smoke delivers that Hawaiian BBQ flavor. Inspired by watching an imu preparation on the Big Island.

By Luis Ramirez(Updated )

Prep

20 min

Cook

16 hrs

Rest

10 min

Total

16 hrs 20 min

Difficulty

intermediate

Yield

Method

smoking

Wood

Mesquite

Smoke Temp

230-240°F

Fuel

charcoal

While vacationing on the Big Island of Hawaii a couple years ago having a cocktail on the balcony of my hotel room. I noticed that there was some smoke coming from a pit in the ground with a few people gathered around. I thought that is should go and investigate because where there is smoke there is certainly fire. I found out that they were getting ready to cook the kalua pig (some folks call it "kalua pork") for the luau and was delighted to witness them prepping the imu (Hawaiian BBQ pit). You see, I have always been a big fan of kalua pig.

As they were making the coals and heating up the rocks, I asked them how they cooked the meat. This interested me because growing up my father would barbecue meat in a pit (but that's a whole other post). What I learned was that they cook not so much with the coals as they do with the heated rock and the steam that is created from the vegetation that they add into the Imu. There are enough coals in the cooking process to add a nice smoky flavor to the meat. I asked them what kind of wood they were using and they told me it was kiawe, the Hawaiian equivalent to mesquite. So, as with anything, a little information in the wrong hands can become quite deadly.

Afterward I researched recipes for kalua pig, but most of the ones that I came across called for a Crock Pot and the use of liquid smoke. That just wasn't going to work for me, seeing how I own a smoker and all. So here is what I did...

Jump to IngredientsJump to Instructions

What You Need

Ingredients

  • Pork butts — however many you want to barbecue
  • Hawaiian sea salt — or rock salt
  • Banana leaves — enough to wrap each pork butt and for presentation (available in some Latin and Asian markets)
  • Aluminum foil — or Ti leaves if you got them
  • Charcoal — enough to keep your fire lit overnight
  • Mesquite wood chips

Step by Step

Instructions

  1. 1

    Step 1

    I use a technique with my Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) smoker that allows me to cook my food overnight without really having to tend to it too much. This is a great way to go if you want to eat a little earlier and you have better things to do at night, like sleep for instance. I load up the charcoal bowl of my WSM with unlit charcoal and dispense a chimney load of lit charcoal over the pile. This will burn down overnight and is pretty much a maintenance free way to barbecue especially with this recipe. I ended up cooking this meat for 16 hours.

  2. 2

    Step 2

    You prepare your meat by sprinkling the salt on all surfaces then loosely wrap in banana leaves. You then wrap the wrapped meat in the aluminum foil; this keeps the meat extremely moist and allows enough smoke in to give you authentic kalua pig flavor.

  3. 3

    Step 3

    Assemble the rest of the smoker and fill the water pan. Put the lid on and let the smoker pre-heat for around 10 minutes. Add the mesquite wood chips (presumably pre-soaked for at least an hour) onto the lit charcoal then add your twice-wrapped meat. Don't forget to start your timer. I have a thermometer that I stick in the top vent, which allows me to judge the temperature inside the smoker. I try to keep that temperature between 230-240F by adjusting the air intake vent at the bottom of the smoker. I keep on eye on it for a couple of hours and make sure that everything is going good, add some more wood chips and go to sleep.

  4. 4

    Step 4

    First thing in the morning, I check the smoker temperature (which is usually right where it was at the night before) and the charcoal in the bowl. If the temperature is running low and you don't have that much charcoal left in the bowl light a new batch in your chimney and add it to the smoker. By this time, you should be around 10 or so hours into your kalua pig.

  5. 5

    Step 5

    Line a tray with any additional banana leaves. Remove the meat from the smoker and let it rest in a cookie sheet (or some other type of tray) for around 10 minutes. Remove the meat from the foil and leaves and place into the pre-lined tray. Shred the meat with a couple of forks and you are good to go. Enjoy.

Pro Tips

  • The overnight WSM technique is virtually maintenance-free
  • Banana leaves are available at Latin and Asian markets
  • Traditional Hawaiian method uses kiawe wood (Hawaiian mesquite)
  • Most online kalua pig recipes use a Crock Pot and liquid smoke — this is the real-deal smoker version
  • Inspired by watching imu preparation on the Big Island of Hawaii

Equipment

  • Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM)
  • Charcoal chimney starter
  • Thermometer
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