Monday’s Leftovers - Pulled Pork & Veggie Soup

After a weekend of smoking BBQ and grilling, there’s often leftovers. The classic brisket or pulled pork sandwich is always great, but there’s a lot of ways to reuse that leftover barbeque. A great way to use leftover pulled pork is Pulled Pork & Veggie Soup for a cold winter Monday family dinner.

One of my wife’s favorites is vegetable soup. I usually make a couple of huge batches each winter. We’ll eat 3-4 bowls the first night. With a few Alton Brown and America’s Test Kitchen episodes under my belt, my soup is getting better and better.

I start with my two beef soup bones the night before, simmering for about 4 hours. Add 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, half an oinon rough chopped, 4 tablespoons of kosher salt, and of course a 5 quarts of water. Strain well and put in the fridge overnight. The next day I pull out the fat that has seperated and risen to the top. NO MORE GREASY SOUPS!!!!

During a recent beef and veggie soup creation, my soup bones didn’t yield much meat so I went in search of some brisket in the freezer. Found a small freezer burnt package of what I thought was brisket. Turned out to be pulled pork from some comp last year. This was one of those mistakes that turns into a new favorite. The pulled pork was great in it. The spice in the rub added a flavor to the soup and a little hint of heat.

I add ingredients in my veggie soup in stages…

Stage 1 - Simmer for 1-2 hours
Pulled Pork (Brisket would work great, too.)
1/4 C Barley
1/4 C Parsley
2 T Oregano
3 T Black Pepper
2 C Fresh carrots
2 C Fresh turnips - The carrots and turnips are my favorite part of the soup.
1 C Fresh celery
1 C Frozen corn
1 C Fresh/frozen green beans

Stage 2 - Simmer another 30-45 min
- Since these ingredients are softer, you don’t want them to totally disolve. This is why I add them in toward the end.
2 C canned/fresh potatoes (The canned potatoes work just as well for this.)
1 C Frozen peas
1 C Lima or Butter beans (your call on the beans)

A tip I learned from a recent Good Eats episode is to not rapid boil your soup bones. It should be an easy, steady simmer. Your soup bones will release more of their marrow and flavor that way.

Veggie soup is always better the second night, too. Why is that? The best starter, IMHO, for a beef & veggie soup is Ox tail. My grandfather swears by ox tail soup and I gotta agree. Some pulled pork, I learned, is a great meat filler. I’m going to have to try a little hot sauce in my next bowl!!

Pulled Pork & Veggie Soup = Good Eats