What to do with half a pork shoulder


 
Andy Kaminski

Andy Kaminski

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After I read Joan’s carnitas recipe I was Jonesing for carnitas so I put together a somewhat similar recipe.

I cut a Costco bone out shoulder in half to 4 lbs.
Cubed it to about 3 inch chunks.
Tried to sear it with 16 oz. of lard in my Dutch oven but had to make 2 runs at it because the large Dutch oven wasn’t big enough.
After that I think the recipe was closer not exactly the same but darn close.
I did have to drain out some of my water and orange juice to finish of the cook so it would sizzle the way I wanted when done.

We ended up with some nice tacos that were tasty as all get out.
I only took a few pics .

I now am not sure what to do with the other 4lbs.
I still have about 3lbs of carnitas that I could turn into a chili verde meal or something similar if I want or I could just freeze it.
I think I’m going to make some uncased sausage meat with the other half of this pork shoulder, maybe some country style ribs.

What would you do with 4lbs of pork shoulder?

I never took pics of the finished product but here are a couple pics that got me there.
 

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You might consider one of @Brett-EDH cooks for char siu

Brett-EDH

Thread 'Readying some pork char siu - for the umpteenth time'

It’s been a while since I made this and the weather is turning really nice here, as does spring’s approach.

This is a flavorful meal that the leftovers can be repurposed many different ways. And it makes a great pork fried rice ingredient too.

This is a 4# section from a few Costco butts I broke down this winter and froze.

Usual ingredients for char siu sans hoisin sauce.

I amped up the fresh garlic and ginger as the ginger from Ranch99 yesterday were huge and fresh.

Other parts are 5 spice powder, dry sherry, salt, dark soy sauce, granulated sugar, sesame oil, oyster sauce, honey...
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Andy Kaminski said:
After I read Joan’s carnitas recipe I was Jonesing for carnitas so I put together a somewhat similar recipe.

I cut a Costco bone out shoulder in half to 4 lbs.
Cubed it to about 3 inch chunks.
Tried to sear it with 16 oz. of lard in my Dutch oven but had to make 2 runs at it because the large Dutch oven wasn’t big enough.
After that I think the recipe was closer not exactly the same but darn close.
I did have to drain out some of my water and orange juice to finish of the cook so it would sizzle the way I wanted when done.

We ended up with some nice tacos that were tasty as all get out.
I only took a few pics .

I now am not sure what to do with the other 4lbs.
I still have about 3lbs of carnitas that I could turn into a chili verde meal or something similar if I want or I could just freeze it.
I think I’m going to make some uncased sausage meat, maybe some country style ribs.

What would you do with 4lbs of pork shoulder?

I never took pics of the finished product but here are a couple pics that got me there.
Click to expand...
When in doubt, grind it up. Make some sausage, use for pork burgers, use it in chili. Just think of it as ground beef, only better. You could also make some buckboard bacon with it.
 
Thanks, @DanHoo.

Other reccos are Vietnamese char broiled pork;
Pork schnitzel, sliced thin and pounded flat;
Greek pork souvlakis;
Ground up for 50/50 beef pork meatballs;
Ground up for pork lettuce cups;
Sliced thin for mu shu pork with wood ear mushrooms;
Ground up and turned into breakfast sausage patties;
Ground for rustic Italian sausage with pasta and pommodoro sauce;
CSR ribs cut into length strips.

Lmk if you want any of these recipes.
 
Last edited:
I’m going to either go char su or breakfast sausage.
Brett could you possibly point me in the right direction to a good red dye type char su recipe?
I don’t think I’ve ever done one and it sounds fun.
Thank you.

Edited to add,
the wife took out some of the carnitas for left overs.
This is what it looks like after a couple days in the fridge.
 

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Use paprika instead of red dye. The red dye only adds fake color. I avoid it.

I have many char ski recipes posted here. I’ll dig up some links for you. The longer the marinade, the better. Go 24-48 hours. It has no acid so you’ll be fine.
Andy Kaminski said:
I’m going to either go char su or breakfast sausage.
Brett could you possibly point me in the right direction to a good red dye type char su recipe?
I don’t think I’ve ever done one and it sounds fun.
Thank you.

Edited to add,
the wife took out some of the carnitas for left overs.
This is what it looks like after a couple days in the fridge.
Click to expand...
 
Green chili stew.

Pork Adobo
thewoksoflife.com

Filipino Pork Adobo Recipe - The Woks of Life

Pork Adobo originated in the Philippines. It's a braised pork recipe with vinegar, soy sauce and garlic, and is delicious over steamed rice.
thewoksoflife.com thewoksoflife.com

Carne Adovada
www.seriouseats.com

Carne Adovada (New Mexico-Style Pork With Red Chiles) Recipe

Similar to chile con carne but made with pork, carne adovada is a New Mexico dish offering perfectly tender chunks of pork shoulder braised in a base made of an assortment of chiles.
www.seriouseats.com www.seriouseats.com
 
I had a large shaker of Dr.Pepper a while ago.
That stuff was good on just about everything.
I need to get some more of that 👍.
 
Used half a 8# butt for green chili stew for the bears game.
Used the other half for some pork Lo Mein yesterday. All done in the crock pot.
 
Joan, last year I found a shaker of Dr. Pepper flavor spice.
It was called that right on the label and was really good.
I just can’t remember where I got it at or seem to find it.

I’m not much on prepared spices but I will buy odd ball items such as that or dried honey when I can find it.
 
I can’t seen to find it on my Google search.
Stubbs has a wet Dr. Pepper sauce.
I found a cherry cola rub also but I couldn’t find a Dr. Pepper rub.
Maybe I had a senior moment and mixed up Cherry Cola rub with Dr. Pepper rub 🤷‍♂️.
 
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