Suspension rebuild and disc brake swap...by a noob for noobs
While I was working on this project, my wife (a saint) was prepping for a party we were hosting for people I work with. One of the few things she asked me to do is cook the kalua pig. My family picked up a taste for this stuff when I was stationed at Kaneohe Bay. It's traditionally a whole pig cooked in a charcoal pit covered with leaves and dirt for many hours, but you get almost the same effect very easily at home with a pork shoulder cooked in a crock pot with liquid smoke. Here's everything you need:
Pork shoulder, a.k.a. "butt" is the meat you want. Bone-in might give a little more flavor but honestly I don't notice a difference. You want about 5-6 pounds. I was actually doing a double recipe here in two crockpots.
Rinse the meat and pat dry, put it in the crockpot, then poke it all over with a fork to allow the salt and smoke flavor in.
Next add the liquid smoke and the salt. Some brands of liquid smoke have other stuff added, but the good stuff is just water and burned hickory. Dribble one tablespoon (yes, a whole tablespoon) of this all over the top of the meat:
and sprinkle a tablespoon or two of salt:
How much salt to add is a matter of taste but it also depends on what kind of salt you use. If you can find the pink Hawaiian salt (maybe at Whole Foods), 2 tablespoons is about right; it's not as salty as other salt because it contains other minerals like iron. For the kind in the picture, 2 tablespoons was a bit much.
Now just turn the crockpot on low and leave it alone for up to 10-16 hours. The flavor keeps growing the longer you cook it, but too long and the meat starts to get mushy. I started mine about 11pm and my wife turned it off at 3pm the next day, shortly before the party started. Note: this stuff will really make the room smell like smoke, so I like to cook it on the screened-in porch.
Once it's done cooking, just shred the meat with a couple of forks and dig in. In Hawaii it's served with white rice (rinsed, soaked Calrose gives you that Asian-style rice they like in Hawaii) and macaroni salad, but it's also good with barbecue sauce and rolls.
While I was working on this project, my wife (a saint) was prepping for a party we were hosting for people I work with. One of the few things she asked me to do is cook the kalua pig. My family picked up a taste for this stuff when I was stationed at Kaneohe Bay. It's traditionally a whole pig cooked in a charcoal pit covered with leaves and dirt for many hours, but you get almost the same effect very easily at home with a pork shoulder cooked in a crock pot with liquid smoke. Here's everything you need:
Pork shoulder, a.k.a. "butt" is the meat you want. Bone-in might give a little more flavor but honestly I don't notice a difference. You want about 5-6 pounds. I was actually doing a double recipe here in two crockpots.
Rinse the meat and pat dry, put it in the crockpot, then poke it all over with a fork to allow the salt and smoke flavor in.
Next add the liquid smoke and the salt. Some brands of liquid smoke have other stuff added, but the good stuff is just water and burned hickory. Dribble one tablespoon (yes, a whole tablespoon) of this all over the top of the meat:
and sprinkle a tablespoon or two of salt:
How much salt to add is a matter of taste but it also depends on what kind of salt you use. If you can find the pink Hawaiian salt (maybe at Whole Foods), 2 tablespoons is about right; it's not as salty as other salt because it contains other minerals like iron. For the kind in the picture, 2 tablespoons was a bit much.
Now just turn the crockpot on low and leave it alone for up to 10-16 hours. The flavor keeps growing the longer you cook it, but too long and the meat starts to get mushy. I started mine about 11pm and my wife turned it off at 3pm the next day, shortly before the party started. Note: this stuff will really make the room smell like smoke, so I like to cook it on the screened-in porch.
Once it's done cooking, just shred the meat with a couple of forks and dig in. In Hawaii it's served with white rice (rinsed, soaked Calrose gives you that Asian-style rice they like in Hawaii) and macaroni salad, but it's also good with barbecue sauce and rolls.