The word kalua literally means "to cook in an underground oven." Real-deal kalua pork is very slowly cooked in a pit using coals, stones, Hawaiian salt, black pepper and banana leaves. Simplicity+ingenuity. Its buried for 12 hours, then dug up and dug into. The kalua method's specific nuances are what makes the results so ridiculously awesome. I don't have the time, money, or energy to do all of this by myself. So, I use a crock pot and some tricks to try and mimic what the kalua method brings to the party.
After a couple tries, I think I've got it down. This time, however, I'm going to add a little something extra into the mix... beer.
For this I definitely wanted to use a beer from Hawaii. First choice was one of my favorite beers I drank while traveling on the Big Island and Maui- CoCoNut Porter from Maui Brewing Co. It pours dark black, with a thick tan head. The nose is full of toasted coconut, and the body is a silky swirl of notes of chocolate, roasted malt, coffee, more toasted coconut, and a little spice kick at the end from the hops. As it warms up, the chocolate notes become even thicker. Multi-layered and incredibly tasty, I knew this would make a great beer to cook with.
Alright... Let's cook!
Ingredients:
1 6-7 pound bone in pork shoulder
1 and 1/2 tbl. Hawaiian Sea Salt (2 tbls if you want it a bit saltier)
2-3 tbl liquid smoke (to taste)
3 CoConut Porters (1 for cooking, the rest for drinking)
3 medium ripe bananas
Sauce:
1/2 can of CoCoNut Porter
1 tbl cooking oil (peanut oil is what I used- better flavor)
1 tbl brown sugar
1 tbl sweet soy
1/2 lime juiced
1 small chopped jalapeno
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tbl finely chopped ginger root
1 tbl finely chopped fresh garlic
Servings: Approximately 10
Time: Depends on you. Add 1/2 hour (for prep) to however long you plan slow cooking. The sauce is made during the last hour of cooking.
1. Take a fork and poke holes on all sides of the pork shoulder. Coat with liquid smoke (since no coals were harmed in the making of this dish), then rub in the Hawaiian salt all over. Make sure and use actual Hawaiian salt. It's fairly easy to find, and is essential for getting the flavor right.
2. Pour 1/2 of one can of beer in the bottom of your slow cooker (save the rest for the sauce), and put the pork shoulder in the beer. Place the bananas on top of the pork. This will mimic the effect banana leaves have in the Kalua way of cooking this dish, which is key. You want the bananas to be stable so they will stay in place, but also make sure they aren't being smooshed by the lid. Make double sure the lid shuts completely.
3. I slow cooked it on low for 9.5 hours.
4. For the final hour of cooking, take the pork out and shred with two forks. Put the shredded pork back in the crockpot and cook for an additional hour in its juices. In the past I stopped after this step, and was very happy with the results! Pair it with simple rice, and it's simply delicious. This time however, I decided to go further and make a garlic ginger beer sauce. So, before returning the shredded pork to the crockpot, remove and reserve 1 cup of the juices. Then, while you cook the shredded pork for an additional hour...5. In a sauce pan heat 1 tbl of oil to medium high. Cook the onions for approx. 5 minutes until tender. Add the garlic, ginger, jalapeno, and cook for 1-2 minutes until aromatic. Pour the 1 cup of reserved beer and pork drippings into the pan. Add the brown sugar, the rest of the can of beer that was partially poured into the crockpot, bring it to a boil and then reduce to a good simmer. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes until the sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon.
6. Carefully pour contents of the sauce pan into a blender, add the cilantro, fresh lime juice, and sweet soy. On pulse mode, puree until completely smooth (Hold down the lid! When blending hot liquids, they tend to try and explode out the top of the blender!). Return the pureed sauce to the pan and keep warm until the pork is done.
The pork once again was fantastic! Despite this being the first attempt, the sauce turned out great! Bright, slightly sweet, slightly salty, slightly spicy, and the flavors from the beer really came through. Lightly drizzled over the pork and rice, well, it was dynamite. I had friends over who brought Hawaiian sweet rolls, and I also made kicked up mac salad. The mac salad was some of the best I've ever tasted (message me if you'd like to have the recipe).
What did we learn today? Well, that the goodness of Kalua pork can be mimicked without all the hard work and huge expense! Give this recipe a try, have some friends over, and don't forget the beer!
Mahalo!
The Drunken Chef
