It’s a familiar kitchen economy strategy: Roast a chicken (or buy a rotisserie bird at the supermarket), then turn it into three meals.
Not as familiar is following that same approach with another meat, and the best of these, in our thinking, is a pork roast, specifically the shoulder, with its rich texture thanks to its generous fat.
Often called a Boston butt or butt roast, a pork shoulder roast can be bought boneless or bone in. They can be quite large (8 pounds) or small (2 pounds). We like a 6-pound bone-in roast. It fits into a large Dutch oven for browning and yields plenty of meat to last several meals.
Here we take a pork shoulder, roast it off, then break it down into four meals, each designed to feed a family of four. Our6-pound roast yielded just under 4 ½ pounds of cooked meat (minus the bone). For the first night, we served slices of pork shoulder and figured everyone might want more than a standard4-ounce serving. That still left plenty for subsequent nights. You can go many ways, of course - a pasta dish, a Cuban sandwich, pulled pork. We picked a stir-fry, tacos and, finally,a soup, which utilized the reserved bone for a broth and required less of the pork than the other meals.
A bonus is that after the first meal, the cooking and assembly of the other dishes is quick - another economy we love.
Day 1: Pork Shoulder Roast
Day 2: Pork and Bok Choy Stir-Fry
Day 3: Pork Tacos
Day 4: White Bean and Pork Soup
Pork Shoulder Roast
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon toasted and ground cumin
1 (6-pound) bone-in pork shoulder roast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix together in a small bowl the salt, pepper and cumin.
Rub all over pork, pressing the seasonings into the meat.
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add the pork; brown on all sides. Transfer the pork to a rack inside a roasting pan just large enough to hold it. Pour 1 quart water into pan. Roast until very tender, 2 to 3 hours.
(Add more water to the pan if it becomes dry near the end of the cooking time.)
Remove roast from the oven; allow to rest, covered, about 20 minutes. Cut slices for dinner; serve with vegetables and starch of your choice.
After dinner, pull the remaining pork into shreds or cut into thick slices. Portion the pork into three sealable containers for the next three nights, saving the bone for broth. Refrigerate.
Makes 4 servings for today, plus enough for three additional meals of four servings each.
Pork and Bok Choy Stir-Fry
¼ cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons grated or minced fresh ginger
2 medium heads bok choy, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound cooked thinly sliced pork shoulder, about 3 cups
½ orange
Cooked white or brown rice, for serving
Fresh cilantro, optional
In a small bowl, stir together the hoisin sauce and soy sauce; set aside.
Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat; add the garlic and ginger. Stirfry, 20 seconds. Add the bok choy; stir-fry until beginning to soften.
Reduce heat to low. Add the hoisin-soy mixture and pork. Simmer just until heated through; squeeze orange over the stir-fry. Serve over rice garnished with plenty of fresh cilantro, if you like.
Makes 4 servings.
Pork Tacos
2 cups shredded cooked pork shoulder roast
Chicken broth or vegetable broth
8 corn or flour tortillas
Desired toppings such shredded cheese, cubes of roasted squash, pumpkin seeds, pickled or raw onions and/or tomatillo salsa
Warm the shredded pork in a little chicken or vegetable broth until heated through. Warm 8 corn or flour tortillas on a griddle or in a cast-iron skillet.
Build the tacos with desired fillings. We liked shredded chihuahua cheese, then the shredded pork, cubes of roasted butternut squash, toasted pumpkin seeds and pickled onions. Top with crumbled queso fresco and a little tomatillo salsa.
Makes 4 servings.
White Bean and Pork Soup
For the broth:
1 pork shoulder bone
½ onion
1 carrot, cut in half
1 rib celery, cut in half
For the soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Salt
Crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups shredded or cubed cooked pork shoulder roast
2 (14-ounce) cans white beans, rinsed
Parsley, for garnish
For the broth:
Put reserved shoulder bone, ½ onion, carrot and celery in a saucepan. Add cold water to cover. Heat to a simmer; cook, 1 hour. Discard the bone and vegetables; strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer.
For the soup:
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven; add the chopped onion and carrot.
Season with salt and red pepper flakes to taste. Cook until softened.
Add the pork, beans and enough of the homemade broth to cover. Cook at a low simmer until the pork and beans are heated through. Taste for seasoning.
Mash the beans a little in the saucepan with a potato masher to thicken the soup.
Garnish with plenty of fresh parsley.
Makes 4 servings.
Food, Pages 31 on 02/05/2014