Kalua Pig is a traditional Hawaiian luau dish prepared by ROASTING and SMOKING a whole pig in an underground oven called an Imu. The finished dish is similar to pulled pork, with a smokey, slightly salted flavor and a natural, aromatic flavor imparted by Hawaiian Ti Leaves used to wrap the pig during the cooking process.
Here's a pictorial of Kalua Pig made the traditional way in an Imu, except with some modern methods applied, such as the use of burlap bags (for moisture and steam) and poultry wire to keep the pig meat intact. In that pictorial, also take note that they didn't dig a hole in the ground, as it's done traditionally, but built the imu on the surface, which still works, as long as it's covered properly.
The wood of choice for smoking in Hawaii is Kiawe, which is said to be a cousin of Mesquite. It's a very dense wood, especially in more mature parts of the tree limbs, and with that it has quite a long burn time.
Kiawe wood is started using kindling wood in the imu pit. After the Kiawe is burning well, river rocks (traditionally lava rocks) are placed in the pit with it to heat them RED HOT. Once they're heated to that point, they're placed in the cavities of a whole, cleaned out pig that's been seasoned liberally with Hawaiian Sea Salt. Some rocks remain on the bottom of the Imu pit to help retain heat, and more Kiawe wood is added.
The pig is then wrapped with poultry wire and placed over the imu, which is layered with banana stumps and leaves, then covered with Ti Leaves, more banana leaves, then with wet burlap bags (for steam and moisture) and then finally covered with a heavy-duty tarp to retain the heat and smoke.
This is usually done the afternoon before the event, then left to cook overnight.
The next day, family gather to uncover the delicacy and help to shred the Kalua Pig into large pans and get it ready for the big Luau.
Kalua Pig is often the most popular dish with mainland tourists, as it reminds them of the smoked pulled pork they're familiar with at home.
So ono (delicious) with Poi!
Kalua Pig Cooked and Smoked in an Imu
Here's a pictorial of Kalua Pig made the traditional way in an Imu, except with some modern methods applied, such as the use of burlap bags (for moisture and steam) and poultry wire to keep the pig meat intact. In that pictorial, also take note that they didn't dig a hole in the ground, as it's done traditionally, but built the imu on the surface, which still works, as long as it's covered properly.
The wood of choice for smoking in Hawaii is Kiawe, which is said to be a cousin of Mesquite. It's a very dense wood, especially in more mature parts of the tree limbs, and with that it has quite a long burn time.
Kiawe wood is started using kindling wood in the imu pit. After the Kiawe is burning well, river rocks (traditionally lava rocks) are placed in the pit with it to heat them RED HOT. Once they're heated to that point, they're placed in the cavities of a whole, cleaned out pig that's been seasoned liberally with Hawaiian Sea Salt. Some rocks remain on the bottom of the Imu pit to help retain heat, and more Kiawe wood is added.
The pig is then wrapped with poultry wire and placed over the imu, which is layered with banana stumps and leaves, then covered with Ti Leaves, more banana leaves, then with wet burlap bags (for steam and moisture) and then finally covered with a heavy-duty tarp to retain the heat and smoke.
This is usually done the afternoon before the event, then left to cook overnight.
The next day, family gather to uncover the delicacy and help to shred the Kalua Pig into large pans and get it ready for the big Luau.
Kalua Pig is often the most popular dish with mainland tourists, as it reminds them of the smoked pulled pork they're familiar with at home.
So ono (delicious) with Poi!
Kalua Pig Cooked and Smoked in an Imu
