I got more pork than the late Sen. Robert Byrd
October 22, 2010 6:38 AM Subscribe
We had an anniversary pig roast. I've got 50 lbs of cooked pork left over. I need your recipes.
The meat is mostly from the shoulder/hams, since that's what finished last. Slow cooked over a wood/charcoal fire for about 12 hours. It's fully cooked, but not fall apart tender, so for pulled pork or tamale filling, it'd need to be cooked a little longer. Not a big deal, I just need lots of recipes.
The meat is mostly from the shoulder/hams, since that's what finished last. Slow cooked over a wood/charcoal fire for about 12 hours. It's fully cooked, but not fall apart tender, so for pulled pork or tamale filling, it'd need to be cooked a little longer. Not a big deal, I just need lots of recipes.
I'd cook ten lbs. or so of it 'til it's shreddable, then shred it, separate it into one-cup portions, slide 'em into freezer bags, squish them as FLAT AS POSSIBLE, stack 'em and freeze 'em.
That way, all winter, you'll be able to up the pork factor in ANY recipe you're cooking (tacos! quesadillas! Salads! Pastas! Dips!) in the time it takes to defrost a 1/2" layer of scrumptious, smoky shredded swine.
I do this with tofu and it works great. It also makes me VERY VERY JEALOUS of all that pork.
posted by julthumbscrew at 7:15 AM on October 22, 2010 [5 favorites]
That way, all winter, you'll be able to up the pork factor in ANY recipe you're cooking (tacos! quesadillas! Salads! Pastas! Dips!) in the time it takes to defrost a 1/2" layer of scrumptious, smoky shredded swine.
I do this with tofu and it works great. It also makes me VERY VERY JEALOUS of all that pork.
posted by julthumbscrew at 7:15 AM on October 22, 2010 [5 favorites]
...squish them as FLAT AS POSSIBLE...
Sorry to butt in, but what is the reasoning behind this?
posted by griphus at 7:18 AM on October 22, 2010
Sorry to butt in, but what is the reasoning behind this?
posted by griphus at 7:18 AM on October 22, 2010
It's easier to store them that way, and they defrost more quickly and more consistently.
posted by punchtothehead at 7:22 AM on October 22, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by punchtothehead at 7:22 AM on October 22, 2010 [3 favorites]
Griphus: faster freezing, faster defrosting (usually running warm-ish water over your Food Slab for a few minutes is enough), stacks perfectly flat in freezer. There aren't any disadvantages that I know of... but if this is likely to make the food freezer-bit or result in botulism, I profusely apologize.
posted by julthumbscrew at 7:24 AM on October 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by julthumbscrew at 7:24 AM on October 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
Um, 50lbs of pork is alot no matter how many fantastic recipes you can make. I know food banks/soup kitchens might be touchy about food that someone else cooked where they can not be sure it was handled properly, but can you think of anybody that would take some as a donation?
posted by slow graffiti at 8:04 AM on October 22, 2010
posted by slow graffiti at 8:04 AM on October 22, 2010
Make a hash, like corned beef hash (but pork obviously). Chop it into small pieces, fry in oil with diced potatoes, and season as you'd like it. Fried egg on top.
If you're thinking about tamales, I hope you have a work crew and a free week. Each tamale takes maybe 2 oz of meat. That'd be, what 400 tamales?
I'd think about enchiladas instead. If covered well in sauce, whole trays can be frozen and baked like lasagna.
Anything with sauce will freeze better. I'd think about simmering the pork in some bbq or chile sauce then shredding it and freezing it. This'll probably be the easiest way to process the bulk of the meat. Then pork sandwiches or enchiladas are only a few minutes away at any time.
I'd also consider seeing if food banks in your area can accept a donation like this. Otherwise, I'd think about burdening your neighbors and friends with some of your porky bounty. I don't know how many people are in your household, but I doubt you could eat 50lbs of meat without it going bad, being forgotten in the back of the freezer, or developing a curly tail and involuntary oinking.
And nthing freezing thin food slabs. You'll increase surface area to volume ratio, which will let you diffuse heat more quickly in both the freezing and thawing ends of things. If they are absolutely flat, you can also thaw them quickly by placing it on a heavy metal pan which will conduct heat between the surfaces that have contact much more quickly than air.
Freezer burn happens when air contacts food, allowing creation of ice crystals that'll draw moisture out of the food. Increasing your surface area can be risky for that. My technique is to put a ball of food in a freezer bag, sandwich or quart sized. Suck all the air out of the bag and seal it. Then squish it flat, or even roll it flat. Plus you can stack them like books and use cardboard boxes cut like magazine organizers to hold them if you're really ambitious.
posted by fontophilic at 8:06 AM on October 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you're thinking about tamales, I hope you have a work crew and a free week. Each tamale takes maybe 2 oz of meat. That'd be, what 400 tamales?
I'd think about enchiladas instead. If covered well in sauce, whole trays can be frozen and baked like lasagna.
Anything with sauce will freeze better. I'd think about simmering the pork in some bbq or chile sauce then shredding it and freezing it. This'll probably be the easiest way to process the bulk of the meat. Then pork sandwiches or enchiladas are only a few minutes away at any time.
I'd also consider seeing if food banks in your area can accept a donation like this. Otherwise, I'd think about burdening your neighbors and friends with some of your porky bounty. I don't know how many people are in your household, but I doubt you could eat 50lbs of meat without it going bad, being forgotten in the back of the freezer, or developing a curly tail and involuntary oinking.
And nthing freezing thin food slabs. You'll increase surface area to volume ratio, which will let you diffuse heat more quickly in both the freezing and thawing ends of things. If they are absolutely flat, you can also thaw them quickly by placing it on a heavy metal pan which will conduct heat between the surfaces that have contact much more quickly than air.
Freezer burn happens when air contacts food, allowing creation of ice crystals that'll draw moisture out of the food. Increasing your surface area can be risky for that. My technique is to put a ball of food in a freezer bag, sandwich or quart sized. Suck all the air out of the bag and seal it. Then squish it flat, or even roll it flat. Plus you can stack them like books and use cardboard boxes cut like magazine organizers to hold them if you're really ambitious.
posted by fontophilic at 8:06 AM on October 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
For pulled pork, dump a couple of pounds of pork into a slow cooker or a big pot, add a can of Coca-Cola (not diet, you need the sugar), cook over a low heat until it's pulling apart, (check after an hour or two to see if it needs more liquid,, it probably won't, add more Coke if it does), and when it's tender to the desired pulling consistency add a jar of your favourite BBQ sauce and cook for another hour.
posted by essexjan at 8:26 AM on October 22, 2010
posted by essexjan at 8:26 AM on October 22, 2010
So, I see you're in Baltimore.... feel free to pass the porky love around. :)
Also: Maybe a pork casserole? Think like a tuna casserole, but with pork and a tomato-based sauce instead of tuna / cream sauce? Or pork cupcakes? Or pork sandwiches with broccoli rabe?
posted by youcancallmeal at 10:05 AM on October 22, 2010
Also: Maybe a pork casserole? Think like a tuna casserole, but with pork and a tomato-based sauce instead of tuna / cream sauce? Or pork cupcakes? Or pork sandwiches with broccoli rabe?
posted by youcancallmeal at 10:05 AM on October 22, 2010
Xmas is coming soon, and nothing says Xmas like Tamales. I'm not including a recipe, since there's a ton of them on the net. Also, will give you a chance to see if you can obtain the ingredients in your area (they can vary greatly). If you can get prepared masa, great. If not, Masa Harina works fine.
Make a party out of it, and have friends over to help with assembly. This could put a huge dent in your supply. They freeze well, btw.
posted by JABof72 at 1:02 PM on October 22, 2010
Make a party out of it, and have friends over to help with assembly. This could put a huge dent in your supply. They freeze well, btw.
posted by JABof72 at 1:02 PM on October 22, 2010
Do you have a friend who can show you how to make sausage?
posted by fshgrl at 1:17 PM on October 22, 2010
posted by fshgrl at 1:17 PM on October 22, 2010
Response by poster: I didn't know you could make sausage out of cooked meat.
posted by electroboy at 1:24 PM on October 22, 2010
posted by electroboy at 1:24 PM on October 22, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by domino at 6:52 AM on October 22, 2010