Incredible juicy and tender Hawaiian-style Slow Cooker Kalua Pork recipe with the most amazing flavor! Only requires 3 ingredients and can be served alone or in salads, tacos, and more!
For more 5-star favorite recipes, check out my posts for Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken Thighs, Crispy Oven Roasted Smashed Potatoes, Pork Carnitas, and Chipotle Barbacoa Beef.
Why This Recipe Works
So. very. Easy. — This slow cooker kalua pork is basically the easiest dish you will ever prepare in your entire life. Truly. Only 3 ingredients and about 57 seconds of preparation. Then all you have to do is let your slow cooker do its magic for a good 8-10 hours. Come back and BAM: The most alaka-zam-azing pork you’ve ever smelled/seen/tasted in your whole existence.
Delicious — Not only is this recipe so so simple, it’s also crazy tasty. Honest to goodness the flavor of this pork is out-of-this-world delicious. Smokey and salty and just everything good. Hard to believe only three ingredients can deliver this kind of happiness, but here we are!
Versatile — I use this pork dish for all sorts of dishes. I dare you to resist eating it straight out of your slow cooker with a fork, but if you can control yourself long enough to prepare yourself a taco or a salad (or a quesadilla or a sandwich wrap, or…) it’ll blow your mind.
Party ready — Throwing a party (or larger get-together) soon? Don’t feel like spending lots of time in the kitchen? Then this slow cooker kalua pork is for you. Use an extra large roast, double the liquid smoke and salt and voila — you’ve got enough pork to fill the bellies of many, many guests. That is, of course, if you feel like sharing.
Ingredients
- 4-pound pork shoulder roast — I’ve found this size of pork roast to be perfect for this recipe but don’t sweat it if you find one slightly smaller or larger, it will be great and so delicious.
- Liquid smoke — I admit, I was skeptical about this ingredient. What is it? How does it work? Would it taste too “fake”? The answer to all of those questions is I don’t know but it tastes so good and smoky and not fake at all. It gives delicious flavor that tastes just like you’ve been smoking this pork roast all day on a smoker, rather than sneakily in your slow cooker.
- Himalayan pink salt — Available in larger crystals than normal table salt, I love how Himalayan pink salt imparts a slightly saltier taste (and just the tiniest bit sweet too) to pork than regular salt. But if you don’t have it, just use regular salt, that’s fine.
Here’s How You Make It
It almost seems silly to even call this a recipe, what with so few ingredients but here’s how you’d put it all together for the most perfect kalua pork ever.
- First, lightly grease a slow cooker crock with nonstick spray, then pierce the pork roast all over with a fork, and put it in the slow cooker. (photo 1)
- Pour the tablespoon of liquid smoke evenly over the roast, then sprinkle with the salt. (You might be tempted to add more smoke — don’t do this! Trust me, a little goes a long way.) (photo 2)
- Add the lid to the slow cooker and set to cook on low for 8-12 hours. A smaller roast will be done in around 8 hours, while a larger one can take up to 12. If you’re not sure if the pork is cooked all the way, insert a meat thermometer. If it reads 145 degrees, you’re good to go. (photo 3)
- Take the lid off the pork, and shred it with two forks. (photo 4)
- Dive in!
Expert Tips & Tricks
- If you want to use a really big roast you can double the liquid smoke and salt and keep the extra meat stored in an airtight container in the fridge all week long for incredible leftovers and quick-fix meals!
- This slow cooker kalua pork keeps well in the freezer too. Just put in an airtight container and store for up to 6 months.
- I love to eat this slow cooker kalua pork on tacos with slaw, (Fish Tacos with Slaw are delicious too!) but you can also add it atop salads, in wraps, on a sandwich, on top of baked potatoes, over rice — you name it!
Himalayan salt is less processed than regular table salt because it’s mined in the (you guessed it) Himalayan mountains. People believe that because pink Himalayan salt is harvested from a mine that’s millions of years old, it is free of additives and pollution thought to be a part of regular table salt. Pink Himalayan salt also possesses other minerals and trace elements you can’t find in other salts.
All salts contain mostly sodium chloride, but table salt has MORE sodium chloride and that can lead to high blood pressure and a number of other health ailments. Long story short, while pink Himalayan salt may be slightly healthier for you, I just love it for its taste and slight (ever so slight) sweetness that balances out the pork and liquid smoke flavors.
The name for this dish comes from the original method of cooking the pork, which is the Hawaiian word kālua, meaning, “to be cooked in an underground oven.” Now, I don’t know about you but I don’t have an underground oven. So, we cheat this process by using a slow cooker and liquid smoke. It might not be exactly as amazing as the pork you’d get on the island, but it’s darn close and I’ll take it!
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Hawaiian Mac Salad
- Pork Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
- Kalua Pork Tacos
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos
- Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Copycat
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo on social – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Slow Cooker Kalua Pork
Ingredients
- 1 4-pound pork shoulder roast - (or similar roast, size can vary a bit too)
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke - (you can find this in almost any grocery store)
- 1 tablespoon Himalayan pink salt - (sold in most grocery stores)
Instructions
- Lightly grease your slow cooker with nonstick spray. Pierce the roast all over with a fork. Place in slow cooker.
- Pour liquid smoke evenly over the roast, then sprinkle with the salt.
- Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours. (For a larger roast you’ll need closer to the 12 hours)
- Uncover, pull pork apart with 2 forks. Serve alone or you can serve it over rice, in tacos, salads, and more!
Trending on MSN.COM your receipe. Thanks So much it looks delicious. I can’t wait to try this receipe.
Thanks So Much Kate St. James
There’s confusion about the salt. I grew up in Hawaii and we use Hawaiian rock salt which is chunky like Himalayan. You’re not supposed to grind it. My recipe is as easy as 3-2-1. For every 3lb of pork, use 2 Tablespoons of liquid smoke and 1 Tablespoon of rock salt. I put 1/2 c. Water in bottom of crock, liq.smoke and salt and give it a quick swish then add pork and cook for 8 hours. Before serving, slice up a cabbage, put in microwaveable dish, add a cup of liquid from crock pot and cook for 15 minutes to soften. Shred pork in some of the juice to keep moist. Hope that helps…
If I want to add cabbage to this, when would be the best time to do that? and how much should i add for an adequate amount?
I made the Kalua pork. It was excellent. I could have used half the salt though. It was tasty though. Thanks!
I was excited to try this because I had a Pork shoulder in the freezer. I thawed it yesterday and then put it in the crockpot this morning. I did not remember that it was an 8 lb roast and it felt kind of wrong to put 2 TBSP of pink salt and 2 TBSP of smoke because really when do you ever put 2 tablespoons of salt in anything but I did and it turned out so FABULOUS!! Thanks, thanks, thanks!
Just finished lunch. Corn tortillas, the delicious pork, cotija cheese, cilantro lime crema, picked onions and radishes, onions, tomatoes and, the only thing I didn’t make, hot sauce from the Mexican joint around the corner!
Awesome!
We went to Maui for our honeymoon in October. We had Kalua pork EVERYTHING while we were there. Kalua pork nachos, quesadillas, spring rolls, sandwiches and, of course, straight up at the luau. We couldn’t get enough! My husband was sad to leave.
When we came home, I found a slow cooker recipe just like yours, and knew I had to try it. The only change I made was using Hawaiian pink sea salt instead of Himalyan. I served it on rice with roasted cabbage. It was great! Almost as good as the traditional version, and I didn’t have to dig a pit in the back yard! 🙂
I’m eager to try your recipes. I already have a bunch of them lined up!
Tip: Wrapping the pork in ti leaf or banana leaf will add ‘ono and give it a bit of a Lau Lau flavor (minus the fish, of course). Either way brok’ da mout!!
Do you use boneless?
Yep!
I have this in my crock pot now. I think in the future, however, I will use Kosher salt instead of pink Himalayan. The only pink Himalayan salt I could find required it to be ground before using. That took about 15 minutes of grinding enough salt to get a tablespoon (with rest stops). That was about 14 minutes and 45 seconds too much of grinding for me.
But I’m sure this will taste great. I’ve had salt chicken before and salt potatoes, and it’s amazing what just an application of salt will do for meat. Looking forward to a great meal tonight!
Oh shoot that’s too bad! I buy mine already ground so it takes about 1 second just to scoop some out of the jar ha. But I do have a sea salt grinder and it doesn’t take very long to get a tablespoon – I wonder if your grinder isn’t very good!
Should I be looking for a ground Pink Himalayan salt? I just saw this in the comments but didn’t see that notated above. I’ve never used this before! I think I’ve only ever seen the granulated version!
Hi Sheri, I think I’ve only come across one kind of Himalayan salt so whatever you can find should work great 🙂
This was AMAZING. Followed recipe as written except that I seared beforehand and added pepper. I’m not a big pork fan at all but I would make this again and again. Could not be any simpler.
Thanks for sharing a great recipe. I’m giving it *****
Are you supposed to add water? Or is it dry in the slow cooker? Looks delicious, can’t wait to try it out!
Hi Marielle! No water needed, just cover and cook, you’ll find that when you go to shred it later there will be liquid in the pot from the meat and it will soak back into the meat – it’s perfect! 🙂
Would you remove the thick layer of fat/skin and nettinG Around the pork? I found the flavour didnt Penetrate Well fIrst time oveR. I Pierced all over And poured liQuid smoke/salt over the side without the fat.
What is the difference between Himalayan pink salt and regular salt? Could you get away with regular salt?
Hi Alexa, you could probably sub regular table salt but definitely decrease the amount a bit because the granules are much smaller!
Similar to what I make, except…I also add a bit of fresh ground black pepper to the roast, and lay spinach or similar greens, in the bottom of the slow cooker to simulate the bananna leaves this is normally cooked in. I also sear my roast in a skillet first, just to get a crust on the outside. Either way, it is fantastic! It could be cooked on high, but low is the best…especially if you are using the greens. When it’s done, the greens will also be suitable as a side dish if you drain the grease before hand. Either way…it’s awesome…and cheap! Since the price of beef has skyrocketed, I’ve turned a lot more toward pork as a substitute! I’ve made this many times, and there are always leftovers. As you stated, that leaves many possibilities for BBQ sandwiches, tacos, quesadillas, etc. I’ve done it in the slow cooker and also in a cast iron dutch oven. Both turned out basically the same, but the dutch oven allowed less mess and clean-up, since you can pre-sear the roast in the same pot! Thanks for posting this! I encourage everyone to try this. You can use either a bone-in or a boneless roast, but I prefer the bone-in. More flavorful, but a bit more waste and a bit more “refinement” at the end. The bone(s) will pull away easily, but you have to clean the pork a bit more of “connective tissue”, etc.. when “pulling” it. Either way, you will certainly enjoy it! Oh…BTW…the pork freezes well also!
Oh yummy!! This would be so good!