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

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

Jump to IngredientsJump to Instructions

What You Need

Ingredients

Main

  • Pork butts (however many you want to cook)
  • Hawaiian sea salt (or rock salt)
  • Banana leaves (enough to wrap each pork butt, plus extra for presentation)
  • Aluminum foil
  • Charcoal (enough for an overnight cook)
  • Mesquite wood chips

Step by Step

Instructions

  1. 1

    Set Up WSM for Overnight Cook

    Load the charcoal bowl of your WSM with unlit charcoal. Pour a chimney load of lit charcoal over the pile. This burns down overnight and is virtually maintenance-free.

  2. 2

    Prep the Meat

    Sprinkle Hawaiian sea salt on all surfaces of the pork butt. Loosely wrap in banana leaves, then wrap the banana-leaf bundle in aluminum foil. This keeps the meat extremely moist while allowing enough smoke in for authentic kalua pig flavor.

  3. 3

    Start the Cook

    Assemble the rest of the smoker and fill the water pan. Let it preheat for about 10 minutes. Add pre-soaked mesquite chips onto the lit charcoal, then add the wrapped meat. Keep temperature between 230-240°F by adjusting the intake vent. Monitor for a couple of hours, add more wood chips, and go to sleep.

  4. 4

    Morning Check

    Check smoker temperature and charcoal level first thing in the morning. If running low, light a new batch in the chimney and add to the smoker. You should be about 10 hours in at this point.

  5. 5

    Serve

    Line a tray with additional banana leaves for presentation. Remove meat from the smoker and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Unwrap from foil and banana leaves, place onto the lined tray, and shred with two forks.

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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