recipe reviews for:

Oven Kalua Pork

“Fire up the tiki torches -- its time for a luau! This delicious slow-roasted pork is rubbed with sea salt and liquid smoke to recall the glorious flavors of pig cooked in a traditional Hawaiian imu. Once cooked and cooled, it can be shredded and served with poi, yams or even on a bun. You may use ordinary sea salt for this recipe if the Hawaiian variety is unavailable.”

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Reviewed: Oct. 4, 2009

This is the basic recipe but a few changes will make a big difference for a more authentic result: 1. Use more Hawaiian salt. Two and a half Tbsp is not enough. It seems like a lot but it is not; 2. If you can get it, use the Alai salt (red clay salt). Remember, NOT to use table salt!; and 3. Line the foil pan with ti leaves. Not tea, but ti leaves. Use the liquid smoke. Then, wrap with foil. When you shred it, be sure to let it soak in the juices. You can use this same recipe to make pork fillings for tacos and bbq sandwiches, too. Of course, if you're from Hawaii as I am, eat with poi and lomi salmon! Onolicious.

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hope03

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Anaheim, California, USA

Living In: Corona, California, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 2, 2009

I've made this several times, my family loves it! I'm now making it for a meal exchange I have with some neighbors. Such a cheap cut of pork you can't help but be generous. Easy to modify to your own taste as far as some of the additional seasonings go. And while you can bake it in a crock pot, it sorta changes the flavor and texture a bit. I happen to have lots of the Hawaiian red clay salt - which is out of this world for this recipe. If you don't have the ono salt be sure to use a large granule type salt. I like to pile it on top really thick and then remove it before I shred it - give the "illusion" of a healthier dish. I also recommend wrapping at least two layers of foil around the pork - I think it makes all the difference in the tenderness. (another reason the crock pot does not do quite as good a job - but still tasty) ALSO - the cooked meat freezes well too! Be sure to freeze it with some of the extra juices for when you reheat it!

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aereish

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: San Jose, California, USA

Living In: Boise, Idaho, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 18, 2009

I made this in the oven for a party I had with 30 guests. It cooked completely unattended, which was nice for me to entertain. The fat on the meat stays in place, so it's easy to remove vs. cooking in a crock pot where all the fat gets mixed in with the meat. I later added barbecue sauce to the leftovers to finish it up once we were tired of plain pork.

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SRQchef

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Jul. 22, 2009

Okay, so I know it says "Oven Kalua Pork" but making this in the crockpot is the best way to go with this recipe. Use all the same ingredients and put in a crockpot on low for 8-10 hours and this is just like a taste of Hawaii!!!!

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kac2research

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jul. 12, 2009

I have been craving Kalua Pork for weeks and this totally hit the spot! I read most of the reviews and took all the suggestions. I doubled the liquid smoke and lemon zest; added ginger and garlic; and topped with sliced onions....MMMMMMM! Delicious! I used pork tenderlion (because that is what I had) and it came out awesome; it still fell apart and everything! Definately adding this to the rotation.

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Soccer Queen

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Jun. 1, 2009

My husband and I both thought that this was VERY close to the "real deal", however, when I made it mine did not come out as moist/ greasy as it is when in Hawaii. Any ideas on how to get that?

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Carrie24

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Rockford, Illinois, USA

Living In: Loves Park, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: May 1, 2009

FANTASTIC!!!! However I baked my in a tight-fitting casserole dish with about an inch of water. I was glad I checked on it early because it was at 200 degrees in about 3 1/2 hours.

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JAKAD

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 18, 2009

Being half Filipino, we make alot of these kinds of foods. Mine are more on the Polynesian type. My mother was taught this way too. I use a slow cooker and cook it all day long. It is awesome!Dont forget the garlic, I add onions too. Yummy!

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Patti

Home Town: Salinas, California, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 16, 2009

Kids enjoyed it with BBQ sauce, Cam and I loved it.

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Beth

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Reviewed: Mar. 12, 2009

This stuff is great! I even forgot to put the salt on it before baking and it was still great. I did sprinkle a little more liquid smoke on the meat when it was shredded right before serving. We all loved this... even my 2 and 5 year olds.

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heidiw

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Mar. 11, 2009

Came out okay, but not super flavorful either.

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giapet

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Reviewed: Mar. 1, 2009

I cooked it as the recipe stated. Maybe my oven runs hot (it is a new oven) but mine was done in only 2 hours. Had I let it cook the full 5 hours, it would have been burnt. It was also not really "shreddable," I ended up just chopping it. I add barbecue sauce because I think it's kind of bland otherwise. It comes out tasty, though.

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DALLASLADY

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Reviewed: Feb. 24, 2009

Although I am not an authority on Hawaiian cooking, I must say this pork is delicious. It is very tender and shreds so easily. I skipped over this recipe several times afraid that it would not be flavorful due to the minimal amount of ingredients, but my entire family loved it! I served it with BBQ sauce and teriyaki sauce.

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KRISTEN ANNE

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Reviewed: Feb. 15, 2009

I recently made this for a party, and it was a HUGE hit. I've been waiting for months to try a Kalua pork recipe, having visited Hawaii and had real Kalua pork. This recipe is delicious and perfect for a crowd or party - as it makes a lot of food with minimal effort! I did make modifications based on other reviewers suggestions, and have prepared this two different ways. This recipe is best in the oven, NOT a slow cooker - the oven method was much more tender and flavorful. I did make modifications, which I think added tothe recipe. My modifications were as follows: 3 T. minced garlic, 1 T. minced ginger AND increased the Liquid Smoke to 2 T. The additional Liquid Smoke really makes this recipe pop! I will definitely be making this again and again! Several people asked for the recipe. I've tried this both ways - once wrapped with tinfoil (the BEST!) and once wrapped with banana leaves. Both were very, very good. You can't go wrong with this one with the modifications. Be SURE to use Hawaiian Sea Salt... it makes all the difference!

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KRISTI

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Billings, Montana, USA

Living In: Duvall, Washington, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 12, 2008

I made this for a Luau for my boyfriend this summer and it was a HUGE HIT!!! Delicious.

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Cubbie_Girl

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Reviewed: Sep. 10, 2008

We added a whole clove of crushed garlic and about the same amount of grated fresh ginger to the liquid smoke, mixed it up, then rubbed it into the scored pork butt. We also laid out the foil then layered corn husks on top, placed the rest of the marinade onto the husks and wrapped the entire thing in corn husks (as they were to hand) on the top and bottom before completely sealing with foil. We cooked it as above. Note: When cooking more than one, it still only takes five hours cooking time if wrapped individually - I am a novice so we found that out the hard way!

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Jeraly

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, U.K.

Living In: Palm Springs, California, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 30, 2008

I thought we were going to run out this was such a huge hit at my daughter's graduation party! And I way over bought the recommened pounds per person! I followed the recipe, but added about 1-2 tablespoons fresh ginger and about 2-3 tablespoons minced garlic. Also, instead of the oven I used a crockpot and started it partially frozen on high for 5-6 hours. Then I turned it to low for another 4-6 hours and it came out perfectly!

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CWOOD28

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Corona, California, USA

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Reviewed: May 19, 2008

i did the recipe 3 different ways one because i cant have much salt so i did it with just liquid smoke and a little salt next i did one the exact recipe and than i did one the same way except i wrapped it in a banana leaf and i have to say the one with the leave was so tender and fell off the bone. the others were good but the one wrapped was great i recommend this!!!

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becky

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Houston, Texas, USA

Living In: Sulphur, Louisiana, USA

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Reviewed: Mar. 21, 2008

I used this recipe because I liked the idea that it is cooked in the oven. I also used the advice of the review that said to add ginger and garlic, so I added both, but I used ginger powder because I didn't have any fresh and I also added a sprinkling of brown sugar...MMMMMM it was sooooo good!! Thanks for the recipe!

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seattle stacey

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Reviewed: Mar. 3, 2008

What an easy and great recipe! I cooked up 3 five pound pork roasts for a large group of people. The roast was tender and fell apart. I served the pork on Kaiser rolls with Oriental-Sesame cole slaw from this site. I also made up a batch of mango barbeque sauce to go with. The leftovers are even better.

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