Crockpot Kalua Pork with Hawaiian Mac Salad is one of my favorite dinners to make. Not only is it delicious, but it’s also super easy to make and requires only a few ingredients. Got a family that’s always on the go? Then this dinner should be in your meal rotation.
The Kalua Pork is perfectly tender and full of flavor from the use of Alaea sea salt and liquid smoke, while the Hawaiian Mac Salad is creamy and slightly sweet. It really is a perfect combination. I like to serve this duo with my Roasted Cabbage Steaks with Shallot Vinaigrette or Best Coleslaw Ever. Your family is going to love this meal and so will you!
To start, rub one tablespoon of Alaea (baked Hawaiian red clay) sea salt over all sides of a 4-pound pork shoulder. It’s important to use Alaea salt when making Kalua Pork. It’s got a unique flavor due to the rich minerals, iron oxide and earthly clay flavor. It’s delicious! You can find this salt at many grocery stores or here. Place the salted pork shoulder in a crock pot and drizzle over 1¼ tablespoons of liquid smoke. Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on HIGH for 5½ hours or until fall-apart tender. Remove the bone and fat and shred the pork with a fork. Keep the Kalua Pork warm until ready to serve.
When the pork is getting close to done, make the Hawaiian Mac Salad. Cook 1 ounce (½ a box) of dried macaroni in salted boiling water until tender. Just follow the instructions on the back of the pasta box. Once tender, drain the pasta and place in a bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and ¼ teaspoon of salt into the hot noodles. Then, allow the noodles to cool to room temperature. If you are in a hurry, spread the noodles out on a baking tray to cool faster.
While the noodles cool, shred one large carrot and dice three green onions (scallions). Stir the vegetables into the noodles along with ½ tablespoon of onion powder, 1½ tablespoons of granulated sugar, ½ cup of Japanese mayonnaise and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper. I highly recommend Japanese mayonnaise for its umami flavor, but if you can’t find it, Best Foods/Hellmann’s Mayonnaise works too. Serve the mac salad immediately and while it’s the creamiest. Enjoy!
Crockpot Kalua Pork and Hawaiian Mac Salad
Ingredients
Kalua Pork
- 4 lb pork shoulder
- 1 tbsp Alaea sea salt
- 1¼ tbsp[ liquid smoke
Hawaiian Mac Salad
- 1 oz dried macaroni
- 1 large carrot, shredded
- 3 scallions, diced
- ½ tbsp onion powder
- 1½ tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ cup Japanese mayonaaise (or Best Foods/Hellmann's)
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Rub one tablespoon of Alaea (baked Hawaiian red clay) sea salt over all sides of a 4 pound pork shoulder. Note: It’s important to use Alaea salt when making Kalua Pork. It’s got a unique flavor due to the rich minerals, iron oxide and earthly clay flavor. You can buy it here.
- Place the pork shoulder in a crock pot and drizzle the liquid smoke over the meat. Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on HIGH for 5½ hours or until fall-apart tender. Remove the bone and fat and shred the pork with a fork. Keep the Kalua Pork warm until ready to serve.
- When the pork is getting close to done, make the Hawaiian Mac Salad. Cook 1 ounce (½ a box) of dried macaroni in salted boiling water until tender. Just follow the instructions on the back of the pasta box.
- Once tender, drain the pasta and place in a bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and ¼ teaspoon of salt into the hot noodles. Then, allow the noodles to cool to room temperature. If you are in a hurry, spread the noodles out on a baking tray to cool faster.
- While the noodles cool, shred one large carrot and dice three green onions (scallions). Stir the vegetables into the noodles along with the onion powder, granulated sugar, Japanese mayonnaise and black pepper. I highly recommend Japanese mayonnaise for its umami flavor, but if you can’t find it, Best Foods or Hellmann's Mayonnaise works too. Serve the mac salad immediately and while it's the creamiest.
