Sam Choys Oven Roasted Kalua Pig Recipes

SAM CHOY'S OVEN-ROASTED KALUA PIG

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Using small sharp knife, cut 1/4-inch-deep slits 1 inch apart all over pork roast. Rub 2 tablespoons sea salt all over pork. Unfold 1 banana leaf on work surface and place pork roast atop leaf. Fold up leaf around pork, enclosing completely. Repeat wrapping pork in remaining 2 banana leaves, 1 at a time.
• Tie with kitchen string to secure, then wrap roast in foil. Place pork in roasting pan; pour 4 cups water into pan.
• Roast pork in oven until very tender when pierced with fork, about 5 hours. Unwrap pork and cool slightly. Shred pork and place in large bowl. Bring remaining 2 cups water and remaining 2 teaspoons salt to boil in small saucepan. Add liquid smoke; pour over pork and stir to blend. Let stand 10 minutes to allow liquid to flavor pork. Serve.

NO-IMU KALUA PIG

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. After scoring pork on all sides with quarter-inch deep slits about an inch apart, rub with salt, then liquid smoke. Wrap the pork completely in ti leaves, tie with string and wrap in foil.
• Place meat in a shallow roasting pan with 2 cups water and roast for 4 hours. Dissolve 1 tablespoon Hawaiian salt in 2 cups boiling water and add a few drops of liquid smoke. Shred the cooked pork and let stand in this solution for a few minutes before serving.

WHOLE KAHLUA PIG ROASTED IN A SAND ENCLOSED OVEN FOR A LUAU

Steps:

• Dig a pit in the sand 2 feet deep and 6 feet in diameter. Add the river rocks and cover with enough of the wood to get the fire underway to heat the rocks. (You will add the additional wood as needed.) Start the fire (to heat the rocks to 800 degrees F). Add the metal panels on top of the fire to contain heat without smothering the fire.
• Using assistance place the gutted pig in the supine position on the stretcher-like platform and wrap the affixed chicken wire around to mostly secure the pig, but leaving enough room to be able to put the heated lava rocks inside the body cavity.
• Place some banana "stumps" in the body cavity of the pig to serve as a buffer between the hot coals and the pig meat to prevent the flesh from burning.
• Protecting your face, hands, and body with proper gear and using safe equipment, remove enough of the metal panels from the fire to retrieve the heated rocks with fire safe tongs. Someone will use heavy fire mitts to hold the rocks in a pair of tongs, while the other person uses the ti leaves "brush" to dust off the ash. The rocks with the ash removed are then placed one-by-one in the cavity of the pig so it will cook from the inside out with dry heat. Place some additional banana "stumps" in the body cavity of the pig to serve as a buffer between the hot coals and the pig meat to prevent the flesh from burning. The carcass of the pig is then closed with chicken wire and additional metal wire as needed to secure the chicken wire. Remove the attachments that have been holding the chicken wire to the stretcher. Transfer the pig to sit atop the metal panels of the imu, and use the additional ti leaves like aluminum foil, placing them dull side up, shiny side down in a cross configuration to steam the exterior of the pig with the moisture from the ti leaves.
• When the pig is cooked through, approximately eight hours, use assistance to remove it from the fire, let rest for 30 minutes, then carve it down. The cheeks of the pig should be reserved for the most honored guest.

OVEN ROASTED KALUA PIG

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix salt, Worcestershire sauce, shoyu, ginger, garlic and liquid smoke.
• Place pork roast on ti leaves.
• Rub pork roast with marinade and let stand 1 hour.
• Fold ti leaves over to enclose pork, then wrap in aluminum foil.
• Place in roasting pan and bake in a preheated 325F oven for four to five hours until done.
• Unwrap, shred and serve.