Last week I had a beautiful 3.22 lb half pork tenderloin in the freezer. What I've done in the past, realizing that there are only two of us, is to slice a large roast like this in half and freeze one, thus minimizing the one-time 'pork commitment.' This time, alas, the pork was hastily stored away in the freezer without prior portion consideration on my part.
For the record, I make a great roast pork tenderloin which we always enjoy - the first night. After that it gets more challenging to use the copious leftovers (no matter how creatively I present them) without a case of..."this again?!-itis." This time I believe I was proactive in my approach to the pork tenderloin. I decided not to roast it whole at all but to use the meat in a variety of distinct ways.
After thawing the pork in the refrigerator overnight, I decided upon several recipes I could make by cutting up the raw tenderloin, preparing it to be used in several different recipes. Here's what I came up with...
Thai Peanut Pork Cubes (They marinated in peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, sugar & chili powder.) On cooking day I stir-fried the pork with Thai vegetables and rice noodles and stir in a coconut milk sauce.
Italian Marinated Pork 'Steaks' (They were rubbed with a paste of olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, lemon juice & salt.) On cooking day I cooked them in an iron skillet on the stovetop. I served them with buttered pasta on the side. A mixed greens salad rounded out the meal.
BBQ Pork slices for Pork-Fried Rice (They were sauted, then simmered in a BBQ sauce concoction in my refrigerator I had left from another meal.) On cooking day, I stirred the cooked pork into the steamed white rice as I stir-fried it with some Oriental vegetables.
Southern Pecan-Crusted Pork Cutlets (These were sliced thin,then pounded even thinner. They're dredged in seasoned flour, egg wash & then in a breadcrumb & pecan breading.) I served them with buttered potatoes and a mix of turnip, mustard & collard greens.)
We really enjoyed these four completely different meals made from one pork tenderloin! It took some prep work the first day but after that the meals were as easy to cook as they were tasty!
I was particularly proud of my creativity on this so I thought I'd boast a bit...
I hope I inspired you to be creative in the kitchen too!
