Truth be known, I'm not that nuts about leftovers. In our house we have found bringing leftovers home from a restaurant is really just an attempt to postpone feeling guilty about our wastefulness. Put the leftovers in a container, put them out of sight for a day or two and then into the garbage they go. More and more as I become conscientious about my "carbon footprint" and try to eat and cook mindfully, responsibly and respectfully, it seems unconscionable to spend 20 minutes or so a week throwing things out of the refrigerator because they have outlived their usefulness.
On the radio today I heard this statistic: the average American family throws out $500 worth of food a year! Of course, that was in an advertisement for refrigerator storage bags and I thought about spending some quality time fact checking on the internet, but the painful truth would still remain. I need only look at my own habits to know I waste way too much food. So these days I am looking for ways to love those leftovers. I'd rather not just eat a re-run of the same thing I had last night, and hubby dearest? No way! So creativity is the name of the game. It doesn't even have to be that creative--just a different package of sorts.
Our fourth of July feast netted a serious abundance of pulled pork. Paul is a master outdoor cook and will quickly show you his credentials as a graduate of Pork-U in Kennesaw, GA. He knows his way around a Big Green Egg (picture included for those of you not knowledgable in the finer accoutrements of butt-smoking.) Pulled pork actually freezes very well, but the problem is the freezer part of our rental house refrigerator is about the size of your average dorm room refrigerator. A big part of the space is taken up with ice trays--yes, ice trays--remember those? We have some nicely vacuum packed fish filets from our last offshore trip (we don't catch it if we aren't going to eat it.) And then there are three packs of some very fine homemade meatballs. THERE IS NO ROOM IN THE INN. What to do, what to do??
When in doubt, what about tacos? I would be a big fat liar if I put forth some pretense here that a taco is an option of last resort. If there is one food I could eat almost daily, it would be Mexican something or Tex-Mex or Cali-Mex or Laura-Mex. I first had a BBQ Pork Taco at a lovely little Mexican purveyor in Atlanta called Taqueria del Sol. If you have never been to Taqueria del Sol, run, don't walk, don't pass go, but GO the very next time you are in Atlanta. I'm angling for a trip this Friday night when we are in town very briefly for a wedding. The "Memphis" is a pulled pork taco adorned with a smattering of jalapeno slaw and tequila BBQ sauce. I generally pair one Memphis with one Fish Taco, a trio of way cool salsas, guacamole and Eddie's turnip greens. Then I haul my stuffed self out to the car complaining the whole way because I ate too much!
So the idea of a BBQ taco isn't mine. I don't know exactly how they make theirs at Taqueria del Sol, but I'll tell you what I suggest you do with your leftover BBQ. Hopefully, you made too much coleslaw, too, so you can add that. But if you don't have any slaw, just shave a little cabbage and sprinkle it over the pork and you'll accomplish the same thing. You will also see on the list below a lovely little version of BBQ sauce common here in Alabama made with a mayonnaise base. Yes, it is WHITE BBQ sauce, and it is finger licking, lip smacking good and the perfect cool counterpoint to smoky, peppery pulled pork. So, assemble these items:
leftover pulled pork
leftover coleslaw or shaved cabbage
White BBQ Sauce (recipe follows)
jalapeno peppers
traditional style BBQ sauce OR Tabasco-type hot sauce (try Frank's!!)
corn tortillas (love these corn tortillas found at Publix)
Heat the pork (microwave is fine) and the tortillas. Put about 1/4-1/2 cup of pork on each tortilla. Drizzle pork with a little of each sauce. Layer about a tablespoon of slaw over the pork. Top with 3 jalapenos per taco. Roll tortilla into a nice little package and consume in about 3-4 bites. Feel very pious because you are reducing your carbon footprint by not wasting food!
White Sauce
Whisk together the following:
3/4 cup good quality mayonnaise
1/4 cup cider vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1-1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. horseradish
1/4 tsp. creole mustard (or other spicy brown mustard)
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