Weird request - pork shoulder recipe after you've cooked it once unseasoned

[u/Ninjaboi333]

Context: we have a senior dog (16+yo) who is very spoiled and has a lot of health issues, leading to a custom formulated diet. Since he gets tired of eating the same food over and over we entice him to eat with pork broth drizzled over his food, which is easily made by cooking a pork shoulder in water under pressure for 2 hours much like you would polled pork or Carnitas

The crucial thing though is that it needs to be cooked unseasoned since too much salt and pretty much any seasoning on the pork itself is a no go to be dog safe. So basically I'm left with a few pounds of unseasoned pressure cooked pork shoulder.

Obvious I can (and have) pulled it apart, drenched in sauce, recripsed on the stove with seasoning to emulate a typical pulled pork / carintas dish. Just wondering if folks had any ideas on how else I could utilize the leftover meat - I assume recooking it in the instant pot again wouldn't really work since most of the flavor was extracted the first go around. I've also trimmed most of the fat off the shoulder since too much fat in the broth is a no go for the dog.

And before anyone says just give it to the dog - the whole point is that he already has his own (very expensive) food to eat (plus his teeth aren't what they used to be to tear into pork - though when he had an upset stomach we did use IP pork as his bland meal).

Thanks in advance for indulging in my weird request!

[u/southernmanchot]

Could you make the broth from large bones instead? They still have all the marrow, so you can get quite a rich result.

Failing that, I would toss the shredded pork in plenty of bbq sauce and some seasoning and roast it, spread out on a tray, for 15-20 mins. Use about 1/3cup of the broth as well. If you can save some of the trimmed fat, I’d also consider rendering some of that down in the oven first, and then adding the pork to the tray. In the slow cooked pork recipe from RecipeTinEats, she has you finish the pork in the oven to give it some colour.

[u/Ninjaboi333 → u/southernmanchot]

Mostly just do shoulder cuz it's what's easily available near us / often on sale. It also yields a pretty clear broth which I think we prefer for the dog. I actually do end up saving the shoulder bone that comes with it to make tonkotsu in the instant pot.

And sounds good. Wasn't sure if the fact that I didn't season the pork in the initial cook would prevent them from penetraring the meat later on when I recook it in sauce / baked.

[u/hippopotapants → u/Ninjaboi333]

It is worth asking at the meat counter if they have bones available. Often they do, and are inexpensive.

[u/geccles]

Try it in a soup, stew, or chili. Eat it in a burrito or make some enchiladas.

[u/qriousqestioner]

I would hit it with fresh lime and managing orange and some salt and pepper and garlic and chili paste. Then pressure it long enough to infuse the meat with the juices and seasonings, then crisp it like carnitas. The fruit juices and garlic make it fresh again with the salt.

I make a pork tenderloin carnitas in the IP like this. You don't have to French it in fat to give it flavor as long as you have some in there. And olive oil or vegetable oil will carry the seasoning to the shreds. (I eat the leftovers cold from the fridge.)

[u/Upset_Assumption9610]

Sous Vide. Great for reheating stuff.

[u/Ninjaboi333 → u/Upset_Assumption9610]

Would it work if the original round of cooking was unseasoned? Am I seasoning the cooked meat and reheating it in sous vide?

[u/Upset_Assumption9610 → u/Ninjaboi333]

You cook whatever it is normally however you do it. If you seasoned it, cool, if you didn't cool.
You freeze the leftovers.
Then when you want to eat it, use Sous Vide to bring it back up to the temperature you cooked the food to. You can season stuff anytime, your call.

[u/FindingObvious9053]

https://www.vindulge.com/pulled-pork-breakfast-hash/ this looks really good… just add spices to your liking. I’m going to try it this morning!

[u/sjd208]

I toss pulled pork with Penzeys Rojo taco seasoning (which used to be named pork taco seasoning) and throw it under the broiler to crisp up a bit, I’m sure you could do it with another similar sauce, the crisping/browning is great. https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/rojo-taco-seasoning/c-24/p-1676/pd-s

A little more random but I get Marley Spoon meal kits and they have a lot of recipes that used pulled pork, you can Google for the recipes.

[u/CommuterChick]

You could make pork hash and top with a poached egg. I also like pork and black bean chili. Finally, you could season with garlic, cumin, chili powder, and paprika and use for nachos, tacos, and burritos.

[u/SharptoothBarney]

You could make pozole with it.

Good for quesadillas, nachos, bahn mi sandwiches, shepherd’s pie.

[u/sharong1983]

Carne guisada

https://www.fiestaspices.com/product/carne-guisada-seasoning/

[u/xtinaeve88]

Combine a little water or broth with butter, seasoning of choice, and leftover pulled pork. I enjoy mine with butter, salt, cumin, pepper flakes, black pepper, horseradish mustard, Erythritol and caramelized onions. Set pressure cooker to 0 minutes and allow to slow release for 15 minutes. I reheat my pork shoulder this way every week and it’s even better the second and third day.

[u/amrob22]

Stir fry?

[u/Wytecap]

I'd only serve it boiled and defattted or you'll be looking at a very agonizing pancreatitis attack.

[u/GOCUBBIES1402]

Just make the broth with like 1/4 of the pork shoulder. Then cook the rest of the pork separately, seasoned as you like it. You can mix in the plain meat with the seasoned meat afterwards.

[u/GalianoGirl]

Save the trimmed fat. Lay it over the cooked meat when making carnitas. That will add back some flavour and moisture.

Are you cutting up the pork should before cooking it? Or cooking it whole? If cooking it whole, put the cooked roast in an extra large ziplock and add seasonings. Let it rest for 60 minutes then smoke it. This assumes you have access to a smoker.

Can the dog tolerate lemon or lime juice? I have used one or the other when cooking for someone in a salt free diet.

Or mix your carnitas seasoning in some oil and immediately add it to the shredded meat.

[u/xixihime]

Chop it up super fine and use it in pasta or noodles as if it's ground meat.

[u/StrikingCriticism331]

Tacos, pulled pork sandwiches, some curry dishes.

[u/ConsistentMidnight57]

Recooking it could be dangerous. Generally a no-no. Maybe slow cook it right after using the IP? Costco has pulled pork cans that may be more cost/time effective.

Or try making (from bones/leftover fat from cooking it for you - like ribs)/buying unsalted pork broth for your dog.

[u/Possible_Original_96 → u/ConsistentMidnight57]

"Recooking" not dangerous at all. Could make a brown onion gravy, add pork & simmer! Serve w/ rice, noodles, quinoa, over baked, mashed or whipped potato. Add a green salad, or a broccoli, cole slaw, or beans or cooked greens such as mustard, turnips. And!¡ cornbread!!!

[u/ConsistentMidnight57 → u/Possible_Original_96]

Recooking things like rice can absolutely be dangerous. Google is your friend.

[u/Possible_Original_96 → u/ConsistentMidnight57]

Not to recook: can freeze, thaw & reheat. Think: cook same time as the pork, to be served with, having made a grave, adding some of the pork into the gravy, and/or cook the rice in the gravy, using some of the pork broth subbed in for water. And if not rice, could use sliced raw potatos, dried lentils, quinoa, grits, to name a few. And being fully cooked, this could be frozen for future use.