Easy Back-to-School Meals #4: Shredded BBQ Pork Pizza

Here is my last photographed use for the shredded pork I made in the slow cooker.  My apologies for how lousy these pictures are, but we were hungry and just snapped some quick shots.  Please don't let the lousiness of the photos deter you from trying this.

We love this pizza so much that now I purposely try to stash some of the shredded pork in a ziploc in the freezer.  That way, when the mood strikes, we already have the topping prepared and can just grab some of the shredded meat straight out of the freezer to top our pizza with before baking.  If you take the meat out of the freezer when you get started on your pizza dough, by the time (about 30 minutes) that you are ready to top the dough it will be thawed enough to easily pull apart and sprinkle.

This pizza is so good, the first time we made it, we ended up making it 3 times that week!

Slow Cooker Shredded Pork
Original Recipe

1 5-6 lb pork butt or should roast, preferably boneless, but bone-in is fine too
3 cups orange juice or zest and juice from 3 large oranges (optional)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed and coarsely chopped (or just smashed)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Enough water to almost cover the roast

Season the pork roast with the salt and pepper.  If using the citrus zest(s) rub that all over the meat as well.  Place the roast in the slow cooker.  Add the juice, garlic and water.  Cover and turn the slow cooker on low heat for 8-10 hours or high heat for 5-6 hours.  The roast is ready when it is falling apart in the slow cooker.  Remove the pork to a large plate or dish and use two forks to shred and pull the meat apart, discarding any bits of fat.  Serve as desired, hot or cold, in any of several uses.  The possibilities are endless.

NOTE:  For a sweet version of the pork combine the shredded pork in a large baking dish with 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar and 4 tablespoons of melted butter.  Bake the pork in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes until some edges brown, crisp and caramelize.

For the BBQ Pork Pizza:

DOUGH:

3 Cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon instant yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

In a large bowl (preferably a stand-mixer with dough hook attachment) whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt.  Make a well and add the water and olive oil.  Mix throughly and knead the dough until it is smooth and just slightly tacky.  Add a little extra water or flour to get the consistency.  It will be a fairly soft dough.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover.  Allow to rise till about doubled in size, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.  Turn the dough out onto a well oiled baking sheet and spread until the pan is covered.  

For the pizza:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Top the dough in the pan with enough BBQ sauce to make a layer of sauce.  Sprinkle about 1 cup of the shredded pork over the sauce.  Top with a mixture of your favorite shredded cheeses - I like a mixture of mozzarella, monterey jack and cheddar.

Bake the pizza for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cheeses are melted and just browning.

Easy Back-to-School Meals #3: Shredded BBQ Pork Sandwich

Here is another simple, delicious and super fast idea on how to use that shredded pork I made in the slow cooker.  This one is so easy, it is ridiculous.  It is also one of my very favorite ways to use the left over pork though because it works really well even straight out of the freezer if you stashed any of your shredded pork in the freezer that is.

Your favorite BBQ sauce, homemade or store-bought, and some good burger buns - again, homemade or store-bought, is all you need.  Past that you can accessorize your sandwich as you see fit - cheese, pickles, chips, maybe some coleslaw... it's entirely up to you!

Slow Cooker Shredded Pork
Original Recipe

1 5-6 lb pork butt or should roast, preferably boneless, but bone-in is fine too
3 cups orange juice or zest and juice from 3 large oranges (optional)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed and coarsely chopped (or just smashed)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Enough water to almost cover the roast

Season the pork roast with the salt and pepper.  If using the citrus zest(s) rub that all over the meat as well.  Place the roast in the slow cooker.  Add the juice, garlic and water.  Cover and turn the slow cooker on low heat for 8-10 hours or high heat for 5-6 hours.  The roast is ready when it is falling apart in the slow cooker.  Remove the pork to a large plate or dish and use two forks to shred and pull the meat apart, discarding any bits of fat.  Serve as desired, hot or cold, in any of several uses.  The possibilities are endless.

NOTE:  For a sweet version of the pork combine the shredded pork in a large baking dish with 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar and 4 tablespoons of melted butter.  Bake the pork in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes until some edges brown, crisp and caramelize.

For the BBQ Pork Sandwiches:

Combine enough shredded pork and bbq sauce in a sauce pan to make a good, well slathered mixture - not too dry, but not swimming in the sauce either (unless you like it very saucy :)  I generally use about 1/2 cup of meat to 1/8 cup of sauce per sandwich, but you can just eyeball it.

Bring to a simmer and heat thoroughly.  Serve on a lightly toasted bun with your choice of sides.  Perfect with coleslaw, chips, potato salad, or green salad.  

Alternatively, you can combine the meat and sauce in a microwave-safe bowl, stir it well, and cover the bowl with a damp paper towel, then microwave to heat through.  This is especially nice if you are just making lunch for a couple of people.

OTHER USES FOR THE PORK SO FAR:

PORK CARNITAS TACOS

SHREDDED PORK SALAD

Easy Back-to-School Meals #2: Shredded Pork Spring Mix Salad with Blackberries and Chevre

I am not a salad eater.  Really.  I have tried in the past few years to learn to like salad though.  Salads like this one however, make it easier all the time.  This meal is another fast, satisfying and delicious idea for dealing with dinnertime now that school is back in session!

Remember that easy shredded pork I made in the slow cooker?  Well, here is another idea of how to use that wonderful pork.

You could pretty much customize this salad to your liking and use whatever your favorite dressing is.  I really love a creamy poppy seed dressing or just a simple vinaigrette.  You could even easily make a blackberry vinaigrette like this one and get even fancier with your salad ingredients.

The version here is fairly simple and inexpensive.  Plus, since it uses cold shredded pork left-over from the other recipe (modified below for the salad) this is possibly one of the fastest meals you'll ever make.  I like to serve it with some warmed, crusty rolls (more on those soon!) with a little butter.

Make sure to check in all this week for more ideas on how to use this easy recipe!

Slow Cooker Shredded Pork
Original Recipe

1 5-6 lb pork butt or should roast, preferably boneless, but bone-in is fine too
3 cups orange juice or zest and juice from 3 large oranges
2 limes, zest and juice (optional)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed and coarsely chopped (or just smashed)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Enough additional water to almost cover the roast

Season the pork roast with the salt and pepper.  If using the citrus zest(s) rub that all over the meat as well.  Place the roast in the slow cooker.  Add the juice, garlic and water.  Cover and turn the slow cooker on low heat for 8-10 hours or high heat for 5-6 hours.  The roast is ready when it is falling apart in the slow cooker.  Remove the pork to a large plate or dish and use two forks to shred and pull the meat apart, discarding any bits of fat.  Serve as desired, hot or cold, in any of several uses.  The possibilities are endless.

NOTE:  For a sweet version of the pork combine the shredded pork in a large baking dish with 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar and 4 tablespoons of melted butter.  Bake the pork in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes until some edges brown, crisp and caramelize.


Shredded Pork Spring Mix Salad with Blackberries and Chevre


Baby Spring-Mix Lettuces or Baby Spinach, enough for each person (about 1 cup)
1/3 cup of shredded pork per salad
Handful of blackberries or raspberries
Crumbled Chevre, enough for each salad, about 1/2 ounce each
Whatever salad dressing you like
Croutons if you want
Candied Pecans or other nuts would be great too


Toss all toppings and salad together as desired and serve with crusty rolls or bread.

TWD: Sweet Potato Biscuits

This week's recipe pick for Tuesdays with Dorie for the Sweet Potato Biscuits comes to us from Erin of Prudence Pennywise.

These are your basic biscuit, given an extra twist from Dorie by substituting mashed, cooked sweet potato for the liquid in the recipe. I think the possibility for error on these biscuits was increased for quite a few TWDer's due to the substitution of the liquid. The recipe calls for two 15-oz cans of sweet potatoes, drained, to mash and come up with 3/4 to 1 cup of mashed sweet potato. I had one 29-oz can that drained gave me almost 2 cups of mashed sweet potato. I'm not sure if it is Dorie's intention to use the full amount from both cans or not since the 3/4 to 1 cup measurement is actually contained in the notes before the recipe. I think that either way, you would have to use the measurements as a guideline.

Either way, I think, due to weather and how you measure your flour (or over measure in a lot of cases if you are like me) you may need more of the mashed sweet potatoes to come up with an amount that will actually bring your dough together into a soft, workable, biscuit like dough without overworking it. In my case, I actually ended up using about 1 1/2 cups of the sweet potatoes to bring the dough together and it still may not have been enough since I think I overworked my dough just a bit still.

The sweet potato flavor wasn't overwhelming and it was good when at room temperature with some thinly sliced roasted pork loin. The biscuits made for nice and easy little sandwiches. For a sweet topping alternative, I think some lightly warmed dulce de leche would be delicious on these.

Slow Cooked Shredded Pork - Infinite Possibilities

Slow Cooked Shredded Pork, Shredded Cheese, and Fresh Cilantro on Corn Cup "Gorditas"

Probably my most favorite way to cook a pork roast is in the slow cooker or crock pot and my favorite way to cook it is to just add a couple of simple things - salsa and brown sugar. Since you basically just put everything in the pot and walk away, it is a perfect choice for any upcoming parties for the Independence Day holiday - and believe me, everyone is going to love you for making it and you get to enjoy the day instead of being in the kitchen all day!

Recently, Nicole at M80 asked if I would like to try a sample of Pace's new specialty salsas I jumped at the chance because I had this recipe on my mind. I also realized that I have never shared with you how to do this so the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

Pace has actually always been the brand of salsa I buy. It was what I grew up on. Surprisingly though, I really don't just eat salsa - it is always something I use in something else. The perfect example is this recipe. It just doesn't get any easier than this! Start it in the morning and by dinner time you have infinite possibilities of what to do with it.

I chose to use the Pineapple Mango Chipotle Salsa from Pace's new line of specialty flavors this time around and it really added a nice sweet undertone to my usual recipe. The really great thing about this recipe is that you can do this with chicken or beef too. The chicken will take a lot less cooking time, but a beef roast takes about the same amount of time. It will all depend on your cut of meat. I use a pork loin roast because it doesn't have too much fat. If you use a cut with more fat, your cooking liquid will be too fatty to make a good sauce.

I say that this recipe has infinite possibilities because, once you have the shredded meat, there is just no limit to what you can do with it. I like to just eat it with a little cheese and sour cream in some fried corn tortillas, or you could make corn up "gorditas" as in the first picture. You could use it on pizza, nachos, in burritos or enchiladas, on a salad or on a sandwich bun. It is really up to you.

If you would like to WIN 2 bottles of salsa - 1 Specialty flavor and 1 Picante sauce - plus a recipe guide and a coupon for a free 16 oz jar of Picante sauce or salsa - from Pace just leave me a comment and tell me an idea for what you would do with your salsa. The winner will be chosen by Random.org on Sunday, July 5th.

Slow Cooked Shredded Pork
Original Recipe by Holly

1 3lb pork loin (not tenderloin) roast
1 bottle Pace Pineapple Mango Chipotle Salsa
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
Optional for added sweetness and flavor 1 can cola

Place the pork loin roast in the crock pot and pour the other ingredients into the pot on top of the roast. Allow to cook on low for 8 hours or until the roast falls apart and shreds easily. Add the shredded pork back into the pot with all the good juices and salsa liquid and serve warm on warm tortillas or as desired.

Recipe for Corn Cup "Gorditas"