I mentioned last week that I had plans to make Hawaiian-style pulled pork in the slow cooker, and it turned out so well that I had to share the recipe with you! This is loose adaptation of a recipe on the King’s Hawaiian website. It’s so easy and so delicious! It also paired perfectly with Andrew’s home-brewed hazy coconut IPA and was a hit at our beer-release party.
After hosting a bunch of friends we were a little tired out for the rest of the weekend, so we had a low-key few days of walking around the neighborhood and to the market, and driving down to Brighton Beach to walk with our feet in the water and then go to my favorite Russian store, Brighton Bazaar, to buy some dark, sour, seedy Russian breads.
This all left me perfectly rested and ready for the work week (surely)! It’s my last full week at work, and I’m doing classes on the great jazz singers at our two senior centers. I’m really going to miss teaching these workshops, so hopefully I can find a place to do something similar once we are in Boston. Moving day is less than three weeks away, eek! This is no way to conclude a blog post, but I think the all-over-the-place nature of it perfectly reflects my state of mind right now, so maybe it’s really the perfect way? Have a wonderful week, everyone, and I’ll be back next Monday with another recipe and possibly a more coherent post!
Hawaiian-Style Pineapple Pulled Pork
for the pork
- 1 5 to 6 lb pork butt or shoulder
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce (or gluten-free hoisin sauce), plus extra to serve
- 1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce (or gluten-free soy sauce)
- 1 heaping Tbsp minced ginger
- 1 heaping Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 heaping Tbsp chili garlic sauce or sriracha, plus extra to serve
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 cups fresh pineapple cut in 1/2-inch cubes
- additional salt, to taste
- Hawaiian rolls, to serve (or gluten-free rolls)
for the red cabbage slaw
- 4 cups finely shredded red cabbage
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- pinch salt
- Mix together the hoisin, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, chili sauce, honey, and sesame oil. Place the half of the pineapple in the crock pot insert, place the pork on top, and pour the sauce over. Spread the rest of the pineapple on top of the pork, cover, and refrigerate overnight. (Skip this step if you are in a hurry.)
- In the morning, turn on the slow cooker and cook on low for 10 hours. Meanwhile, make the cabbage slaw by mixing all ingredients together in a large bowl.
- After cooking all day, the pork should be very tender. If there is a lot of liquid, ladle off some of the excess. Using two forks, pull the pork apart into shreds. Taste and add a bit more salt if needed. Serve on Hawaiian rolls with some red cabbage slaw, plus hoisin and sriracha if desired.
