Shredded, Tender Meat

Cooked Intricately Underground

To the quaint, isolated Hawaiian Islands, people brought plants to cultivate and animals (especially pigs – Pua’a) to domesticate.

Pigs were occasionally consumed by the commoners, owing to their religious significance. The demigod Kama Pua’a, for instance, figures prominently in Hawaiian culture.

And yet out of this culture comes Kalua pork, smoked and shredded meat mixed with cabbage. This traditional local delicacy has since garnered interest from meat lovers across the globe.

The dish is cooked underground, hence the name kalua. The underground style of cooking (imu) is both intricate and time-consuming:

Ingredients

• • Digging a large pit
  • Lighting fire at the bottom of the pit with koa or kiawe wood
  • Adding porous lava rocks to heat for a few hours
  • Cover the heated rocks with leaves on which the full pig is placed
  • Add some vegetables, such as breadfruit or taro. Cover the pit with dirt and let the pork cook slowly underground for a few hours

• Once the kalua is unearthed, it is succulent and juicy, falling off the bone. And while you can buy kalua pork from a grocery store, it will not taste good as the real thing.

HOW TO PREPARE HAWAIIAN PIG AT HOME ( using a pressure cooker!) Here’s how:

Directions

• • 1. Place pork shoulder roast (4-6 pounds) into your pressure cooker (you can choose another meat cut as well).
    2. Sprinkle sea salt (1 tablespoon).
    3. Take liquid smoke and mix it with water. Pour the mixture onto the roast.
    4. Set the cooker to high pressure and cook for about 90 minutes.
    5. Release the pressure as per the manufacturer’s recommendation.

Check if the roast is tender. If not, replace the lid of the cooker for about 30 minutes more.