How do YOU do it? I'm making Debbie_in_GA's Twelve-Hour Pork Roast

M

marilynfl

Moderator
because I needed room in my freezer and this 9.65 lb block of frozen pig was blocking my way. That's it. No other reason than that.

Since I don't cook meat that often, I've been buying it when on sale to have for neighbor dinners. I've got turkey, steaks, roasts, fish and who knows what else. I yanked the 9 pound pork shoulder out when I tried to store the halibut I'd bought at Whole Foods and there was NO ROOM at the inn. I mean, No. Room.

It was either gonna be pork roast or turkey. The pork belly was thin enough to be shoved aside and I wasn't in the mood for stuffing and gravy angst. Please note that I have PORK BELLY in my freezer. Me. The owner of at least 30 vegetarian cookbooks.

Anyway....the pork was thawed and in the refrigerator. I woke up this morning and was blissfully reading in bed when I realized: OH MY GOD! TWELVE HOURS! I've got to get that sucker in the oven!

And so, here we are: it's 9:46 AM and I've still got 11.5 hours to go. I will NOT be eating pork at 9:46 PM.

The one time I made this dish was 2003 and I started it at midnight to have friends over for early dinner. At 3:00 AM I went to check on it and found my mother-in-law collapsed, so we rushed her to the emergency room. Our friends came by and ended up finishing the meal for us and it was delicious! I don't even LIKE garlic and it was delicious. Just that fact alone meant I've always wanted to make this dish again. But when am I going to need 9 pounds of meat?

Anyway, took me 15 years and an overstuffed freezer to get there. So here is my question: How in the world do YOU make a meal that takes this long and isn't cooked in a crock pot? My oven has a timer delay but I'm always wary of using it with meats.

http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=5248

 
Ha! I love your description of your freezer. The one thing that I would add, based on my experience

is that once you pull something large out of the freezer, you can't put it back! somehow, there is NO room for it! Love your rec from Debbie; printing it out now. Have fun! Your neighbors will love you! (especially if you show up at 10:00 pm w pork!)

 
If yours is 9# it really will need extra time but truth to tell it would be done in 10 hours, IMO

I have just done 2 8.5#ers last night and set the time to go off after 9 hours--and of course it sat in the oven for another several.
BUT it REALLY is the good part of falling apart. I gave it that extra time because these were big hunks.
If you really want to eat it tonight, carve some off whenever and see. It will be "done" plenty to eat and you could leave the rest in the oven.

I re-read your post and see it is really about "timing" . I most often do this overnight and I pretty much trust my timer--but have gotten up in the middle of the night to be sure the I set the timer correctly!! It's more "Me" I don't trust. LOL

 
Thank you both. I cooked it until 10:30 PM and then nibbled a little (ok, okay a lot)

of the meat. It shredded beautifully and I realized that this seems more like an Italian porchetta roast (with the fennel seeds and lemon juice and olive oil) then a traditional southern pork dish, as I erroneously assumed because Deb was from Georgia.

I now have an entire TUB of cooked meat and a container of the dripping and juices that I still need to process to a gravy.

Then I need to figure out what to DO with this.

Can it go BACK into the freezer now that it's cooked? And, WHY was I able to eat ANYTHING that had an entire bulb of garlic in it????

 
Rigatoni with Shredded Pork in Mustard Cream Sauce

Slow roasted pork is one of my favorite leftover meats to play with and turn into other dishes.

And yes, you can freeze it again but I'd do so in usable future portions to avoid having to refreeze.

Here's a recipe I've played with a few times and like a lot.

Rigatoni with Shredded Pork in Mustard Cream Sauce

1 pound rigatoni
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small to medium yellow onion, sliced
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups cooked, shredded pork shoulder* (leftover pork)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup whole grain mustard (Pat's note: sometimes I use half Dijon mustard and half whole grain mustard)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper

Bring a large stock pot of water to boil and salt generously. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet or sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the onions are soft and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the chicken broth and simmer for about 3 minutes, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the pork and cook until heated through. Add the cream, mustard, and thyme, and stir to combine. Pour in the drained pasta and toss until everything is coated in the sauce. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

*If you want to make this recipe without leftover pork shoulder you can use a pound of sweet Italian sausage. Brown and crumble it in the pan with the onions, then proceed with the rest of the recipe. Serves 4 as a main dish
Source: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-rigatoni-with-shredded-79573

Notes: Yesterday we showed you a basic recipe for cooking and shredding a pork shoulder. http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-and-shred-a-pork-shoulder-for-pulled-pork-79485 It's a great recipe on its own; there are plenty of soft carrots, tomatoes, and caramelized onions to make it a stand-alone meal. But we like to set aside some leftover meat, free from its braising sauce, and save it for other meals throughout the week. This is a good one that's super easy and has a really unexpected flavor.

The idea of a mustard cream sauce came from a recipe in Food & Wine. The original calls for crumbled Italian sausage and basil. We made it without the basil, substituting thyme instead, and it was delicious; we highly recommend trying the original recipe: Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Mustard http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pasta-with-sausage-basil-and-mustard

The mustard is not overwhelming (although you should be a fan if you're going to make this), but it adds a wonderful tangy, spicy flavor that we knew would go well with our pulled pork. We used thyme because we had it on hand, but we think sage would be good, too. One note about serving this dish: Do it quickly, while it's hot. Cream sauces don't stay fluid and milky for long, and the pasta can get gummy if left sitting. It still tastes great, just not as pretty.

Pat’s notes: Simple and delicious and nice use of leftover roasted pork shoulder. One time I didn’t have heavy cream, had to use half and half. Topped servings with grated Parmesan. Good served with oven roasted green beans topped with grated Parmesan. Delicious with pappardelle. Used Trader Joes 8 oz pkg (for full recipe of sauce)....was the perfect amount of pasta to sauce ratio.

Made another time using rigatoni -- added a few shakes of red pepper flakes and stirred in a couple handfuls of arugula at the end. Good additions and would do so again.

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-rigatoni-with-shredded-79573

 
The Pork and Potato Hash with Poached Eggs and Avocado shared by Curious1 is

yummy. Have also done a riff off this recipe making pork hash with sweet potatoes and Yukon golds (onion and garlic too), fried egg, chopped avocado and fresh tomatoes from the garden. With a sprinkling of cilantro overall. LOVED the sweet potatoes in the dish....much more flavor than the Yukon golds alone.

I've also made the Pork Ragout with Soft Polenta (though I use a different polenta recipe).

Pulled pork sandwiches are another good idea, like the
Pulled-Pork Sandwiches with Cabbage, Caper, and Herb Slaw in the same thread.

http://eat.at/swap/forum1/242868_this_FC_recipe_for_hash_which_accompanied_their_slow-roasted_pork_shoulder_is

 
Rec: Posole (Mexican soup with pork and hominy) is also good

Pat’s notes: Was good topped with fried shoestring strips of corn tortillas and sliced radishes, avocado and cabbage.

Posole (Mexican soup with pork and hominy)

3 cups cooked pork, cut into bite sized cubes (pork shoulder is traditional; or other leftover pork)
2 tablespoons lard or 2 tablespoons bacon fat
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 (4 oz) cans diced green chili peppers (or 2 fresh green chili’s seeded and diced)
2 (15 oz) cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans (or 1- 15 oz. can pinto beans) (optional)
1 quart pork stock or 1 quart chicken stock
salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (garnish)
lime wedge (garnish)

In a large pan saute onions in lard or bacon drippings until clear.
Add garlic and spices and cook another two minutes.
Add meat, green chili, rinsed hominy and beans.
The beans are not traditional but we like them.
Cook another two minutes.
Pour stock over all.
Add salt to taste.
Simmer, covered, about 1hour.
Pass cilantro and lime wedges for those who like a pinch of cilantro and a squeeze of lime over their soup.

http://www.food.com/recipe/posole-mexican-soup-with-pork-and-hominy-59367

 
Love Posole. Very similar to my recipe that I use from

"The Feast of Santa Fe"

The details are the garnish when you serve. I have bowls of sliced radishes, shredded cabbage, green onion, chopped cilantro, lime wedges, slivers of celery root, etc. and people garnish themselves.

And don't even think about making this without lard.

 
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