• If you’re interested solely in the recipe, skip this bullet point and keep on reading. For those interested in sourcing nutrient-dense food, low-toxic household products, and discounts on brands that may support your AB journey, you may find value in my product guides. Head over to this page if you’d like to check them out. All are free (and always will be).

Start the pork.

• If you're working with one large slab of pork shoulder, cut it into 4-5 pieces.
• Rub the pulled pork pieces with sea salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off), plus whatever other spices you prefer to use. (I don't use any spices, and it comes out great!)
• In your Instant Pot or on the stovetop, sear all sides of the pork shoulder pieces until brown. For the Instant Pot, use the Saute function. For the stovetop, use medium-high heat.
• Place the seared pork pieces in the Instant Pot or slow cooker. Add the freshly squeezed orange juice.
• For the Instant Pot, cook on High Pressure for 60 minutes with 20 minutes slow release. For the slow cooker, cook on low for 8 hours.

Make the kabocha squash.

• Dice the kabocha squash into 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch pieces.
• Measure out 3-4 cups and store the rest away.
• Place 1 tbsp of ghee in your cooking pan and bring to medium-high heat.
• Once the pan is hot, add the kabocha squash. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes, stirring the squash every 30-60 seconds. Kabocha squash burns easily, so don't forget to rotate it. The goal is to get it browned and crispy without burning it. When you see the brown color creeping up the sides of the squash, rotate it. Even just 15-30 seconds too long without rotating the squash can burn it.
• When the kabocha squash is done, salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off) it to taste. Remove it from the pan and place it in a bowl to cool.
• Note: if you go through tons of salt in your household like we do, check out this salt purchasing hack that will save you money + make things more efficient. We started this last year, and I'm so happy we did!

Make the bacon.

• Chop up the bacon into thin slivers (like 1/4 inch x 1 inch).
• At medium heat, cook the bacon.
• Once the bacon is cooked to your liking, remove it from the pan and place it on a plate to cool.

Fry the plantains.

• Slice the plantains into thin slivers.
• Turn the pan with the bacon fat to medium-high heat.
• Add a tbsp of ghee to the pan to ensure the plantains have enough oil to fry in.
• Once the pan is hot, fry the plantains in the bacon fat-ghee. The goal is to char them and get them as brown as possible without them turning black/burning. I usually flip them every 20-30 seconds or so, going through a few rounds.

Prepare the cilantro and lime.

• Finely chop the fresh cilantro and slice the lime into quarters.

Put it all together.

• In each pork bowl, place the pulled pork, bacon, plantains, and kabocha squash.
• Top each bowl with fresh lime juice and garnish with chopped cilantro. If you prefer, you can top your bowl with the orange juice from the pulled pork.
• Enjoy! These bowls are best enjoyed fresh, although leftovers can be stored in the fridge and are good for 1-2 days.