🐖 Kalua pig
Kalua pig is Hawaiian smoky shredded pork, traditionally cooked whole in an underground oven called an imu. At home it is made by seasoning pork shoulder with coarse sea salt, wrapping it in banana leaves and cooking it slowly until it falls apart. The meat is juicy, salty and smoky. It is served at luau feasts and in plate lunches with rice.
Diets
Allergens
None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 kg pork shoulder
- 1½ tbsp coarse sea salt
- 4–5 banana leaves
- 250 ml water
Method
- Pierce the pork all over with a knife and rub it with the sea salt.
- Wrap the pork tightly in the banana leaves and place it in a roasting pan with the water.
- Cover tightly with foil and cook at 150 °C for 5–6 hours until it pulls apart easily.
- Unwrap, shred the meat with two forks and mix it with some of the juices.
- Taste for salt and serve.
How to make it lighter
- Skim the fat from the cooking juices before mixing them back into the meat.
- Keep to about 150 g of meat and add cabbage or salad on the side.
- Serve with one scoop of rice instead of two.
History
Kalua means ‘to cook in an underground oven’ in Hawaiian. The imu method, with hot stones and layers of leaves, has long been central to Hawaiian feasts, and kalua pig remains the main dish of the luau today.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →