Kalua Beef

KALUA BEEF!

Admit it. When you hear the word Kalua you think of booze. It’s okay. We’re friends. You can admit it. I did too.

Let’s resolve that first. Kalua and KAHLUA are two completely different things.

Kahlúa is a Mexican liquer made of rum, vanilla, and corn syrup. It means the House of the Acolhua people.

KALUA is the Hawaiian word for “cook in a underground oven.”

Now that’s resolved, Kalua Beef is a delicious meal that, honestly, usually comes as pork. It’s pretty hard to replicate the true flavor of this at home, due to the fact that you’re not burying your cut of meat underground wrapped in some sort of banana leaf concoction. So there’s that. You could also slow cook this on a grill, but again, annoying. So my version of Kalua beef is easier, fairly tasty, and it wont require you to create any sort of magical underground oven.

I got inspired to make this dish by my trip to Hawaii where I saw a guy making something similar with pork on the side of the road. It’s also the pork that you typically are served at a traditional Hawaiian Luau. Kalua pork was the perfect blend of salt, smoke, and tender meat. So why didn’t I make this with pork? Because I didn’t have any on me! Also chuck roast is a complex flavor beast that is truly spectacular when slow cooked, I prefer it over pork shoulder in this scenario. But if you want to be super authentic, feel free to use the same methods below and swap out the roast with a pork shoulder (preferably) bone-in.

Recipe- Kalua Beef

Ingredients

1 Tsp. Fresh Black Pepper (Ground)

2 Tsp. Sea Salt

2 Tsp. Liquid Smoke

2 Pounds of Chuck Roast

1 Tbsp. Ghee

2 Cups Chicken Broth

Method

Step 1 – Cover beef with sea salt and black pepper.

Step 2- Heat Ghee and then brown the roast on each side.

Step 3- Add liquid smoke and broth.

Step 4- Put the lid on the meat and slow cook for 4-6 hours, cook on low heat.

Step 5 – Once beef is so tender it comes apart with a fork, serve with sauce.