I developed this recipe after taking a cooking class taught by Rob Green at Asian Community Center Senior Services in Sacramento, California. This recipe makes a LOT of Kalua pork so if you want to test it out, maybe try half-recipe for the first time.

Ingredients:

• 5 lb. boneless pork butt roast
• 1½ tbsp. Hawaiian Alaea sea salt
• 1 tbsp. Liquid Smoke, Hickory or Mesquite flavor
• 1 head cabbage
• Garlic, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Use a small knife to make small slits into the roast and put slices of garlic in the holes. (garlic can be omitted)
2. Pierce the roast all over with a fork.
3. Pour the liquid smoke evenly over the roast and rub liberally with the sea salt.*
4. Cook in a slow cooker for 8-12 hours, using the low setting. Check roast at about 8 hours for doneness. If not done, continue cooking, checking every hour. Do NOT add water to slower cooker.
5. Wash and chop cabbage into bite size pieces. When the pork is done, add some of the liquid released from the pork and mix with the cabbage.
6. Bake cabbage for approximately 30 minutes at 350° until cabbage is soft.
7. Shred the pork and add some of the liquid smoke back into the shredded pork to keep it from drying out. Mix in the cabbage.

* Note about the amount of salt: I found the following comment online.

If the roast is smaller, UNDER 6 lbs (4 lbs is usually the smallest I find in the store or from my butcher) use less salt, 2 tsp. – 1 tbsp. if desired. If you have a larger roast OVER 6 lbs up to 10-12 lbs use 1-3 tbsp. The only seasoning the roast gets is from the salt, and I personally like to err on the side of saltier.

– Submitted by Donna Komure-Toyama