January 14th, 2008
Kalua Pig
The centerpiece of any luau is of course the kalua pig. Pulled hot out of the imu (and if you’ve gone to the Polynesian Cultural Center you get to see them actually open the imu - the smell is amazing!) this shredded pork has nothing to do with the famous liquor, Kahlua (notice the “h” when someone is talking about the liquor?) - it means to be rubbed in salt and smoked in the imu.
Of course, on the mainland most of us don’t have an imu 
So how to replicate the flavor of a yummy luau treat like kalua pig? You don’t need to look any further than your crock pot. Simple ingredients add up to a really wonderful main dish, no shoveling in the garden required.
INGREDIENTS:
- 5-6 pound pork butt - make sure it will fit in your crockery cooker
- 2½ tablespoons Kosher salt (if you can find Hawaiian salt, by all means use it! Hilo Hattie makes a smoked sea salt which is yummy)
- 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
DIRECTIONS:
First grab a big fork. You’re going to wash the pork butt and patt dry, then pierce it all over with that fork so there are plenty of little holes for the yummy flavor to go into. Next, rub the roast first with the liquid smoke, then with the kosher salt. Once you’ve finished giving the pork roast it’s massage, into the crock pot it goes on low for at least 12 hours, and more like 16. (This is a recipe you want to start early in the day, or even the night before!) Once times up, lift the roast out of the cooker and shred - add dripping from the crock pot to moisten it if you need to. That’s all there is to it!