Leftover Pork Loin and What To Do With It
April 14, 2017
super easy
Leftover pork loin? Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered. Leftover’s do not have to be boring! With a little imagination, you can create beautiful, quick and easy dishes for a weeknight meal or even, dare I say, a dinner party? You decide.
Pork Tender Loin and how to use the leftovers
The other night while perusing my freezer I found this massive pork tenderloin that I had purchased a few weeks back. I actually got a screaming deal on it at a butcher shop, however, being in a rush upon returning home I didn’t exactly have the time to portion it before I froze it. It happens.
BUT because I didn’t portion it I was left with a pork loin the size of a loaf of french bread. Seriously, it was gargantuan. Feeding a household of five people, I really wasn’t worried. I thought we would have “some” leftovers and that would be great for sandwiches throughout the week and I was perfectly okay with that.
HOWEVER, life happens. The night that I decided to tackle this pork loin, the oldest had to go and help a friend move, the other one had plans with the girlfriend and there I was with my daughter and my husband and enough food to feed an army lol
So, what shall we do?
Personally, I am not a huge fan of leftovers. I do not enjoy eating the same thing every day so I like to switch whatever leftovers I have up a bit and make them totally different!
Leftover pork loin – two ways!
I have been craving some sort of dish with polenta. Normally I would use my go-to Italian dish which is how I really love to enjoy polenta, however, I wanted to do something different. Not to mention quickly. I mean we are talking leftovers, right? They shouldn’t be complicated.
So, I had a package of already prepared polenta in the cupboard and I went to work.
Slice your prepared polenta about a 1/4″ in thickness and lay on a baking tray. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic on both sides.
In a preheated skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, fry off your polenta until creamy. This takes around 4-6 minutes total. Once cooked, remove back to the baking tray and set aside.
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. I know it sounds low but we are only warming these through as we are using leftover pork loin, it is already cooked.
Slice your leftover pork loin into thin slices, about a 1/8″ or as thin as you can get them with a knife. Lay on a baking sheet season with salt and pepper. Brush each slice with prepared or homemade BBQ sauce. Be sure to season each side.
Place in your oven to warm for 12-15 minutes or until warmed through.
While your leftover pork loin slices are warming, poach a few eggs and set them aside in an ice bath until you are ready to assemble your dish.
Once everything is cooked and warmed through, assemble! Start with a slice of polenta, slice of pork loin, and alternate until your top piece is polenta. We used three slices polenta and two slices of leftover pork loin. Top with your warmed poached egg and voila! Dinner.
We served this dish with our Salsa Borracha and I can tell you all of the flavors married perfectly. I was pleased with the burst of spices and flavor while consuming this dish. We also prepared rosemary and garlic fries in the air fryer.
Leftovers can be gorgeous 🙂
Leftover Pork Loin and What To Do With It
Ingredients
- 1 package of prepared polenta - sliced 1/4" thickness
- 10 slices of leftover pork loin - sliced 1/8" thin
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce - prepared or homemade
- 5 poached eggs
- salt and pepper to taste
- Salsa Borracha optional
Instructions
Preheat your pan and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Slice polenta into 1/4" thick rounds. Lay on a cookie sheet and season both sides with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add each round to the pan and cook 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and return to cookie sheet until ready to use.
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees
- Slice leftover pork loin into thin slices, about 1/8" thick or as thin as you can get them. Lay out on a baking sheet and season, each side, with salt, pepper, and barbecue sauce. Place in your oven for 10-15 minutes until warmed through.
- Poach five eggs to serve on top if your polenta bombs
Assemble
- Start by placing a polenta round on your plate and adding a slice of leftover pork loin, folded in half, atop the polenta. Alternate layers, ending with polenta on top. Top with a poached egg.
- Serve with Salsa Borracha or any salsa verde and ENJOY!
Leftover pork loin – day two!
So, I still had about a pound of leftover pork loin even after preparing our polenta bombs (I told you the pork loin was massive lol) The second night we opted for something light and super quick.
I apologize for the image quality on these, however, like I said, they were super quick and I had a houseful of very hungry people lol So, cell phone camera is what happened!
First, I wanted to get the vegetables marinating so I sliced one carrot and one daikon radish into matchstick-sized strips. Placed them in a marinade with water, rice wine vinegar, salt, and sugar. I let these marinate for almost an hour and they were so delicious and refreshing.
I sliced the remaining leftover pork loin into 1/2″ slices and then cubed each slice. Added this to a pan with hoisin sauce mixed with a little bit of mirin. Seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked in the pan to warm the pork loin through. I also diced half of a medium onion and sautèed that with the pork.
Using a mayo/sriracha base on the bolillo rolls, I then layered in the shaved cucumber, topped that with the leftover pork loin, then added the marinated veg, cilantro and jalapenos.
I ended up with a total of six Bahn mi sandwiches and oh my goodness were they FABULOUS!
Bahn Mi Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 6 Bolillo Rolls
- 1 pound Leftover Pork Loin Sliced 1/2" thick and cubed
- 1 tbsp Canola Oil
- 1/2 Medium Onion Diced
- 1/2 Cup Hoisin Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Mirin
- 1/2 cup Mayonaise
- 2 tbsp Sriracha
- 1 cup Cilantro leaves
- 2 each jalapeños sliced
- 1 each cucumber shaved into strips
- 1 each Daikon Radish peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1 each Carrott peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 2 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 cup Water
Instructions
- Start by placing the daikon radish and carrots into the vegetable marinade. Combine the water, rice wine vinegar (you can use regular vinegar as well), salt and sugar into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes to an hour.
- Slice leftover pork loin into 1/2″ thick slices and then cube. Add canola oil to a preheated pan and diced onions. Saute onions for 2 minutes and add pork loin. Season with salt and pepper. Add in hoisin sauce and mirin – stir to combine. Cook until warmed through – about 10-15 minutes.
- Prepare your ingredients for assembly by peeling and shaving the cucumber, removing the marinated vegetables from the liquid, mixing the mayonnaise with sriracha, preparing the cilantro and slicing the jalapeno.
- AssemblySlice bolillo rolls lengthwise without going all the way through the roll. Leave one side intact.Spread Sriracha mayo evenly on each side of the roll.Lay in shaved cucumbers and top with warmed porkAdd marinated vegetables, cilantro, and jalapenos.Serve and enjoy!
So guys, what do you do with your leftovers? Do you transform them, reheat and serve or try not to have any in the first place? I’m curious, let me know in the comments below.
I hope you try these and totally enjoy them!
xoxo
These dishes are partying over on the following blogs 🙂
35 Comments
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Kristyn Schultz
These both look AMAZING but I need to try those sandwiches. It’s not often we eat pork loin but I think we will add it to the rotation now to try these left over dishes! -
Kelly
I am pinning this! Most of the time when I buy pork loin they are in a package of two, and it’s always more than you need. Both of these look so good!
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Angel
The Bahn Mi subs look delicious! I just made a pork roast yesterday, and might give this a try. The texture will be different, but I think it will work! -
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Carole @ From My Carolina Home
That polenta recipe looks yummy! I have a couple of leftover pork recipes I use, but can always use a new one. I typically make enchiladas or pot stickers with the leftovers.
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Corey | The Nostalgia Diaries
I just got two pork loins when they were buy one get one free – now I know exactly what I will be doing with them! Yum!
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Christine
Wow, these are fantastic ideas! I really love polenta and Bahn mi! I never thought of either one! When I have leftover pork loin, we usually have French dip sandwiches.
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Betty
I go direct to oven struck and enjoy with the cook and her family for the best leftovers Of course she is a neighbor. Soooo good !!!
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Lara
This looks great!! Love the idea of the pork tenderloin and the polenta slices. So easy but so good
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Kaveri Obhan
This is a great recipe !
I don’t have many recipes of pork and this is going to be in my to-do list ? -
Hatsuharu
Made me hungry reading the post. I love working on leftovers as well. I usually try to create a new recipe with leftovers every time. -
Colleen Wool
These are such great recipes. We always have leftover pork and I was running out of ideas to use it.
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Nancy G
Oh my words! These look yummy. I don´t eat too much pork, bt when I have left-over meats I tend to make omelets or stir-fry with veggies.
Will definitely try these recipes with other meats. Tomorrow is a good chance already with leftover lamb.
Thanks for sharing. -
Melanie Frost
Wow, wow, wow! I eat pork all the time, but it gets boring eating it the same way. I love these ideas! Now to purchase the ingredients…
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Terri
I make a pork loin weekly and I know I will be trying these two dishes. I’m loving the flavor profiles!
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Jeanine
Yum! Love this. I am a huge pork lover and we usually have some leftovers so this is great!
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Karyl | Karyl's Kulinary Krusade
These both look amazing! I bought polenta like 2 years ago…and it’s still sitting in my pantry 🙂 This might be just the push I need to make it
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Rosey
What a unique way to use it. And yes, I agree, leftovers should not be complicated.
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ohmummymia
Oh my it looks so delicious! I need to try it. I’m sure it taste like a heaven
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Sauumye
Using leftovers to make something fun & tasty is just amazing!!! I always experiment with my leftovers!!
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Claire Santiago
Recycling leftover foods is always a good idea. Nothing goes to a waste plus you discover something new for the family.
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Elizabeth O
Even though I don’t eat meat, I can appreciate a well prepared and delicious dish. Your recipes and photos are very inviting. I bet they taste great too!-
Oven Struck
Thank you, Elizabeth! That is one of the main things I love about cooking…you can take an idea and make it fit your dietary preferences!
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Lisa Rios
Mmmmm…. Those sandwiches sound SOOOO yummy! I love how you were so resourceful with your leftovers! Definitely a good quality in a mom.
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Anonymous
this recipe was so awesome I was so worried Id be left eating leftover pork loin. I turned it into Bahn Mi subs and its all gone! thank you
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Anonymous
Delicious use of leftovers. I did not have all the ingredients listed, but still came out very yummy! -
Jackie Tarchala
Delicious! My husband was leery but hw loved it! Thank you
Oh this is brilliant. When my mom was teaching me to cook, she always emphasized “repurposing.”