Leftover Pork has saved my butt so many times when friends arrive unexpectedly for dinner and it can most certainly save you too.

Leftover Pork, beef or chicken for that matter should be in your freezer at all times. With electricity so expensive, I will never put just one roast in my oven. I suggest you do a pork roast, beef roast and a couple of chickens in one session. Shred the meat and keep in plastic containers in your freezer. You can whip up a quick ragu to eat with polenta, creamy chicken pot pies, or a scrumptious Oriental Chicken Noodle Salad! On Friday I cooked a huge hunk of pork for a cooking class, I have served 46 portions of it in Mexican Tacos, made a Pork Sage and Apple Pie yesterday and tonight we are eating Leftover Pork Sliders with Tangy Coleslaw and all the trimmings. Not to bad, I think!

To get Leftover Pork, you must first cook some pork. Here are a few cuts that work for me: Pork Belly, Shoulder or Leg of Pork and of cause the tenderloins. I keep the spices and seasoning plain and simple, so that your leftovers can go Eastern, Mediterranean or even Middle Eastern. So I season with only salt, pepper and coriander (dry seeds). Toast the coriander in a dry pan and when you can smell it, remove from the heat and grind in your food processor. The bigger your hunk of meat, the more cautious you must be when seasoning.

So, here is what I do:

Order your meat for a reputable butcher.

Ask butcher to score the skin(crackling) for you, chances are that his knife is sharper than yours.

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Rub meat with a little olive oil, BUT do NOT rub oil on the skin. Mix the salt, pepper and coriander and rub the meat all over. Even take some of the spice mix and push it into the folds in the meat.

Roast meat until the meat easily pulls apart (3-4hours) and the crackling is crisp and irresistible.

Leftover Pork Sliders

serves 4 hungry teens

Ingredients

3-4 cups leftover shredded pork

5 ml smoked paprika

2-3 ml chili flakes

15 ml tomato paste

a little water

juice of 1 lemon

chopped coriander or parsley

salt and pepper to taste

4 white buns – I LOVE brioche buns

4 gherkins

fresh lettuce

good quality BBQ sauce

For the coleslaw

2 – 3 cups shredded cabbage

1 grated carrot

1 grated green apple

100 ml mayonnaise

zest of 1 lemon

5 ml sugar

Method

Place the pork in a pot and warm slowly. Add the paprika, chili flakes, tomato paste and water and cook for a few minutes. Adjust seasoning to your taste.

Make the coleslaw.

To serve, simple cut the buns open, spread both sides with BBQ sauce and then place the pulled pork on one half of the bun. Top with some coleslaw and the place the other half bun on top. Serve with gherkins.

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