Many people welcome the new year with pork and sauerkraut. Our new years day tradition has a bit of a twist. Since we don’t like sauerkraut, we improvise with the items we do like which is a riff off of a traditional Hawaiian dish. Go to any Hawaiian restaurant and chances are you will find Kalua Pork and Cabbage. We’re not huge fans of napa cabbage like they use, so I use something we eat all the time…Brussels sprouts! Hey, they’re wee lil cabbages, they count! 😉
The pork is super easy because into the crock pot it goes and the rest of the dish takes about 20 minutes to prepare before you’re ready to serve it. If after the holiday season, you are thinking “mama, ain’t got no motivation to cook a big meal” then I give you full permission to use bagged shredded Brussels from Trader Joe’s or wherever you can find them. I won’t even tell if you use frozen brown rice! How’s that for having your back!
The video shows you how to bring it all together and what the recipe should look like in different stages.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kqVl4RP3w4&w=560&h=315 ]
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Kalua Pork and “Cabbage”
Ingredients
- 1 pork roast
- 1 bottle Hickory Liquid Smoke
- 1 lb of Brussels sprouts (or bag of shredded Brussels sprouts)
- 1 piece of bacon
- 1/2 cup brown rice (dry or frozen)
- 1 head of roasted garlic, (optional)
- Spices of your choice
- Dash of Hawaiian sea salt (or coarse salt)
Instructions
- Place roast in a crock pot of water that covers the top of the roast.
- Add whole bottle of liquid smoke.
- Turn on high and let cook for 6 hours or until fork tender.
- 20 minutes before you're ready to serve, add rice to 1 1/2-2 cups of water over medium heat.
- Fry a piece of bacon in a large skillet and cut Brussels sprouts into slices and fluff so a shredded consistency is reached. (Or use shredded bagged Brussels- Trader Joe's or Whole Foods)
- Remove bacon from skillet and add Brussels to skillet and toss to coat with grease.
- Add spices of your preference and cook until just tender.
- Just before water is absorbed, add 1 head of roasted garlic. (Optional- get tutorial here)
- Stir garlic into the rice then add to the Brussels sprouts and turn on low.
- Remove roast from crock pot and shred into pieces.
- Plate rice and Brussels and top with pork roast and a pinch of Hawaiian or coarse sea salt.
10 Comments
Looks yummers… I’m happy with either cabbage as cabbage, or Brussels sprouts. Crock pots make life fun, too.
You know it!
I love the idea of the Brussels sprouts combined with the Kahlua pork! It sounds like a great new year’s tradition! Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday!
Mollie
The Hawaiians know how to do it right!
This one is on my “to make” list! It sounds so good – Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. Have a wonderful New Year!
You too! I hope you like it!
I am all for the substitution of Brussels sprouts, a favorite. Doesn’t shredding them make them seem like an entirely new vegetable? Love the addition of the pork. Happy New Year and thank you for bringing this dish to FF.
It sure does! A nice way to get a Hawaiian twist on the new year!
My family would love this! Happy New Year & Thanks for sharing!
Happy New Year to you as well!