Slow Cooker Kalua Pork (Hawaiian Style Pulled Pork)
A simple, authentic-style Hawaiian kalua pig made easy with a slow cooker — no backyard pit required!
🛒 Ingredients
- 1 (6-pound) pork butt roast
- 1 ½ tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (mesquite or hickory flavor)
🧑🍳 Instructions
- Prep the Pork:
Use a fork to pierce the roast all over. Rub in the Hawaiian sea salt, followed by the liquid smoke. - Slow Cook:
Place the roast in your slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 16 to 20 hours. Flip the roast once during cooking. - Shred and Serve:
Remove the pork, shred with two forks, and mix it with the juices from the slow cooker to moisten.
Optional: Skim off excess fat from the drippings before mixing back in.
🔁 Tips & Variations
- Banana Trick: Place an unpeeled, sliced banana on top of the pork while cooking for subtle sweetness (simulates banana leaf cooking).
- More Smoky Flavor: Add an extra teaspoon of liquid smoke when shredding.
- Serving Suggestions: Serve with sticky rice, Hawaiian coleslaw, or sweet rolls. Also great for tacos, sliders, or with BBQ sauce.
📊 Nutrition Info (Per Serving)
- Fat: 15g
- Protein: 26g
👨🍳 Tried & True Tips from the Community
- Use coarse Hawaiian sea salt (fine salt makes it too salty).
- Save leftovers for tacos, quesadillas, or carnitas!
- For an oven version: Cook at 200°F for 20 hours if it doesn’t fit in your slow cooker.
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🌶️ Tips for Making Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water
Here are some helpful tips for making traditional Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water:
- Use Hawaiian sea salt. This is essential—regular salt just isn’t the same.
- Hawaiian chili peppers are ideal, but if you can’t find them, Thai chili peppers are a great substitute (that’s what I use).
- Ginger is optional. Some traditional recipes include it, others don’t. My sister-in-law doesn’t use it, so I usually leave it out too.
- Want to mix it up? Some people add a splash of soy sauce, sriracha, or pineapple juice to tweak the flavor. I like to keep it more traditional, but feel free to experiment!
- Vinegar options: I use white vinegar, but some recipes call for rice vinegar (mirin). I’m planning to try that next!
❄️ How Long Does Chili Pepper Water Last?
If stored in an airtight container in the fridge, chili pepper water will last several months.
📌 Recipe: Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water
Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water is a local Hawaiian condiment that’s used like hot sauce. It’s simple, spicy, and absolutely packed with flavor.
🧂 Ingredients:
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 ½ teaspoons Hawaiian sea salt
- 2 tablespoons vinegar (white or rice vinegar)
- 2 cups water
- 6 Hawaiian chili peppers (or more if you like it hotter)
🔥 Instructions:
- Finely chop 3 garlic cloves and the chili peppers.
- In a small pot, add:
- Chopped garlic and peppers (Thai peppers are a good substitute for Hawaiian peppers)
- 1 ½ teaspoons Hawaiian sea salt
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 2 cups water
- Bring to a boil. Once boiling, let it boil for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- Once cooled, transfer to a bottle or jar and refrigerate.
- Let it sit for 2–3 days before using for best flavor.
🧊 Storage:
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 6 months.