Slow Cooker Kalua Pork

Making insanely tender Kalua Pork in the slow cooker draws inspiration from the Hawaiian classic, using just three key ingredients. While I prefer pairing this tender and juicy pork with chive-lime rice (recipe included), it's equally fantastic tucked into a bun.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Hawaiian

Keyword Slow Cooker Kalua Pork

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 12

Total Time 12 5

Servings people

Calories 397kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

Ingredients

Kalua Pork Ingredients:

1 (4 lbs.) pork butt (Boston butt) or pork shoulder*
1 tbsp. mesquite liquid smoke or hickory liquid smoke
3/4 tsps. Hawaiian alaea salt or pink Himalayan
(optional) lime wedges for serving

Instructions

How to Make Slow Cooker Kalua Pork:

Rub pork butt all over with liquid smoke and sprinkle with Hawaiian salt, rubbing it in. Place salted pork butt in slow cooker on low heat for 12 hours. Do not open lid.
1 (4 lbs.) pork butt (Boston butt) or pork shoulder*, 1 tbsp. mesquite liquid smoke, 3/4 tsps. Hawaiian alaea salt
When finished, remove pork from liquid and shred with two forks. Taste the meat, if you feel it needs a little more salt, drizzle a few Tablespoons of the leftover cooking liquid over the meat and mix in. Do not shred the pork in the liquid in the slow cooker as it will end up too salty. Serve with extra lime wedges.
(optional) lime wedges for serving

Video

Notes

*For every extra pound of pork, add an extra hour to the cooking time.

Serve with Chive-Lime Rice:

5 cups water**
2 cups dry basmati rice
3 Tablespoons chopped chives
zest and juice of three limes, more for squeezing
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Before pork is done, in a large saucepan, bring 5 cups of water to a boil. Add rice, stir and turn heat down to low. Cover and cook rice for 15 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Add chives, lime zest, juice, salt and mix well. Serve with pork.
**This water measurement is for basmati rice only. Other rice may use less or more water when cooking.

I love serving this chive-lime rice with other dishes like my chicken fajita casserole and my sheet pan chicken fajitas.

For optimal outcomes when preparing this kalua pork, it's recommended to refer to the recipe details within the post. The recipe post commonly includes valuable notes, expert tips and frequently asked questions, that are not presented in the recipe card, often including how to make this recipe dairy-free, gluten free or vegan and ideas for healthy ingredient substitutions or variations.

The provided nutrition information is merely an approximation, as variations can arise depending on the specific ingredients/brands you select.

Nutrition