Friday, January 15, 2010

Leftovers and Scraps - What to do with extra Pulled Pork?

After cooking up a big Pork Butt last weekend for the NFL Playoffs, I had a bunch leftover after a few friends couldn't make it. Not wanting it to go to waste and not wanting to eat pulled pork sandwiches all week, I came to a solution. Enhance a simple and traditional comfort food dish.

I combined my love for cheese and pasta with Pork!
Scrap Pulled Pork & Mac & Cheese!
Not ground-breaking stuff but a tasty endeavour and a true self-indulgent, stuff-your-face meal.

To refine the classic Mac & Cheese, I used Fontina and Parmesan-Reggiano with Radiatore pasta. A little pricer than your average shredded Cheddar and elbow mac but definitely worth it. I also added Non-Fat Cottage Cheese to give it a little more body. The carmalized onions added to the creamy touch to the interior.

Panko breadcrumbs mixed with shredded Parm-Reg and olive oil was sprinkled on for a crispy top.

I used a cast-iron skillet to host the Mac & Cheese. This is an important part of this pork-cheesy creation. It created a nice crisp along the sides of the skillet, crisp on the outside and creamy goodness on the inside.



The pulled pork worked perfectly for this dish. It didnt go to waste and the flavors of the pork married well with the pasta and cheeses.

It is a perfect dish for late wintery nights or for eating while watching more Playoff Football games.


2 comments:

  1. Great blog and great photos. More often than not I am drunk with pork myself.

    ReplyDelete