Easy Kalua Pork

This easy Kalua Pork Recipe gives you smoky, tender, fall-apart pork with just a few minutes of prep. Made in the slow cooker with pork shoulder, Hawaiian-style sea salt, and liquid smoke, it’s the simplest way to get luau-inspired flavor at home—no underground oven required.

Serve it over rice, tuck it into lettuce wraps, pile it onto Hawaiian rolls, or drizzle it with the sweet chili pineapple sauce for a simple dinner that tastes like a mini vacation.

Best Pork for Kalua Pork

Pork shoulder, pork butt, or Boston butt are the best cuts for kalua pork because they have enough fat and connective tissue to become tender during the long cook time. Choose a roast with visible marbling. Boneless pork is easy to shred, while bone-in pork can add extra flavor.

What Kind of Salt Should I Use?

Hawaiian sea salt is the best choice for traditional flavor, but coarse sea salt, pink salt, kosher salt, or smoked salt will also work. If using fine salt, start with a little less because it measures saltier by volume.

What is Kalua Pork?

Kalua Pork, or Kalua Pig, is a tender, juicy pork that’s cooked in an underground pit called an Imu.

An Imu is a 2- 4 foot deep pit dug and filled with kindling and rock, often made of lava rock or basalt, and set on fire. Hawaiians traditionally use anything from coconut palm fronds to grasses, ti leaves or banana leaves to cover the pig. A whole pig is then placed on top of the leaves, covered with more leaves or greens before the dirt that was dug out of the pit is used to cover it completely to keep the heat in. It’s cooked for approximately 8 hours depending on the size of the pig.

For this version, we’re using a slow cooker. You get, just about, the same great flavor without having to dig out a big pit in the backyard. This is more of an oven Kalua pork recipe than a traditional Kalua Pig recipe, but the flavor is just as phenomenal.

The smoke flavoring in a traditional kalua pig is from the underground cooking but we duplicate that same flavor in the crockpot with Liquid Smoke. It’s kind of my secret weapon in smoking without actually using a smoker. 

The name “kālua pork” has been used by Hawaiian cook Sam Choy to describe pork shoulder butt that’s rubbed with sea salt, wrapped in ti leaves, and slowly cooked in an oven using liquid smoke rather than an imu.

How to Make Kalua Pork in the Slow Cooker

1. Prep the pork: Place the pork roast fat-side up in the slow cooker. Pierce it all over with a fork so the seasoning can work into the meat.
2. Season: Pour the liquid smoke over the pork, then sprinkle the salt evenly over the top. Rub it in lightly if needed.
3. Slow cook: Cover and cook on low for 10 hours, or until the pork is fall-apart tender and shreds easily with a fork.
4. Shred: Transfer the pork to a cutting board, remove any large pieces of fat, and shred with two forks.
5. Moisten: Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker and toss it with some of the cooking juices. Skim off excess fat first if desired.
6. Make the sauce: Whisk together the pineapple juice, rice vinegar, honey, garlic chili sauce, and hoisin sauce in a small saucepan. Simmer until reduced slightly.
7. Serve: Serve the pork with rice, lettuce leaves, cabbage, Hawaiian rolls, or the sweet chili pineapple sauce.

More Easy Slow Cooker Pork Recipes

• Philly Style Roast Pork Sandwich…the real deal!
• Slow Cooker Pork Loin Roast in Honey Garlic Sauce
• Slow Cooked Pork and Sauerkraut with apples and fennel

Or try these easy Smothered Pork Chops because they’re amazing!