Snowy Day Luau

Today, when we woke up, it was snowing. Snowing. In March. In Seattle. Having spent my whole life here, I can attest to this being strange. I don't know if it's a result of climate change, or because we live on the cooler side of a hill, but it bummed Dan out a bit this morning. I went ahead and worked in the yard, building raised garden beds for this year's vegetable crop, while snow and hail pummeled me.

But in stark contrast to the snow was our meal plan for today, which required 4-5 hours of cooking time, and (along with Beach weekend on the Travel Channel) drew our attention away from the cold and toward warmer places.

I made up Oven Kalua Pig using a recipe from our Best of the Best from Hawaii cookbook, utilizing some of our Hawaiian Alaea salt, some Aloha brand Shoyu Dan bought just for the occasion, and Ti leaves. We had it with two scoops of white rice, poi, and a scoop of mac salad that Dan made up this afternoon. We kicked back and watched a video about Hawai`i, sipped Guava and Lilikoi wine, and had our own little luau.

Here's my adaptation of the recipe, using a French Oven instead of foil to trap in the moisture, and deglazing the pan afterward baking to create a rich, salty, smokey liquid to pour back over the pig before serving.

Oven Kalua Pig
2 Tbspn Hawaiian salt
1/4 cup shoyu or soy sauce
1 tspn Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 inch of ginger root, crushed
1 Tbspn liquid smoke
1 4-5 lb pork butt (or boneless shoulder)
Ti or banana leaves

Mix together the salt, sauces, garlic, ginger and liquid smoke. Line the bottom of a enameled cast-iron French/Dutch oven with Ti leaves, so that the leaves stick upward around the sides. Place pork on the ti leaves. Rub with seasoning mix and let stand for 1 hour. Fold leaves over to wrap up pork and place the cover on the dish. Place in a 325 degree F oven for 4-5 hours. Unwrap the pork and move carefully to a bowl. Shred the meat with two forks. Remove the Ti leaves from the pan. You'll find a crust or 'fond' on the bottom of the pan. Put the pan on the stovetop over medium heat. Pour in 1/4 cup wine or water, and whisk the liquid, scraping the fond away from the pan and into the sauce. Add a 1/4 cup water and whisk well. Pour the liquid over the pork and mix together.