Kālua simply means, “Baked in an earth oven”. Not a drink some have over ice. Kālua pork typically conjures up images in our minds of big luau feasts, a tropical Hawaiian setting, and a whole pig coated in salt wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an imu (underground oven). Most of us don’t have access to any of that, but we can come pretty darn close only using our kitchen countertop, a slow cooker, and a few ingredients. And did we say ‘ono, or delicious? It certainly is, and most of the cooking effort can be done while we work from home or the office.
A simple recipe that only requires 4 ingredients, about 5-10 minutes of prep time, and 8-12 hours of cooking that requires no work, and no supervision. And about $.50/plate of food. Let’s get started!
Slow-Cooker Sugar-Free Kālua Pork Lettuce Wraps Recipe
Ingredients:
For the Slow Cooker Pork:
- 3-5 lbs. Pork Butt or Pork Shoulder roast
- 1-2 Tablespoons of Liquid Smoke
- 3-4 Tablespoons of Sea Salt
For the Lettuce Wrap:
- 1 Head Iceberg or 2-3 heads of Romine Lettuce
- Your favorite toppings (Salsa, boiled cabbage, rice, olive oil, etc.)
Instructions:
- Poke holes in Pork with knife or fork to allow flavoring to penetrate easier
- Cover the pork roast with the sea salt evenly
3. Coat the pork roast with the Liquid Smoke while in the slow cooker
4. Cook pork roast in slow cooker on low heat for 8-12 hours
A. Optional- turn the roast and coat with drippings form the bottom of cooker.
5. Pull apart pork and add to lettuce leaves along with your favorite toppings (Pictured with Romaine lettuce and diced canned tomatoes). Serve 2-3 wraps on a plate and enjoy!
Nutritional data is estimated, based on serving size
- Calories: 390
- Sugar: 0g
- Fat: 28g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 32g
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