Maple Glazed Tenderloin – Revisited

Do you ever wonder what to do with leftovers? Sometimes, though I may have cooked enough the night before to feed my family several times over, when I look in my refrigerator I still don’t know what to have for dinner. I don’t want to serve the exact same thing we ate last night and yet thinking of something different to do with last night’s leftovers can be more than a little challenging with many dishes.

Luckily that is not the case with the Maple Glazed Pork Loin I cooked last week. In fact, when I shopped for that dinner I purposely picked up a pork loin that was quite a bit larger than the one specified in the recipe. I actually wanted to have plenty of leftovers to use during the week. With no extra effort, and only a half hour of extra cooking time, I was able to have enough leftover pork roast to prepare two more quick dinners for my family during the week that were both different and delicious in their own right.

Pulled Pork over Brown Rice

For the first meal I transferred the leftover Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin and pan juices to a microwave safe covered casserole. I microwaved the roast for several minutes. When the roast was warm I removed it from the microwave and, using two forks pushed into the meat close together then pulled in opposite directions, I separated the meat into bite sized pieces.

After pulling the pork I stirred in approximately 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro and 1 teaspoon or so of ground cumin. I then covered the pork and put it back in the microwave to cook until warmed through.

Served on a bed of brown rice the Pulled Pork made an interesting and flavorful main dish. It retained a delicate sweetness from the maple glaze it was originally cooked in and the cilantro and cumin added another layer of flavor, a mellow spiciness and bright freshness, that was different and appealing. I suggest serving it with whole frozen green beans, steamed and sprinkled with a bit of soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil, or for something a little spicier try a bag of Trader Joe’s Prig Khing Green Beans.

But wait! there’s more…

Pulled Pork Barbecue Sandwiches

After eating Pulled Pork over Brown Rice I still had quite a bit of leftover pork. I counted that a good thing since I hadn’t yet made my son’s favorite, Pulled Pork Barbecue Sandwiches.

Like the other two pork entrees that began with the pork loin, the barbecue sandwiches were easy to prepare. I simply warmed the remaining Pulled Pork and stirred it to evenly distribute the heat and meat juices. Then I added enough barbecue sauce to moisten the meat but not enough to make it too saucy. I chose a spicy artisan barbecue sauce for my sandwich and for the boys, who preferred something milder, I used a smokey flavored store brand barbecue sauce. After stirring the sauce into the pork mixture I covered it again and microwaved it until it was warmed through.

Served on toasted sesame seed buns it made some terrific sandwiches. My son and a friend polished off the rest of the left over pork barbecue while watching a playoff game. I ate my sandwich with steamed broccoli but I think the boys would have preferred theirs with chips and a can of baked beans.

One oven cooking bag, one pork loin roast and a short shopping list of sauce ingredients and side dishes would recommend a menu for a single week-night dinner. Yet instead of one dinner we were able to eat three very different meals from a single recipe plan. I call that a success. Maybe I am catching up with the new year after all!

9 Comments

  1. I keep coming back to look at the Pulled Pork Sandwich…how fabulous is that!

    I just give you an award!

    bigblackdogs.blogspot.com/2009/02/very-belated-thank-yous.html

  2. I really think that pulled pork dishes are my most favorite of all time. I love what you’ve done here in your revisit! Pork and rice is so delicious, and of course a pulled pork sammy is always great! YUM!

  3. I love both these recipes, I can always use more pork recipes!

  4. the southern hostess

    Yum! Great ideas for giving new life to leftovers!

  5. I love having leftover pork roast. My favorite way to use it up is in quesadillas or pork fried rice.

  6. Grace – Thanks! I am occasionally surprised by how good things turn out when I am not working from a real recipe.

    Theresa – I am bad about tossing things in the trash before collecting important details but I think the pork loin I cooked was approximately 4 pounds. That made three meals for three people, with a little left over, though it may be important to point out – that number includes a teenage boy who likes pork roast!

  7. Lisa: Anonymous is me

  8. Just how big was that pork roast? Sounds easy and yummy!!

  9. cilantro, cumin, maple–what a unique and completely enticing version of pulled pork. i like the way you handle your leftovers. 🙂

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