You can make Kalua Pig either the traditional way in an Imu (underground oven) or the easier faux method using liquid smoke in a conventional oven. Well leave the hard labor and the liquid smoke behind this time, as I’ll show you how to make Kalua Pig using a barbecue grill!
The natural smoked flavor from the Kiawe (or mesquite) is unbeatable, and it’s relatively easy to do, only requiring a few simple steps, time and some TLC. If you like barbecuing (like me), this should be a fun and rewarding project!

Tender, moist and smokey Kiawe-roasted Kalua Pig… Ono!
What you will need for the fire:
- A large coal-burning barbecue grill that has a cover (in this case, I’m using the classic 22″ Weber Kettle Classic)
- Kiawe Wood Logs (if you don’t have this, use mesquite wood chips found at most grocery and hardware stores)
- Charcoal
- Disposable foil pan
- Lighter fluid
- Newspaper (to start burning coals)
What you will need for the pig:
- Pork butt (bone-in with plenty of fat is preferable for better flavor), in this demo, I’m using a 5 pound cut.
- Hawaiian rock salt
- Ti leaves (prepared by washing thoroughly and stems cut off), enough to completely wrap the pork butt(s)
- 18″ width heavy-duty aluminum foil
First, prepare the pig…

Begin by laying a large sheet of foil on the work surface. Then layer the Ti Leaves on the foil as shown above. Place the pork butt on the Ti Leaves, then sprinkle Hawaiian Salt on all surfaces of the Pork Butt. Enough just that it’s evenly, but not heavily covered (don’t over salt it!). If you want, you can lomi (massage) it in. Make sure the fat-side is up when wrapping it (as shown).
To wrap it all up, first gather up the Ti Leaves and wrap it over the pig, leaf by leaf, then hold them together with one hand, while with your other hand, bring up the foil to form a “packet”, which will look like this…

One thing critical in how you wrap it is that you provide a sealed “bottom” to retain all the flavorful juices from the pork. If there’s a leak on the bottom, the juices will drip off and your pig may turn out dry. So keep that in mind.
Finally, using a sharp knife, poke holes on the TOP SIDE of the packet to allow the smoke (flavoring!) in. Poke all the way through until it penetrates the meat. I’ve made 8 holes here.
Repeat this process for however many pork butts you plan on cooking. In this demonstration, I only made one. I’d say the 22″ Weber I used could fit about 4 total.
Put wrapped up pork butts in refrigerator and prepare the fire…

Before you begin, remember to WORK SAFELY. Just cook the pig. Not yourself or your house!
Build the fire by laying a (small) bed of 10 charcoal briquettes on one side of the bottom grate, with the Kiawe log sitting on top of it. Drizzle the coals and kiawe with enough lighter fluid for a light soak, then get the fire started with a crumpled newspaper on the side.
Here are several pieces of dried out Kiawe wood logs (hana hou photo added 3.13.07)…

The shorter dark ones on the left came from a more mature tree and are much more DENSE, hence they burn much longer. They’re a struggle to cut, even with a chainsaw; almost like cutting a metal pipe.
If you’re using Mesquite chips, use more coal (about 25 briquettes) and add the chips only when you’re ready to cook. Pre-soak the chips in water (for smoking).
When the lighter fluid has fully burned off, the coals are almost ashed over (white) and the Kiawe is burning consistently (usually takes about 30 minutes), it’s ready for the pig…

Place a foil pan filled with water next to the fire. This will create some steam in the chamber that will help keep the pig moist. Place the cooking grate on the grill then place the wrapped pig on it. In this case, the fire was REALLY HOT, so I kept the pig on the opposite end. This is INDIRECT cooking, where you’re only using the fire as heat source. DO NOT place the pig near the flame up area (shown on the left side).
If using Mesquite chips, this is the time to sprinkle them over the burning coals. It will immediately begin smoking.
Cover the grill.

Notice the billowing Kiawe smoke!
With the heat source on one side and the cover on, you’re basically turning your grill into an outdoor oven. Albeit, one with all that flavor-enhancing Kiawe smoke!
Set all the vents open, underneath and on the lid. Let the “Kalua’ing” begin! It takes about 6 hours for the pork to fully cook and reach fork-tender, fall-apart consistency. Because of this long duration, you’ll need to feed more Kiawe and Charcoal to the existing burning coals every hour or so. The charcoal briquettes can be slipped through the side opening of the grate, but you’ll need to remove the grate when adding the larger Kiawe log. You want to keep the heat inside the grill (not the meat) maintained between 250 to 325 degrees maximum. If in doubt, use a BBQ temperature gauge. I use the “hand-testing” technique, as I’ve done this many times already.
About 5 hours into the cooking time, it looks like this…

As you see, I’ve just fed more charcoal and a new chunk of Kiawe. The existing burning embers will eventually start to burn the new batch. The foil wrapper has taken on a bronzed color from the heat and billowing smoke created by the Kiawe wood (or Mesquite Chips if you use that). That new chunk of Kiawe will burn long enough for the final 2 hours of cooking it needs.
Remember to keep the grill COVERED throughout the cooking process (even though it’s tempting to look!). This is how you maintain and keep a stable cooking temperature. Only uncover it when you need to add more coal and/or Kiawe or Mesquite.
After approximately 7 hours, it should be done. Check it by opening the foil slightly and taking a fork to it, try to “pull” the pork. If it shreads easily, it’s done! Remove the pork butt(s) from the grill, bring into kitchen and prepare to shred the meat. Here it is just unwrapped. Yum!….

IMPORTANT! Before you open the foil, poke a whole on the bottom of the packet and drain the precious liquid into a clean transfer pan that you will use to shred the pig in. Then set the packet down, open the foil and Ti leaves and remove the cooked pork INTACT and place in transfer pan with cooking juices…

Discard foil and Ti leaves.
Using two forks, shred the Kalua Pig (that’s what it is now!) in the pan while it’s still hot. Taste test for saltiness. Adjust with more if necessary. After several times, you’ll get the hang of how much salt to use at the prep’ stage. Remember, you can always add, but you can’t subtract.
The finished result will look like this…

After shredding, that (originally) 5 lb. pork butt filled this entire 9″x11″x2″ deep pan… that’s alot of Kalua Pig!
That’s it. All pau cook. Now time to kaukau!

Notice how moist it looks. This is why you need to retain those cooking juices, so you can mix it with the Kalua Pig. Whinnahz.
This might be a good time to bust out that Squid Luau and Poi!…
If done properly, you can get “almost as good as the Imu” results in the oven thanks to the liquid smoke. Yet this barbecue grill method tastes that much closer to the Imu thanks to the natural smoke, without nearly as much work.
Hana hou photo added 3.13.07…

A full pan of about 13 lbs of Kalua Pig made from two very large pork butts. Next to it is a fresh bowl of 3 lbs. of Taro Brand Poi, which currently costs 11.99/bag at Costco. Ouch. The pork butt was on sale at Foodland for $1.49/lb. Cheap! Most of that pan will be bagged and frozen for a luau we’ll be throwing for a family visitor from the mainland a week from now.
Note that it took longer than 6 hours to cook those larger pork butts (about 8 lbs. each). Taking about 10 hours total and using more coals and Kiawe.


17 comments
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March 6, 2007 at 11:37 pm
alan
Nice! I’ve made crock-pot kalua pig more times than I can count, but never on the grill. Like you say, it’s one step closer to the imu. Next time, I’m trying this way.
March 7, 2007 at 1:32 am
Anuhea
Mmmm…looks soo good. Now that I know I don’t have to dig myself an imu and sweat over it all day, I’ll definately have to try this one!
March 7, 2007 at 3:49 am
LanaiLady
Your instructions were very clear and precise; it sounds so easy and looks so ono! Do you think a propane powered BBQ would work just as well? I would use the indirect heat method and mesquite chips. Mahalo!
March 7, 2007 at 6:15 am
pomai
LanaiLady,
Yes you certainly can, as long as you have a double burner gas grill. You will use only one of the burners as a heat source, which is also where you’ll be placing the wood chip foil packet.
Soak the mesquite chips in a bucket of water for at least 1 hour first. Then wrap a large handful of the chips in tinfoil and poke holes on top to allow the smoke to escape. Place it near the active burner where it will get enough heat to make the wood chips smoke. Put the wrapped pig on the cooking grate on other side with the inactive burner and close the cover. Make more mesquite chip foil packets so they’ll be ready to add when the current ones burn out.
This method is part-smoking, part-roasting and part steaming; similar to what an imu does. I would stop adding Mesquite after the 2nd half of the cooking time, as it might make the kalua pig taste over-smoked. Just keep the heat going from the gas burners for the last 3 or so hours.
Thanks for the nice comments folks!
March 7, 2007 at 10:40 am
Anonymous
My mother makes her kalua pig on the grill, too. It definately is delicious that way. Too bad I’m in an apartment complex and can’t grill. But I will be attempting crock pot kalua pig after seeing this, it has made me crave some!
March 9, 2007 at 8:20 am
Nate
Anybody try it in those stovetop smokers?
March 10, 2007 at 1:42 am
James Rubio
*mouth waters* Wow… Man, I wanted to try this with my weber, but I have the smaller version… and i dunno if everything can fit in it. Nothing beats real smoke.
I find it interesting how this technique is so similar to southern style bbq, but without the sauce and spices… might also try this with a beef brisket!
thanks
March 10, 2007 at 8:36 am
lindy
oooh that does look so ono!! ii love kalua pig! your photos and instructions are just wonderful !! i always look forward to your new entries.
March 13, 2007 at 8:05 pm
Chubbypanda
Thanks for the instructions, Pomai! You rock!
March 14, 2007 at 2:32 pm
veggielove
Wow… that looks incredible!
Why oh why was I vegetarian last time I went to Hawaii?
At least next time I’ll know (I don’t have a grill yet, and being a small-apartment dweller, probably wont anytime soon)
April 12, 2007 at 2:54 pm
JoAnn vs JoAnn » No Imu Kālua Pig
[...] Smoked Hawaiian-style pork on the grill Method adapted from Pomai’s The Tasty Island blog [...]
April 17, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Greg Kemp
You can get kiawe and guava wood chunks from hawaii through the internet.
Visit hawaiiguava.com for details.
Aloha,
Greg
June 1, 2007 at 5:23 am
Gwen
Can anyone tell me what I can use in place of ti leaves? Cannot find in California. Will ginger leaves work?
June 2, 2007 at 9:43 pm
pomai
Gwen,
I’ve heard mainland folks have had favorable flavor results using Banana leaves, although it gives off a slightly sweeter flavor. I’m sure banana leaves are available in California at the local farmer’s market, or wherever produce imported from Mexico are sold.
What’s insteresting is my Aunt who lives in Maryland says she has a Ti Leaf plant growing in her yard. I don’t believe it!
May 15, 2008 at 1:52 pm
The Founding Father
Great post, but LIGHTER FLUID!!! Dont go through all that work and kill it with even the slightest chance of lighter fluid ruining your fire and contaminating your pork. Use a weed burner or charcoal chimney to start the fire and you’ll be much better off!
http://themantuary.wordpress.com/2008/03/18/throwing-your-own-pig-roast/
June 16, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Joe
Decided to try this myself and it was ONO!!!
My friends loved it so much that they wanted me to make more for a surprise party she is throwing.
I used a gas smoker instead of a charcoal grill though. Used mequite chips instead of kiawe since I don’t have that around the Bay Area. I was able to find some Ti leaves where I usually get my groceries.
I didn’t rub too much salt on it but I added more after I shredded the pig.
I used kosher salt instead of hawaiian salt, any difference between the two? I also added some liquid smoke when I added the salt to add some more smoky flavor to it.
Thanks for the post, now I am looking forward to your future posts.
June 16, 2008 at 7:35 pm
pomai
Howzit Joe.
Glad to hear the recipe/method worked out for you!
Kosher salt is perfectly fine, which just has a slightly smaller grain texture to it.
Main thing is you had da’ Ti leaves! That’s a very important ingredient that separates Kalua Pig from just being “pulled pork”. It gives the meat that unique “Hawaiian” flavor.
I’ve read on the net about folks who use either Banana leaves or just tin foil, but I’m skeptical about that.
Let me know how your next batch turns out when/if you do that one for your friend’s surprise party.
Aloha,
Pomai