Last week, knowing we had to limit our number of trips to the grocery store, and wanting to have plenty of food in the house in uncertain times (especially for these char siu lettuce wraps), I picked up a whole pork shoulder, one of the most generous cuts of meat you can buy and one of the least expensive. I say generous because from this one cut and preparation (slow-roasting) you can create numerous meals.
Over the course of a week, I made eastern Carolina barbecue, pozole rojo with shredded pork, and char siu lettuce wraps. Numerous versions are in my last cookbook, From Scratch, which looks at all you can learn from just ten different meals (and 175 recipes).
You can make goulash (a paprika based stew on egg noodles), a version of Sloppy Joe's using a tomato sauce and good chili powder served on a bun, a pork ragu on papperadelle).
The below recipe is for a char siu that I love to use with the shredded pork (a variation on a recipe from Andrea Ngyuen in her exceptional book Asian Dumplings--all her books are exceptional, in fact). Serve it in butter lettuce, topped with julienned carrot and radish (and jasmine rice in the wrap or on the side).
To make the pork, cook it for 6 hours covered at 275˚F (or 4 hours at 325˚F), or until you can easily shred the meat, skin and fat. Remove all bones. It's ready to use in any way you wish.
It's so versatile, I created a whole chapter around the slow roasted pork shoulder in From Scratch.
To make amazing pork lettuce wraps, saute sliced scallions, grated ginger and chopped garlic in oil. Add the pork and stir-fry till heated through. Add enough char sui sauce to coat and serve as noted above.
Char Siu Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup dry red wine
- 3 tbls sugar
- 2 tbls red wine vinegar
- 2 tbls toasted sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp five-spice powder
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredient in a sauce pan and bring just to a simmer, then remove from the heat till you're ready to use it.
I like to serve shredded pork with tacos. Add sauces such as Nuoc cham, BBQ, hot sauce. Pineapple salsa, and toppings like Mexican cheese, avocado, onions. Serve some hamburger rolls for those who prefer pulled pork. The whole idea is that you're feeding a group, give them plenty of choices. Rice and beans make a great side.
Left over smoked pork butt + leftover pizza dough = bierocks! Make a filling of shredded pork, beer-braised cabbage/onions. Roll out small rounds of pizza dough and fill to form dumplings. Bake. Serve with mustard.
my favorite thing to do with pork roast is either carnitas or louis armstrong's red beans and rice recipe!
I’m a big fan of breakfast tacos. Some crispy pork is perfect. I love lightly frying up some corn tortillas, loosely scrambling some eggs and add in a few beans and salsa of your choice and 👌🏼
Cubano Sandwiches 😋
Mix up the pork with a bit of BBQ or other sauce and use it with puff pastry to make hand pies.
Pork papusas! You could either go the traditional Latin route with it or use the components above to do an asian version in the vein of stuffed bao.
I cooked one this weekend for the same reasons. I'm going to use whatever is left over after the 4th meal, with its braising liquid for a bean soup. Nothing fancy, just good beans and leftover meat cooked together.
Only thing better is brisket. Sadly, it's never as cheap as pork shoulder.
Keep an eye out at Costco, they sell whole (point+flat) Prime briskets for about half the price /lb of Choice trimmed flats. For smoking, there's nothing better, it's nearly impossible to overcook something with that much interstitial fat.
The downside is any attempt to braise with this results in a greasy mess.
Assuming you roasted some root vegetables and have some left over: hash with eggs and hot sauce for breakfast.
Pulled pork shoulder and gravy with biscuits. Rosemary and Tabasco.
I can’t wait to make this! Id plan to use leftovers in a lovely Asian pork salad, as a topping/mix in to my yummy Mac n cheese and in my ramen!! Now, to track down a pork shoulder near me. (harder than it usually is due to meat shortages near me 🙁)
First thought is a roasted pork Banh Mi sandwich with pickled carrots, radish and jalapenos and mayo and sriracha sauce on a crusty roll. Then go Italian with sauteing broccoli rabe over polenta.
Pork hash
Pulled pork, Cajun seasoning, black beans and diced onion, stir fried in bacon fat until the beans are blistered and the pork starts getting lightly charred. Serve in a shallow bowl topped with two eggs sunny side up, chopped green onion garnish, and crusty bread with butter on the side.
On top of nachos is fantastic.
I make pulled pork pockets, P3s, which are 2 oz Carolina-style smoked bbq pulled pork wrapped in whole wheat bagel dough and cooked/baked following normal bagel recipe. Served with horseradish cream sauce and a lovely mixed green salad with basic vinaigrette.
Another vote for hash. Boil or roast some very small spuds, smash in a skillet with drippings, or Schmaltz. Some fresh herbs, onions, diced peppers. Add shredded pork and heat through. Now you can pig out.
Whaaat? Love the steamed buns. As I made my way down to comment I saw some of the ideas I thought were mine so skipped down before I was discouraged. 😄 Ideas: tacos al Pastor (pineapple, cilantro, red onion), corn bread (batter as usual with pork layered in the middle. Works with muffins too or on top of hoe cakes or polenta) enchiladas, tamales, Vietnamese bun cha! Gotta run...
Instant Pot Spicy Pork Shoulder, then finished off under the broiler for some crispy bits.
A scoop of both the crunchy bark and softer pulled pork on a bowl of simple Bowtie pasta, peas and sautéed mushrooms with a glug of cream would be rich and filling.
Mix the pork with potato and cheese and fill them in pasta dough to make pierogi . They are so good !
congrats! you are the randomly chosen winner!
Woohoo. Thanks, I can't wait to read the book.
BBQ pork quesadillas, tinga, which leads to tinga pizza.
Serve on rice with salsa and black beans.
Scrambled eggs with pulled pork and hash browns.
A poutine with gravy, cilantro, jalapeno peppers and a side of fried plantains with garlic chili aioli .
I'm not so creative...I would/tend to go with burritos, like they make at Chipotle. My 14yo son loves those, and he loves it when I try to recreate them at home, just like they make them there (sadly, somehow, I never quite measure up!...maybe this recipe can help!...)
Chopped pork shoulder and mushroom duxelles stuffed ravioli...yum!
Brunswick Stew. Throw some chicken in and you can feed an army with it. Freezes well. Here's a great recipe for it: https://gardenandgun.com/recipe/southern-souls-brunswick-stew-recipe/
That looks so good. Can't wait to try it.
i like to make quesadillas with leftover pulled pork, with caramelized onions and Gouda cheese!!
Carnitas tacos... With salsa fresca, sliced avocado, pickled red onions, chopped romaine, and queso. A dash of Tapatio.
Most of my ideas were already said (will 2nd the breakfast hash though!)
I'll go with mac and cheese with leftover pulled pork and spinach, top with skin cracklins - bonus points for using smoked cheese - double bonus points if you smoke the cheese yourself.
Egg rolls, pizza, lasagna.
I like to mix shredded pork with browned butter, fresh sage and pasta, then top with shaved Parmesan.
Pork version of confit de canard.
Refry the shredded meat in a hot pan using leftover drippings/jus, a bit of butter and perhaps white wine dripped in little by little. Liberal use of sea salt flakes and black pepper
Butter half a banquette that has been cut down the length (sub-style) with Dijon mustard, put the crunchy-soft meat in along with rocket/ruccola.
A study in juxtaposition and sweet, sweet enjoyment.
So many great ideas- I bought one today!
I love empanadas filled with slow roasted pork, the the cubano is tempting too!
Add the last bits after all other renditions of the roast to a batch of congee (rice porridge). We usually make ours using broth from roasted chicken bones, chicken scraps. Make it up in the rice cooker, set to be done in the a. m., serve with thinly sliced green onion and a drizzle of soy sauce and another drizzle of toasted sesame oil. This makes a wonderful breakfast, and I can’t wait to try it using pork roast scraps!
congee, nice!
I'm from Memphis, so pork shoulder is going to be smoke roasted for pulled pork BBQ. My favorite leftover use for last-night's BBQ is to make an omelette. Simple egg & cheese as usual, but resist the temptation to load it up a-la Denver style. At most, maybe some green onions & jalapenos. Toss around the leftover meat in a skillet to crust it up a little, and generously stuff the omelette. Lightly drizzle a spicy BBQ sauce over top.
Another Memphis offering is a BBQ Fried Pie. A&R BBQ used to serve them until they became too burdensome. BBQ + slaw + a dab of sauce, folded into a flaky dough, then deep fried.
Mochi wrapped pulled pork and mashed potatos served with corn slaw and Bbq sauce
My favorite way to use pork is in tacos. I have a large piece to cook (don't remember which cut it is), so I'll be eating a lot of that next week.
Summer rolls!
One of my favorite ways of preparing Pork Shoulder (for shredding) is Cochinita Pibil. Marinaded and slow roasted(or steamed in banana leaf) with Achiote Seasoning (Anato Seed; Cumin; Oregano; Chili; etc); along with bitter orange juice (I substitute Orange Peel, Lime Peel +Juice, and Grapefruit Peel +Juice)
If i can get a shoulder with skin still attached -- i'll wrap the enitre roast, leaving skin exposed, but heavilly salted -- and try to make some cracklins out of the skin/fatt layer
I use Pibil in Corn Tortilla with a Pickled Onions, Sliced Avacado, and a Habernero sauce.... And of course topped with fresh Chicharrón...
Brings me right back to my honeymoon, my wife and I were enjoying this from a roadside cart that was feeding folks on their way to work (or for lunch).
Amazing
Cuban sandwiches!
Smoky kalua pork, made with bacon either in a slow-cooker (16 hrs) or pressure cooker (90 minutes in an Instant Pot). Fry up some of the shredded meat to crisp it and garnish soups, pasta, etc.
I've used it in Banh Mi
I love to shred some pork and make a Cubano!