“Rational habits permit of discarding nothing left over, and the use to which leftovers (and their economic allies, the wild things of nature) are put is often at the heart of a cooking's character.” – Richard Olney (1835-1917)
If you make slow cooker kalua pig, you are bound to have some leftovers, unless you are feeding a very large family or a small army. Mary, the author of the wonderful blog One Perfect Bite, recently wrote in a post about bread pudding, "I'm probably a member of the last generation raised in kitchens where nothing was wasted, including stale bread and leftover rice." Too often these days I think this is true. We are raising our children in a consumer society where they learn that if something breaks you throw it away and buy a new something. A society where our groceries are handed to us in plastic or paper bags that are then discarded after the items in them have been brought home and put away. And the same goes for food. The bones of a chicken are thrown out and slightly sad looking vegetables are discarded. I feel it my responsibility as a mother to try and combat this destructive mentality by teaching my kids that there is a different way to live.
One of the ways I do this is by preparing for the eventuality of leftovers. Making kalua pig is a perfect example of this. I know that there are going to be leftovers, so I've developed methods of using the leftovers up. Granted, we are all looking forward to having more kalua pig on the second day. But on the third day? Not so much. One of the things I do is freeze a large portion of the leftovers. That way I can pull them out whenever I have a craving for kalua pig. I've also brainstormed a variety of ways to use the pork in other dishes. For example, leftover kalua pig makes a great pork sandwich. Another use of leftover kalua pig is making kalua pig tacos. The best part about these tacos, is that there is hardly any work involved.
I love soft tacos, but you can use hard taco shells as well. I start out by shredding some cabbage, heating up the leftover kalua pig, and pulling out some peach mango salsa. Then I heat the soft taco shells in a skillet over medium heat. That's it for the prep. Now you just build your taco, roll it up, and eat! Of course, you can put whatever your heart desires on your tacos. This is just how I happened to make our most recent tacos. Not only are you making use of leftovers, but you've got wonderful juicy, flavorful, and easy tacos to eat. It's a win win situation!
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Rachael we are making the slow cooker pig sometime in the next few days – will definitely post (and link back to you!) and let you know how it goes. I love this idea for using up the leftovers!
We LOVE this pork recipe and its versatility. Thanks for giving us a new way to try it. (I love cabbage in burritos.)
I make kalua pork all the time but I like it in the dutch oven. I really don't think far enough ahead for the slow cooker anyway. I never put them in tacos though– that sounds yummy. I love cabbage slaw in tacos. Corn tortillas all the way for me.
This kalua pig is driving me crazy. Every time I see it, my mouth begins watering and my imagination goes wild. The meat just looks so divine!
Rachael, I am so with you! I am so much like my aunts in Spain and my siblings are always making fun of me because I HATE to waste anything! Especially food! So, I reuse and now that I have backyard chickens, nothing goes to waste ;) Aah… makes me feel so much better, lol!! That kahlua pig looks great!!
Growing up, my mom was always really careful not to waste anything, and I have inherited that same quality. I, too, find ways to use my leftovers (and often freeze some)… Love the tacos idea! It sounds wonderful.
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