Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

[LATrapp]

Aloha!

Wondering if anyone has tackled some Hawaiian Luau Kalua-style pork!

I'll be using a bone-in butt and hopefully some fresh Ti leaves. Most of the recipes I've been looking at mention just hawaiian red sea salt and not much else. Any other suggestions on the seasoning of the meat? Garlic, Aloha Shoyu, Bay leaves, etc? Skin on/off? I distinctly remember a some crispy skin bits at the last Hawaiian luau I attended although that might be more suited for a whole pig roast.

Also, has anyone incorporated Ti leaf cooking with the KK? I see many mentions of wrapping the pork in Ti leaves then foil. But these aren't KK related. Many recipes list liquid-smoke which is almost blasphemy with a KK, but if it's wrapped in Ti leaves and foil, maybe it's necessary? Or would you recommend smoking unwrapped for a bit and then wrapping?

I will probably be using lump since I can't find any ECC, but I'm open to suggestion on wood suggestions.

Thanks in advance for any advice, tips, etc.

[Syzygies]

Re: Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

I've done a bit with banana leaves, for Thai cooking. Where do you even find Ti leaves? Frozen banana leaves are a staple in many ethnic groceries.

I'd reason by analogy and first principles. Meat only absorbs smoke up to some threshold temperature (130 F ?), at least for forming smoke rings and such. Many people foil parts of the cook after that. Ti leaves are your foil.

Just a guess, let us know how your experiments turn out.

[LATrapp]

Re: Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

Thanks Syzygies. The Ti leaves are usually available at some specialty food stores (Murakai out in CA), but any florist can also get them with a bit of notice. I also have a bit of Kiawe wood, available online, which is the Hawaiian variety of mesquite that is traditionally used for their Luaus. I'm thinking about doing a test run this weekend and will certainly report back!

Any other advice out there would be greatly appreciated...

[mguerra]

Re: Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

Here's something interesting, a buddy of mine wants to do it.

http://cuban-christmas.com/pigroast.html

I saw Bobby Flay doing a throwdown against this device, same concept:

http://lacajachina.com/

[Firemonkey]

Re: Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

I've done a bit with banana leaves, for Thai cooking. Where do you even find Ti leaves? Frozen banana leaves are a staple in many ethnic groceries.

You get Ti leaves at Home Depot, Lowes, or your favorite garden center!

They are common garden plants here in FL, especially the red variety, but they will also do well as potted houseplants. You can grow your own very easily if you like to use them. I have a few growing in the landscape that were planted for that reason, but to date I have not used them

Ti = Cordyline

[LATrapp]

Re: Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

I tried my Luau pork one more time. The basics: .6% salt at 50-50 split between Hawaiian red and black sea salt. No other flavorings added. I highly trimmed the butt of fat. Maybe a little too much. KK at 225 degrees with heat stone and tray filled with water on top. Butt on main grill. Smoked with a chunk of Kiawe wood for 45 mins then wrapped the butt in banana leaves and tied. I find Kiawe to be a much sweeter and more pleasant smoke for pork and chicken and even fish than 'mainland' mesquite. Although Kiawe is in the mesquite family, it's really quite different to me. I ordered the Kiawe here: http://www.hawaiiguava.com/kiawe-smoking-wood.html Frozen banana leaves can be purchased at ethnic foods market. I found that only the interior leaves in the packet were in good condition and dark green, so I would recommend two packets of leaves to sufficiently wrap one pork butt. I am still hoping to find and use fresh banana or Ti leaves. After about 12 hours, the temp stalled at 160. Due to time constraints, I unfortunately had to pull at 17 hours at 165. Great flavor but a bit tough. Of course, that was before reading THIS article on bbq stall.. Next time I will foil wrap the already leaf wrapped pork when it reaches 150 or so. And the pics:

[bryan]

Re: Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

In the beginning I used leaves from the banana trees we see growing in yards.

I have since bought a banana plant and grow my on bananas.

http://www.willisorchards.com/product/G ... tegory=275

I started with one 3 year old plant. Now have many.

If I use banana leaves I do not use foil. (I cut the stem out)

[LATrapp]

Re: Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

Cook_Shack-

Thanks for the reply and link. I will now seriously consider purchasing a banana plant. I'm in So California, so it should have no problem.

The reason why I would still need to foil with the pre-frozen leaves is just that the quality of them is so poor. I might as well be trying to retard evaporation with chicken wire. Having fresh leaves would be incredible for a variety of purposes.

Specifically, I'm thinking about: Misi Luki Banana

I'm a fan of the smaller fruits and hoping that they would be closer to a plantain. Do you know anything about them? Could be great on the grill!!

[bryan]

Re: Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

I don't know a lot about Bananas. The ones I grow are like the ones in grocery stores.

I google "Banana growing" to learn. There are a ton of films.

These things make productive conversation patio plants.

Easy to winterize with bubble wrap.

Your choice sounds great.

I started with the 3 yr old and had bananas the first year. And many new plants. I would do it again.

[bryan]

Re: Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

From the Web.

Whenever I buy a bunch of bananas:

I rarely get through half the bunch before they start turning brown.

If I’m not ready to make a loaf of banana bread or another banana concoction (smoothie, muffins, cupcakes, pancakes, pie),

I pop the suckers in the freezer whole with the peel still on:

No bagging, wrapping or sealing–and leave them there until I’m ready to use them.

When you do this:

The skin on the bananas will turn completely black.

When you thaw them out, they will get extrememly limp and will leak water so set them on a plate or in a bowl.

(You only have to peel a little and the insides will fall out like wet goop and you barely have to stir them to mash them)

It is quite unappetizing, but the flavor is wonderful!

To make a banana cake today:

I just used three bananas I’ve had frozen (with no protection save their skins) for over six months and there was no freezer taste, just a very strong banana flavor due to me freezing them after letting their skins get super spotty.

Don’t be scared of over-ripe bananas:

Their powerful flavor might not appeal when eaten fresh, but once mixed into a smoothie or into some sort of baked good, it lends loads more banana taste than a fresh banana ever could.

[john noble]

Re: Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

How interesting. So that is why people in tropical countries wrap meat in banana leaves. They are preventing the "stall". They didn't have tin foil, but have figured out how to prevent evaporative cooling.

Living in Canada, I"m envious of you banana growers. I wonder what we have here that could replace tin foil? A pile of maple leaves? Kelp leaves?

The Coast Salish natives up here in the pacific northwest, would cut up fish and other meats into fist sized pieces, wrap them in kelp, and cook many of them in sand pits on the beach, along with buried hot rocks.

[bryan]

Re: Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

You might try a banana plant on wheels, (low, flat, 4 wheels - see harbor Freight) and use a window for green house effect. Should be a fun experiment.

[Greg_R]

Re: Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

http://lacajachina.com/

I've cooked some pigs in these boxes and it's a great way to quickly cook a pig and end up with incredible skin. However, you will -not- get much smoke into the meat. You can counteract this with smoke flavored injections but it's not the same as a 14+ hr pig. Different flavors IMO but both are still delicious.

[Rockdawg]

Re: Hawaiian Luau/Kalua pork

I would not worry about smoke, Kalua pork doesn't really have any. We have dug an emu several times in the last few years and used the family emu rocks (story is that my grandfather and his brother got them from mount shasta shortly after getting to the mainland in '56). You end up steaming the pig more than anything else, so the salt and whatever wrappings are more important flavorwise than anything else.

If I tried it on a KK I think I'd setup the fire for a standard pulled pork cook and then foil wrap the ti or banana leaf wrapped butt. IF anything it's more juicy than standard pulled pork as I think in a real emu not only the leaves, but also the canvas covering keeps moisture in.