We had ham on our Thanksgiving menu this year. I purchased a big 20 pound ham on sale early, pleased to get such a bargain and dreaming of all the wonderful ham dishes I could create with the leftovers it was sure to yield.
Ham bundles, split pea soup with the ham bone, ham sandwiches, ham and beans, scalloped potatoes with ham, breakfast casseroles....
I put our mammer-jammer ham in the oven on low heat Wednesday night. It cooked until late morning on Thursday. I thought it smelled a bit different than a regular ham, but oh well... I don't usually cook big 'ol hams!
I could hardly wait to eat this ham that I had been looking forward to for so long. But the first slice revealed a brown meat instead of the pink meat I was expecting.
I tasted it. It tasted like roast pork.
Apparently, before purchasing a "fresh" ham, I should have consulted the Joy of Cooking which reads:
"Fresh ham is a misnomer; it is in reality simply a pork roast---the hind leg which has not been cured or smoked..."
I had cooked up a huge pork roast for our Thanksgiving dinner!
The meat was delicious though, especially with cranberry sauce. But I still want that ham!
In the meantime, what to do with a lot of leftover pork roast?
I cut it all off yesterday. I have 9 freezer bags full of slices or pieces, plus the bone which still has a good deal of meat on it.
For leftover dishes with the pork, I've so far come up with...
--barbecue pork sandwiches(I know the South is standing up and rebelling right now but while this is an obvious answer to using leftover pork, I am not that fond of pork barbecue. My husband likes it a lot though and it makes a quick meal, so I'll make at least one meal of this.)
--stir-fry
--heated slices alongside sweet potatoes and apples
--used instead of chicken in white chicken chili
--shredded in burritos
--the bone cooked with beans
I suppose I can use it in place of any other cooked meat in recipes, but does anyone have any pork recipes or ideas to share?
I can use the help!
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3 comments:
Pork roast is good, but I can see how you would be disappointed when you were expecting ham! I grind up leftover pork roast and use it in any bean or rice dish where I'm also using ground sausage, like dirty rice or homemade beanie weanies. I think it would be very good in a sticky chicken "bog", too. I'm in SC like you, and "bog" is very popular in my town. It's chicken and rice, but very sticky.
wow i didn't know that either. i'm glad you were able to make a good thing out of this mishap. sounds like you have a good plan for using up the leftovers.
Oh sorry, but it sounds like it turned out just fine anyway. I don't usually cook that cut of meat so you have already have all the dishes I would suggest.
Manuela
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