Great ideas for great Pulled Pork

What’s with all the pulled pork everywhere these days?!

Pulled pork. Shredded Pork. Slow Roasted Shoulder. You can even buy little packets of it at the supermarket now (yeah but don’t!). It’s really easy, inexpensive and versatile to make yourself and  there’s often  heaps left over, so here’s a few tricks.

Bbq Pork Sliders 
Small buns, crispy slaw, juicy pork, bbq sauce. A certain crowd pleaser. You can find our favourite bbq sauce recipe here and how to make the pork here.

Taco Dog – as above except served in a hotdog bun and we’ve added a little guacamole , chopped tomato, cheese and lettuce. Perfect for grand final days, pool parties or other celebrations where you need food that says fun!

Rice Paper Rolls – Duh!! Perhaps you’ve never made them. We’ll cover them one day in a warmer season. I’ve had lessons in Vietnam you know 🙂 We rolled up leftover slaw and pork with a little coriander. Served them with some hoi-sin and life was happy!
Banh-mi – another Vietnamese staple using beautiful pulled pork. Instead of bbq sauce we’ve added a little hoisin and sweet soy  to the pulled pork. Serve on a crusty roll (the best thing the French left behind in Vietnam) with cucumber, pickled carrots, green onions, coriander and hoi-sin. Fresh chilli gives it a good ‘Wow’, kids may beg to differ.

Noodley Soup. Ramen’s a good way to go but any kind of noodle soup will kindly accept some lovely, moist shredded pork into it’s hearty goodness. That’s a whole other post in itself

Fried Rice – A great way to use up left over pork AND rice. 2 cups leftover cooked rice, 1 cup shredded pork, 1 cup frozen peas – defrosted, 1 cup slivered broccoli, 1 cup chopped tomato, 1 bunch spring onions chopped, eggs. 1 tablespoon Dark soy, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, juice of 1 fresh lime, white pepper and coriander to finish.

In a hot pan add a little peanut oil then the rice and pork. Stir thoroughly, add the broccoli, peas, tomato and green onion. Finish with the remaining ingredients and serve with a fried egg on top.

Set into rissoles for the weekend bbq – whilst the pork is still warm and you’ve finished adding any sauce and seasonings to it, press it into a burger shaped mould on a sheet of grease-proof and chill. Re-heat when it’s time and  serve with salad and bbq potatoes. Be gentle or they may crumble.

Empanada – place inside some empanada pastry or use a convenience product like puff or filo and bake until crispy. Serve with a salsa of chopped tomato, coriander and roast capsicum.

Croquettes – 2 cups cold mash potato, 1 cup shredded pork, 1 bunch chopped chives, 1 egg. Plus bread crumbs, milk and egg for coating. Mix the croquette ingredients with plenty of seasoning, shape and set in the fridge. Once set, you can crumb them, cook them and eat them. Eat them with garlic aioli even 🙂 

Dumplings/Ravioli – you could take either the Asian or Euro  path here. Fold the pork in some soft pastry, steam them and serve in an appropriate sauce.

Arancini – use last nights risotto or make some especially and chill. Fold some grated parmesan through the rice and form into golf balls. Stick your finger into the middle to form a hole and hollow out the middle a little. Stuff some chopped, pulled pork in there and mould the rice back into a round. Roll in fresh breadcrumbs and shallow fry.

Cooked in flat breads on the griddle pan – Serve with a little chipotle mayo.

Pork ‘n’ Beans – 1 tin of white beans, 1 cup of pulled pork, 1 tin of crushed tomatoes, 1 small onion diced, garlic, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 2 fresh bay. Sauté onion, garlic and spices then add the remaining ingredients. Simmer until yummy. Finish with chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon. Serve at breaky instead of as your own fancy-pants baked beans.

What Kids Can Do!

Kids can always be involved in what’s going on in the kitchen. The extent will vary. Sometimes Kid will even take her beans and prep them in front of the telly, which defeats the purpose of togetherness perhaps, but the beans get done and then we get back to the food. I’m always saying anything tactile – pastry rolling, folding and filling is awesome for kids (or grown-ups). Or a small task that they can own. A salad for example. ‘Here are all the ingredients and the dressing, I’d like you to make it look nice on this plate please’. And let go of it right there. Appreciate what they come up with. Ownership is a great part of learning, engaging and building confidence.                           Happy Cooking X

 

Posted by adamjclements on August 17, 2015

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