Hawaiian Slow Cooker Kalua Pork

12 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 5 minutes

Slow Cooker Kalua Pork takes just three ingredients (no liquid smoke!) to make the most tender, delicious Hawaiian pork outside the islands!

Serve this delicious Kalua Pork with Easy Macaroni Salad, Steamed Rice and Kalbi Ribs for the perfect Hawaiian BBQ plate!

Slow Cooker Kalua PorkSLOW COOKER KALUA PORK

Three ingredients, 24 hands-off hours and you have a deliciously crispy, soft, tender Hawaiian Luau Pork that will make you wonder why you every made pork shoulder any other way before! You may have noticed that I have an affinity for cooking meat in my slow cooker.

This Kalua Pork is the grand daddy to them all. This recipe was the first in my “no liquids added” journey and even though we make the Slow Cooker Crisp and Juicy Chicken (the most popular crispy slow cooker meat recipe on the site) the most often, this one is our hands down favorite!

I’m going to go ahead and input this into a recipe for you guys, but I almost feel ridiculous for calling it that since it is so few ingredients and just one actual step of cooking. One important note though, make sure your pork is at least 5-6 pounds. If it is smaller, cook for half the time.

Is pork not your thing? Prefer Turkey? Try my Slow Cooker Turkey Thighs or Slow Cooker Turkey Breast. You can also make a whole Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Meal using turkey thighs or legs. If you are open to all three and you are wondering which one to try first? THIS IS THE ONE!

How to Make Kalua Pork:

First find a good large pork shoulder (this cut is sometimes also referred to as a pork butt). I prefer the bone in variety, cooking bone in always adds significantly more flavor.
Make sure you put it in the slow cooker fattier side up. Cover with a liberal amount of Hawaiian/Himalayan Salt. I used a tablespoon on the bottom side and a tablespoon on top. Don’t worry about the salt, a lot of it will stay behind in our liquid, probably about 75% of it.

Add about a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce to the top of the roast. Cover, cook on low for 24 hours. Now stand back and admire your amazing meal you are in store for.  Wondering what the inside looks like? Looking for a crispy crust? Note, I do scrape off the entire fat cap, but there is still about 30-40% of the exterior that is deliciously crisp. Worried 24 hours in the slow cooker would mean dry meat?

Raw Kalua Pork

Serving Kalua Pork Later?

If you aren’t going to be eating it right away, try and remove it in one piece after it cools and store in a pot with the cooking liquid. Heat gently in a 300 degree oven. Discard fatty liquid before serving.

More delicious Hawaiian Recipes:

Kalua Pork Collage

Worcestershire Sauce vs. Liquid Smoke:

If you’re curious why I am using Worcestershire here instead of liquid smoke (article about it in Wikipedia) it is because I’m not a fan of liquid smoke as an ingredient in food. While there is debate about it’s safety (which I won’t wade into because hey we all eat processed foods from time to time!) I find that the substitute does a great job and means one less item you have to buy.

If you prefer an authentically smoky flavor you can also drape bacon over the pork since it’s a smoked product.

Kalua Pig in Slow Cooker

How to make easy BBQ Pulled Pork instead:

We also make pork for Pulled Pork sandwiches this way minus the Worcestershire sauce. Toss with Tony Roma’s Original BBQ Sauce.

Slow Cooker Chimichurri Pork:

Even more addicting, instead of bbq sauce try adding ¼ cup of chopped garlic to the pork instead of the Worcestershire sauce. When cooked, toss it in some Chimichurri Sauce and serve it in a Potato bun.

Tools Used in the making of this Slow Cooker Kalua Pork:
Slow Cooker: Love this slow cooker and how programmable it is, it has been a workhorse for me… until…
My New Slow Cooker: This recipe was made in this slow cooker. For larger roasts I also brown the meat in the insert and not lose a bunch of the flavor by transferring the meat and leaving the browned bits behind. If you’re thinking of a new slow cooker, consider it if your budget is open.

Shredded Hawaiian Kalua Pork

Pin this recipe now to remember it later

Pin Recipe

Hawaiian Slow Cooker Kalua Pork

Slow Cooker Kalua Pork takes just three ingredients (no liquid smoke!) to make the most tender, delicious Hawaiian pork outside the islands!
Yield 12 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 5 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 6 pound pork shoulder , bone-in
  • 2 tablespoons pink salt , Hawaiian or Himalayan (kosher salt is ok too)
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

  • Put pork in the slow cooker, fattier side up.
  • Season with salt all over then add the Worcestershire sauce.
  • Cover and cook on low for 24 hours (don't add any water).

Nutrition

Calories: 205kcal | Protein: 27g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 1281mg | Potassium: 483mg | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 1.3mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1.8mg
Keyword: Kalua Pork, Slow Cooker Kalua Pork

Kalua Pork in a slow cooker

Three ingredients, 24 hands-off hours and you have a deliciously crispy, soft, tender Hawaiian Luau Pork that will make you wonder why you every made pork shoulder any other way before!

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

Categories

Leave a comment & rating

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Absolutely amazing! Moist, tender, and delicious. I had purchased a 10 lb roast (I know the recipe is for 6 lbs). I followed the directions with the exception of the weight and adding another hour cooking time. Wonderful results, will definitely make again!!!

    1. How to make easy BBQ Pulled Pork instead:

      We also make pork for Pulled Pork sandwiches this way minus the Worcestershire sauce. Toss with Tony Roma’s Original BBQ Sauce.

      Slow Cooker Chimichurri Pork:

      Even more addicting, instead of bbq sauce try adding 1/4 cup of chopped garlic to the pork instead of the Worcestershire sauce. When cooked, toss it in some Chimichurri Sauce and serve it in a Potato bun.

  2. Soo good! Flavor was spot on. Made it in instapot for lack of time. Next time the slow cooker! Will be even better – had it with mashed potatoes and pickled beets. Yummy!

  3. First….I have your cookbook and it is fabulous.
    Second….I can’t stop making this…every year I visit my mom for a couple of weeks…the morning I’m leaving..I put a pork butt in her slow cooker. This has become a tradition. This is the absolute best pork roast…our whole family thanks you for this…and all your easy tasty recipes.