Ideas for pork for clueless vegetarian

PapaverSomniferum

My mother has a hobby farm and recently butchered a couple hogs. She gifted me with a freezer filled with various bits and pieces of pig for my family. Family is thrilled! However, I haven't eaten meat in as long as I can remember, and though I have mastered the art of using a meat thermometer and of adding bits of animals to otherwise vegetarian dishes to appease the carnivorous creatures I live with,

I'm a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of pork in my freezer. I've already grilled some. Fried some. Added some to a stir-fry, and I don't seem to have made a dent in freezer-pig-mountain.

What do I make next?

tonyacoursey

Try stuffing chops with spinach, mushrooms and a little cheese then bake it. The family loves it. Throw a boston butt in the crock pot with some seasoning and make pulled pork sandwiches. If you have bacon, use a piece or two as seasoning for roasted brussel sprouts. You can even do tacos with it. We use it in place of beef for a lot of dishes

Fuzzipeg

Some people have funny ideas of how to be helpful. Mothers, oops I am one, can be the worst. It is hard to say no thanks, to them. I used to eat meat before I saw a program about Charles Darwin............. I now need to have cod and tuna from time to time because I need to restrict my fruit and veg, not by choice.

You might be worrying too much using a meat thermometer, though they are probably good for joints.

To the, pork mountain, You could cut some into small pieces, brown them, sear the outsides, then stew or casserole them with piles of vegetables. If you cut them small enough and cook them long enough in stock they will all but disappear.

You could have dinner parties for friends and give them a present, pork, as they leave as well as in the meal.

All the very best

rileyhunter169

Clean the intestines out, grind up all the disgusting organ meats together with every spice you have in your cupboard, with hot sauce, herbs; actually make different flavors; but I would add a "white meat" or perhaps like bread or mushrooms to dilute the off taste, and I would add egg or similar to help it bind a bit better. Anyways stuff the mixture into the intestine, and tie it off. Now you have homemade sausage that you can fry up on the BBQ. Make sure to freeze whatever you aren't cooking that day. Now the shoulders, butts, etc are no brainers, even the bones (which you add to water and make a broth with onions, carrots, celery leftovers). Now I'm not a big meat eater either, I will not waste it.

lillivewire87

http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/recipes/balsamic-marinated-pork-chops-grilled-peaches/

Yummmmm!

Plus add a little bacon to anything...it always makes it better!

MysteriousMerlin

You could have dinner parties for friends and give them a present, pork, as they leave as well as in the meal.

I like this idea. Perhaps even cook it for them, in a crock pot, and freeze it for quick meals. Families with new babies or the elderly would likely appreciate the effort.

sabified

Not that I eat a lot of pork... but bump for ideas

keem88

ugh that is so gross i would flip if i had a freezer of dead pig.

maybe throw it in a slow cooker or something and make a stew? i have no idea i don't eat meat either lol.
maybe try to go on yummly.com you can put in ingredient and it will give you recipes.
if you don't want to go to the store, go to myfridgefood.com check off all the ingredients you have in your fridge freezer and pantry and it will give you recipes to make with the pork
good luck! she prolly meant well but i would be like that that **** outta my house

phytogurl

I'm a vegetarian who cooks for her meat eating family too. My family likes BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, shredded tacos, wraps, burritos...super easy and minimal handling of raw meat. Cook a chunk or roast in your slow cooker and shred cooked meat with forks. You can add BBQ sauce, add mild green chiles or any other seasoning to cooked meat depending on the flavor you want.

richardheath

If family are thrilled, how about getting family to cook said pig?

VeganLexi

Get the family to cook it if they want to consume it Simples.

epiphany29

If family are thrilled, how about getting family to cook said pig?

This. Or as an alternative. I love pork. I will take some

TurtleTape

If you have a crock pot, throw a shoulder or other roast into it with a couple of sliced onions and fill with water, cook for 12 hours over night on low. Makes great pulled pork. I did this and froze what I didn't eat into 3-4 ounce portions for quick sandwich meat.

KimR87

bump for ideas

PapaverSomniferum

If family are thrilled, how about getting family to cook said pig?

I wish! My life partner is helpless in a kitchen and the children aren't QUITE to the age of cooking on their own.

Getting there.

Usually on "Mommy isn't cooking tonight" days, they end up either buying fish sticks or Taco Bell. *sigh

A lot of these ideas are great! I forgot pulled pork was even a thing. That alone has given me ideas to eliminate a large enough chunk of Pork Mountain that I could go back to using some freezer space for non-carcass-related foods.

gmthisfeller

My wife and I were given 5 lbs of ground pork as a gift(?). So, we invited the gracious folk who gave the gift and did this:

http://is.gd/7SCoFA

If I am going to eat ground pork, I could do a LOT worse that this.

PapaverSomniferum

bump

these recipes are great, but even they are not enough to conquer Pork Everest! more please?

ldrosophila

I find it very cool that you can have a veggie household and a meat household. I know this isnt part of your thread, but how do you balance the two. One day I'd love to go back to my veg head roots.

PapaverSomniferum

I find it very cool that you can have a veggie household and a meat household. I know this isnt part of your thread, but how do you balance the two. One day I'd love to go back to my veg head roots.

I do all the cooking around here, and I quit eating meat when I was in my tweens, moving extremes from fruititarian-vegan-lacto-ovo-pescatarian depending on my financial/moral/moods most of my adult life. I'd say, percentage wise, the meals I cook for my family these days are 80% vegan, but many of them can be adapted by my family by sprinkling them with cheese, or adding cubed chicken or something.

Raising kids this way seems to have fostered a lot of nutrition knowledge and an enthusiasm for eating. They like trying new things. Their taste buds actually seem to gravitate towards more "healthy" meals when away from home, too. They'll get all excited about a pepperoni pizza treat, then eat only a slice before diving into salad. Moms who raised their kids on chicken nuggets and mac&cheese always ask what my "secret" is to getting my girls to eat so "healthy".

Easy. I showed them how.

I really enjoy cooking and am always trying to master new techniques. At this point, most of the things I haven't mastered yet are meat things, so a lot more meat is getting prepared around here, especially with access to local (and family) farms, and especially considering recent financial changes that make us VERY thankful for a freezer full of free flesh.

777Gemma888

My mother has a hobby farm and recently butchered a couple hogs. She gifted me with a freezer filled with various bits and pieces of pig for my family. Family is thrilled! However, I haven't eaten meat in as long as I can remember, and though I have mastered the art of using a meat thermometer and of adding bits of animals to otherwise vegetarian dishes to appease the carnivorous creatures I live with,

I'm a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of pork in my freezer. I've already grilled some. Fried some. Added some to a stir-fry, and I don't seem to have made a dent in freezer-pig-mountain.

What do I make next?

You could've cured the pork belly, jowls, legs ~ Pancetta, Guanciale and Speck. You could also make a confit.

Howdoyoufeeltoday

you can bread it and bake it, kinda like shake n' bake but with pork. Or if you have a tenderloin, then cut it into cubs, pound out each cube till it's pretty thin, then bread it in egg and bread crumbs and the spices you like. Then shallow fry it in a big frying pan. is it healthy....umm not so much...is it good, hell yes! Roasted in the oven with root vegetables is really easy. Or put it in fried rice with eggs and vegetables. Any way you can think to use chicken you can pretty much use pork instead.

ldrosophila

I find it very cool that you can have a veggie household and a meat household. I know this isnt part of your thread, but how do you balance the two. One day I'd love to go back to my veg head roots.

I do all the cooking around here, and I quit eating meat when I was in my tweens, moving extremes from fruititarian-vegan-lacto-ovo-pescatarian depending on my financial/moral/moods most of my adult life. I'd say, percentage wise, the meals I cook for my family these days are 80% vegan, but many of them can be adapted by my family by sprinkling them with cheese, or adding cubed chicken or something.

Raising kids this way seems to have fostered a lot of nutrition knowledge and an enthusiasm for eating. They like trying new things. Their taste buds actually seem to gravitate towards more "healthy" meals when away from home, too. They'll get all excited about a pepperoni pizza treat, then eat only a slice before diving into salad. Moms who raised their kids on chicken nuggets and mac&cheese always ask what my "secret" is to getting my girls to eat so "healthy".

Easy. I showed them how.

I really enjoy cooking and am always trying to master new techniques. At this point, most of the things I haven't mastered yet are meat things, so a lot more meat is getting prepared around here, especially with access to local (and family) farms, and especially considering recent financial changes that make us VERY thankful for a freezer full of free flesh.

So are you making two meals in away? You make yours first then add meat. I'd like to get back to being a vegetarian I miss that soulful light feeling I have, but I live with a very picky meat eater. I like cooking that's not a problem, but I dont want to be tied to the kitchen and I dont want us to break up meal times. Family meals are important. Just trying to find if there is a way to have your veggies and eat them too, so to speak.

I assume you wont be eating the pork.

retrobyte

Pork curry in a slow cooker is fab.

You can also mince pork and use it instead of beef in a bolognaise sauce, or in tacos.

PapaverSomniferum

I find it very cool that you can have a veggie household and a meat household. I know this isnt part of your thread, but how do you balance the two. One day I'd love to go back to my veg head roots.

I do all the cooking around here, and I quit eating meat when I was in my tweens, moving extremes from fruititarian-vegan-lacto-ovo-pescatarian depending on my financial/moral/moods most of my adult life. I'd say, percentage wise, the meals I cook for my family these days are 80% vegan, but many of them can be adapted by my family by sprinkling them with cheese, or adding cubed chicken or something.

Raising kids this way seems to have fostered a lot of nutrition knowledge and an enthusiasm for eating. They like trying new things. Their taste buds actually seem to gravitate towards more "healthy" meals when away from home, too. They'll get all excited about a pepperoni pizza treat, then eat only a slice before diving into salad. Moms who raised their kids on chicken nuggets and mac&cheese always ask what my "secret" is to getting my girls to eat so "healthy".

Easy. I showed them how.

I really enjoy cooking and am always trying to master new techniques. At this point, most of the things I haven't mastered yet are meat things, so a lot more meat is getting prepared around here, especially with access to local (and family) farms, and especially considering recent financial changes that make us VERY thankful for a freezer full of free flesh.

So are you making two meals in away? You make yours first then add meat. I'd like to get back to being a vegetarian I miss that soulful light feeling I have, but I live with a very picky meat eater. I like cooking that's not a problem, but I dont want to be tied to the kitchen and I dont want us to break up meal times. Family meals are important. Just trying to find if there is a way to have your veggies and eat them too, so to speak.

I assume you wont be eating the pork.

No. No pork for me. The only meat that creeps me out more than pork is chicken, and that's only because even people who LOVE chicken freak out if it's undercooked. That's not a good sign, in my twisted vegetarian brain.

I don't generally cook two whole separate meals. It's more like I cook meals that have components that can satisfy everyone's needs. Taco night is a good example. Bean filling, rice filling, meat filling, vegetable filling...adapt as needed. Stir fries can be done meat and veg separate. I generally have enough side dishes around that if someone in the family can't eat one of the dishes (we have a kid with a soy allergy on top of my meat aversion), there's plenty of others. I make big meals, freeze extra portions, so that there's always multiple dishes on the table. This not only fosters a diverse diet and interesting home-cooked meals, but it's frugal as well.

Last night we went with pork chops marinated in soy sauce, home-brewed-mead (another thing I have way too much of and need ideas to use), and sriracha, with mango chutney on top. Sides of seasoned cabbage, wasabi-avocado-mashed potatoes (with a gravy made from the pork fat and marinade), and lima beans. The chops (and gravy) were the only thing I actually cooked--the rest were out of the leftovers. The sides alone reached my macros so I wasn't missing out by not being interested in those thick cut slabs of spiced pig.

Tonight I'll probably make chili, using both ground pork sausage and some ground deer or goat. I'll separate out some of the beans before I add the meat for myself, then slow cook each separate from there.

I am pretty tied to the kitchen, but it's something I enjoy, and as a full-time working mom, I've kind of made cooking and meal time into my family time. We all participate and share in it.

Except for the pork part. I'm not too interested in sharing in that....

nickijhughes

Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Soup. I used ground pork instead of the beef and turkey the recipe called for because I had it on hand. Very low cal recipe (even with the pork)

2 pound pork
1 small head of cabbage
1 red onion
1 can tomato sauce
1 large can diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
2 cups water (I had to add more liquid so used the rest of my vegetable stock)
basil, thyme, marjoram, oregano, salt, pepper (i used about 1 teaspoon each and then adjusted flavor as it cooked)

I also added carrots, celery and zucchini.

It was more like a stew when I was finished with it!

dandelyon

As a clueless vegetarian, I made shredded pork in the crockpot last time I had frozen pork sitting in my freezer. The "aroma" was pretty strong, and meat smells don't usually bother me. FYI.

Allibaba

You are a stronger woman than me, I won't cook meat in my house anymore. My bf became vegetarian and my kid eats meat at his Dads, Grandmas or at restaurants (unless he is trying to be on my good side then he orders veggie, lol)