I’ve done Lau Lau in the traditional method a few times, using only traditional ingredients, wrapping each portion by hand, and steaming them slowly. It’s pretty simple, so really if I have the ingredients, why not right?

I felt like doing it different today, so what I did was take 3 lbs. of pork shoulder cushion, cut it into roughly 1″ cubes, marinate with sea salt, black pepper, and a tiny bit of smoke. I didn’t have salted butterfish or pork belly, and I was too lazy to go out to get some, so I used some thick sliced apple wood smoked bacon instead. Then I layered it on pre-soaked dried taro leaves on a bamboo leaf bed. Those were the leaves I had handy so I just used it. Now, Ti leaves (traditional) impart a different aroma than bamboo, but it should be compatible and although not traditional, should still be ono!

Here’s a picture of the first level. The mixing bowl only has about a third of the meat. The rest was still on the cutting board. In retrospect I should have put more meat on that layer. I layered four times, each with a medium thick bed of taro leaf, then a layer of meat. I added a bit of meat broth to it as the taro leaf will still be soaking up liquid while it cooks. Here’s the finished layering.

As you can see I ran thin on my last layer of taro leaf. I think I’ll be ok, because I’m slow cooking it covered and I’m not going to open the cover. I’m cooking at Medium, about 325 degrees and will let it cook for at least 6 hours before testing it. Now to get my wife to make some macaroni salad

Update:

Well, my wife made her delicious macaroni salad. The pot cooked up beautifully, and dinner “broke da mout!” (translation: was very tasty!)

I pulled it before the pork was falling apart, but it’s better that way for me. Juicier and not so much dry meat fibers. My feeling on the dish was it was a success. The flavors were good and not overly salty like some of the local restaurants here make it. The meat was tender enough and by the time it stops impulse cooking, it’ll be a bit more done (closer to falling apart most likely). The bacon was definitely a win. It added the soft fattiness needed and a well rounded savory flavor to the dish.

I’ll accept that it’s not true-to-Hawaii authentic, but it’s good!

note: I’m changing the title of this post from “Pork Lau Lau in a Crock Pot – my adaptation” to “Easy Crockpot Lau Lau”