5:49 PM
Erica
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| The little pile on the left is the smoked salt grains |
Slow cooker Kalua pig has quite a bit of notoriety among slow-cooker recipes. It's so simple yet so tasty: just get a huge pork roast, rub it with liquid smoke and [preferably Hawaiian sea] salt, and cook for a long time until meltingly tender. I've made it several times and it's always a hit. But what if someone doesn't want to use liquid smoke? A lot of people find the taste to be overpowering or artificial. Others are just skeeved out by the concept. So I decided to try it using a smoked salt. There is a local spice shop that stocks a ton of specialty salts, so I figured I'd stop by and try some out.
Check out my crappy cell phone picture of the wall-o-salts (okay, rack-o-salts). I had no idea that there was such a variety. I went ahead and tried a few. The French grey sea salt was really interesting in that it still had an ocean-y sea salt taste, and I loved the melty/crunchy texture of the flake salts like the pretty pink Murray River and the fleur de sel. I really want to try making homemade finishing salts with these (sausage with beer mustard and caraway finishing salt, anyone?). But I digress -- I was there on a mission for smoked salt. She recommended the alderwood but I much preferred the flavor of the applewood so I bought that. And a bottle of sherry vinegar. And some expensive vanilla extract. I, uh, might have bought some other spices too...
I have a problem.
But! The net result is that I have a ridiculously easy and wonderfully delicious pork recipe for you. I also loved sprinkling the individual plated servings with a little bit of the smoked salt for some extra flavor and crunch. Definitely cannot do that with liquid smoke!
SLOW COOKED KALUA PIG
Serves 12
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pork roast, approximately 6 lbs (Boston butt or picnic shoulder, bone out or in, doesn't matter)
- 1.5-2 Tbs smoked sea salt such as Vspicery applewood smoked
Pierce the pork roast several times with the tip of a knife. Rub it with the smoked salt. Place in the slow cooker with the fat cap or skin side up. Cook on low for a long time (9-12 hours) or until very tender. Shred and serve. I like to accompany it with cabbage braised in the pork juices.
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8 comments:
Awesome! I'm on the Anti-Candida Diet, so I can't do liquid smoke. I also love your Eastern North Carolina pulled pork. I make it once a month as my family loves it and the cider vinegar is 'legal' for me. I'll have to try this recipe instead this month. Thanks!
Fabulous! This is yet another thing I will have to try. I haven't had anything like that since I lived in Hawaii...
@Melie: Good to know re: liquid smoke! I know that I have quite a few readers on the anti-candida diet.
@scarlette: Hopefully it is at least reminiscent of what you get in Hawaii ;)
Erica, thank you for sharing this recipe! I used it the other day and absolutely loved it. I’m a huge salt fanatic and recently stumbled upon a company located in Woodinville, WA called SaltWorks. They carry All-Natural sea salts so their smoked salts are ACTUALLY smoked with no added liquid "flavor". Here is a link to one of my personal favorites. I love the Bonfire!! Enjoy!
http://www.saltworks.us/shop/product.asp?idProduct=1023
~Katie :)
Thanks for the link, Katie -- I'm such a sucker for specialty spices. This was my first experience cooking with smoked salt and it will definitely be a staple from now on. The flavor is so much nicer than liquid smoke.
I tried making this tonight but didn't have a lot of success. My pork tastes kind of bland :( Do you add anything else to it? I figure worst case scenario I can use it as a base for some other meals and freeze some for future meal bases.
Laura: I'm sorry to hear that it did not work out for you :( Did you use pork butt or picnic shoulder? It gets a lot of flavor from the extra fat (especially given that it's such a simple recipe) so if you used a lean cut like a loin roast I can see how it could be bland. I also used a very smoky flavorful smoked salt, if yours is smoke-flavored or a milder one perhaps that would be an issue. My husband ate some of the leftovers with my mustard barbecue sauce which could add some punch (http://stuffimakemyhusband.blogspot.com/2010/11/south-carolina-style-bbq-pulled-chicken.html ) and I used some of the leftovers in an egg foo yung recipe (http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2010/08/08/paleo-egg-foo-yung/ ). Again, really sorry to hear that it did not work out for you.
I want to try this recipe out but using ingredients I do have in my cabinet- liquid smoke and Hawaiian salt. How much of each would you suggest?
ps - Thanks in advance! I just stumbled on your blogged today after following a recipe link from the whole9 site. Can't wait to start trying out your recipes!
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