Kalua Pork in a Smoker

I know not everyone here has a smoker, but I needed to record how I made this somewhere so I can do it again! This will be something I will be making over and over again. For those without a smoker, the following link is to a slow cooker recipe for kalua pork that I have used which has also been delicious. 

Slow Cooker Kalua Pig

Ingredients:

• 7-10 pound bone in pork shoulder
• 2 tablespoons pink or red coarse Hawaiian sea salt (Alaea sea salt. You can order this on amazon if you can't find it elsewhere. Use about 3/4 tsp per each pound of meat)
• Banana leaves (you can find these in the frozen section of most Asian markets)

1. Fire up your smoker to 250, preferably with a mix of mesquite and cherry woods. (I did 250 this time but different recipes went up to 300, so if you need it to cook more quickly set it to 275 or 300).
2. Remove the pork from the packaging and wipe it down with a paper towel. Season each of the sides with the Hawaiian sea salt, and pat into the meat.
3. Place the pork in the smoker, fat side up, and smoke for about 2 hours.
4. Set overlapping banana leaves on the counter large enough to wrap around your pork shoulder. Remove the pork from the smoker and place it in the center of the banana leaves. Wrap the pork tightly in the banana leaves and tie them in place with kitchen twine. 
5. Place the wrapped pork in a disposable pan and return the pork back to the smoker. Continue smoking for another 5-9 hours (the larger the roast, the longer the cook time), or until the temperature of the pork is at least 200 degrees F.
6. Remove the pork from the smoker and allow it to rest from 30-60 minutes. 
7. Drain the liquid and shred the pork. Taste, and feel free to serve as it is or add back in some of the liquid if needed to add in more moisture or salt flavor. 
8. Enjoy what all of my children said was the best pork they had ever tasted. :)

Note: The recipes said the Hawaiian salt gives it a unique and traditional flavor, but you can use regular coarse sea salt if you are in a pinch. Also feel free to skip the smoking without the banana leaves step if you just want to put it in once and not have to do anything with it again until it is done. For my 7 pound shoulder I cooked it for a total of 8.5 hours at 250 for it to get to the right temperature. I found a Traeger recipe that said to cook a 7 pound pork shoulder roast at 300 for 5-6 hours, so higher temp will get done quicker and I am sure will still be delicious!