Inspired by this thread, I headed to the store this weekend to attempt to try mass producing some food and storing it for later, something I’ve had varying success with in the past.
While there, they had pork roast at an incredible price, so I bought the smallest one available - and it’s still over a pound of meat.
Obviously I’ll roast it - and eat some. But what can I do with the other 5 or so servings? Suggestions wanted.
The smallest was just over a pound? We can get a full loin of pork for $1.89/lb once in a while from the local market, and they run about 8 lbs. There are two of us, so we’re creative with how he cuts it to freeze.
First off, the top and tail ends are designated “roasts”. They run about 1 1/2 lb each. He’ll either roast them, or cut them up and use them for stew. The center cuts end up being boneless chops. Some are “double width” - about 1 1/2" thick. He usually pockets and stuffs them, and either roasts them or throws them on the grill. The rest ends up sliced 3/4" thick and are either pan-fried, or grilled. He occasionally will pick up an extra loin, cut it into chops, and bring it into work and cold smoke it. Those are fantastic - they sorta taste like ham, but are much more “meaty”, if you know what I mean. Sorta a Pennsylvania Dutch type thing - the first time I had smoked chops was in Lancaster, PA.
Now, if you already cooked the meat, then Hubby suggests that you just cut it into single use sizes, and freeze. You can turn it into a soup, a stew, a stir-fry, fried rice, spaghetti sauce or Hungarian Pork and Peppers (email me for hubby’s recipe!).
Hope this helps!
Olive
Shred it with a couple of forks and throw in some barbeque sauce – a quick ‘n’ dirty version of pulled pork.
Pulled pork. Pulled pork!
I have never in my life heard of pulled pork, until last week, and now I see this again. Pulled pork would normally conjure up a completely different mental image than what you’re proposing.
So, for the uneducated, what is pulled pork? Why is it pulled?
When I roast pork, I first put lots of garlic powder and ginger on it. Roast slowly. Mmmmmmm.
The next day, I get some nice fresh vegetables like onions, snow peas, mushrooms, thinly sliced carrots, etc. and do a stir-fry with the cut-up leftover pork. If I liked peppers, I’d add those, but I don’t. I season it with soy sauce and red pepper flakes. Sometimes I add bean sprouts. Or bok choy. It’s really quick. The only real time is the vegetable prep, which you can do while the rice cooks. Since the meat’s already cooked, it just needs to heat up, and the vegetables are cut small to cook in just a couple of minutes.
For “pulled” substitute “shredded”, more or less. You’ve probably pulled cooked meat apart with your fingers, right? It comes apart into shreds and strands. It’s “pulled” into pieces, as opposed to “diced” or “chopped”, see. It’s what you do with leftover pork roast–pull it apart, higgledy-piggledly, into half-bite-size strands and pour BBQ sauce over it, serve on buns.
It’s shredded meat. Already cooked meat is pulled apart into shreds, served with barbecue sauce of choice.
ETA: Thanks, but…
Is this a new term, or one that’s just now migrated north?
I believe the latter. I first encountered the term in the southeastern U.S.
I bought a little pork roast the other day. I’ll thaw it Thursday and marinate it in Trader Joe’s cuban citrus sauce and roast it with onions. White rice, black beans, and I’ll just eat on it until it’s gone. If I really get ambitious I may try to make fried bananas.
While pulled pork is one of the finest things ever, it is unlikely to be an option for a loin roast.
Pulled pork comes from cuts with lots of fat & connective tissue. Shoulders are the usual source. It then needs to cook low & slow to get it to pull properly.
That said, you can certainly dice it up, and serve on a roll with Q sauce, and a nice slice of cheddar, or suitably smoky cheese.
Otherwise, reheats are easy, and you can use it in salads, sandwiches (as slices), soup, or a stir-fry (add it late to simply heat, rather than cook).
Extra roast pork was made to be in a panini. Cheese, a bit of sauce, and tomato slices. I always cook two pork loin roasts so I have some for sandwiches.
Goulash, my friend. So many problems can be solved with goulash, and this is definitely one of them.
You could make the pulled pork with the left over roast. I’d use a slow cooker on low, let the meat and sauce heat together until the meat is ready to just fall apart. True that pork shoulder or butt is a more likely choice.
Absolutely. Pulled pork is normally made with shoulder. It is cooked slowly over a heat of anywhere in the 200-300 range, with 225-250 probably being the closest to a standard. For it to be barbecue, it would need to be cooked (usually indirectly) over hardwood charcoal and wood (usually hickory, oak, or a fruitwood like apple or cherry). You cook it to an internal temp of about 190-195 (this is where it starts to “pull,” which, as others have stated, mean it shred into strings). If you cook it an internal temp much lower than this target, you generally will get something that is not soft enough to pull, but will be done. At the lower temps, you chop the shoulder and get something called “chopped pork.”
Serve with a finishing sauce of apple cider vinegar, salt, and hot pepper flakes. (Or, I suppose, barbecue sauce if you must.) If making it into a sandwich, serve between two pieces of the plainest white bread or bun you can find. I’m usually into heavier breads but, in my opinion, the less between you and the smoky barbecue flavor of the pork, the better. Top with slaw (I prefer a vinegar rather than a mayonnaise-based slaw) if desired.
OK, little tangent here. You know those Sprint commercials where they show the multitasking Sprint users seeming to have a cadre of Oompaloompahs following them around, being productive? That’s sort of what I think of when I hear somebody say they have 5 servings left off of a 1 pound pork roast; who are you feeding, Oompahloompahs? 
Anyway, you can just slice it up and make sandwiches out of it or cube it and put it in something that takes cubed meat, like stew or jambalaya. Or, you could shred it, add a little chili powder and cumin, and have a lovely taco filling.
“Mmmm Pork”
Chile Verde, (Mexican)
Twice Cooked Pork, (Chinese, hot)
Goulash, (Hungarian)
Pork Satay, (S.E. Asian)
Cold Pork Sandwich…
The list goes on and on.
The nice thing about verde and goulash is that you can freeze it and have it later and it holds up.
Nothing in the world tastes as good as a correctly done shoulder.
Dry it out, pull it apart and add it into a homemade tomato sauce. Mmm, meat sauce. Pork, not beef, is the key ingredient in a good meat sauce. Dry pork can absorb flavor and moisture all day and it only gets better with every passing minute. Pour it over some pasta and garnish with a simple scoop of cold ricotta and a couple basil leaves. Perfecto.
Pulled, pasta sauce, sandwiches, filling for hard-boiled eggs*…what can’t you do with leftover pork roast?
Shred fine and mix with horseradish.
You can make pulled pork from a loin. BTDT, usually in the crock pot. It’s not as tasty as the shoulder (less fat = less flavor), but that can be made up for with your choice of sauce. I usually don’t put anything at all on pulled pork shoulder, aside from some dry rub before it goes in the oven. It’s awfully good all by itself.