Hawaiian Kailua Pork

Narshmellow's Note:

Ohhhh... you have not lived until you've had Kailua Pork with Rice. Succulent, smoky flavor. Heavenly! This was given to me by my friend Andrea when she made it a year or so ago for a group of us and I begged her for the recipe. She grew up in Hawaii with her sisters and this is one recipe that they brought with them. Every ingredient is essential, don't skip them. I'm guessing at the servings but 5 lbs is a lot of meat.

• Total Time: 5 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 5 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

• 5 lbs boston butt
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 1 bottle liquid smoke
• 1 bag spinach

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a 9 x 13 pan with one layer heavy duty aluminum foil or two sheets regular foil.
3. Place half the spinach on the bottom where the roast will sit.
4. Rub the roast with the salt (sea salt is the best flavor for your pork).
5. Place on spinach bed then pour the whole bottle of liquid smoke over it.
6. Layer the rest of the spinach on the top and roll the foil up around the pork to cover it entirely like a package.
7. (the spinach should be surrounding it and the foil should make it so none of the juices spill out.) Bake in the oven for 5 hours.
8. When done it will fall apart and it is shredded easily with a couple of forks.
9. Excellent with sticky rice.
10. (short-grain rice).

Reviews

[MelinOhio]

Just loved this recipe, and so simple. Thanks for sharing this great recipe. I will make this again.

[westtextazzy]

Deliciouso! I had Kailua Pork as a kid growing up in Okinawa (Japan)--we had an Hawaiian neighbor who threw the world's best Hawaiian parties. She made the pig in the ground with banana and coconut fronds covering it. I loved this recipe because I didn't have to dig a pit or find banana leaves to cook it--thank goodness! The flavour is surprisingly very close to my neighbor's succulent pig. The spinach in this recipe acts much in the same way as the banana leaves--sealing in the juices of the pig. Use the sea salt--it's a much better flavor than the fine salt. Also, let the meat rest 7-10 minutes before shredding it. I served this with a "salsa" of sliced radishes, chopped cilantro, and green onions, and sea salt. We piled it high on toasted seseme seed buns. Delicious, and ALOHA! Thanks for sharing this great recipe.

[steve in FL]

I followed the directions exactly, and the pork came out great! Not salty at all, but I used course sea salt rather than fine sea salt, which the store had both of.. my house smelled GREAT for the 5 hours and I will definitely make this again.