Kalua pork is the centerpiece of the Hawaiian luau: a whole pig seasoned with sea salt, wrapped in banana and ti leaves, and slow-roasted for hours in an imu, a pit oven heated with volcanic stones. The name means ‘the pit’ — the method is everything.
The long cooking gives impossibly tender, smoky, salty pork that needs nothing but rice and maybe some cabbage cooked in the drippings. At home, a slow cooker and a little liquid smoke capture the spirit.

