Redneck Pho

[SapperDawg]

I invented a dish tonight. I imagine this is how many food crazes start, and I could probably make this into a food truck, gain a cult following and create an organic, locally sourced eatery chain/Food Network empire. Instead, I will share it here and hope one of you may find it enjoyable.

This all starts out with with the wife and I having a terrible work schedule this week, and me not making it to the grocery store prior to the white death in HSV last week. I generally try to keep three or four bags of leftover pulled pork vacuum sealed in my freezer at all times. Not so much for sandwiches, but for brunswick stew, BBQ spaghetti, chili, etc.

So I make a huge batch of brunswick stew and we eat on it for two days. I like making a large batch, as we then put two or three containers in the freezer for emergancy eating nights when we are late getting home. Tonight was one of those nights. I am staring at the fridge and all we have is some lettuce, carrots and leftover brunswick stew. My daughter is voting for spaghetti, and that is when it hit me. What about putting noodles in the stew? Tony Bourdain (big fan) talks about how awesome bowls of fatty broth with noodles are all over the developing world, this cant be too bad, right?

It worked. Totally worked. I added a massive shot of Sriracha to my bowl and it became a fatty, porky, tomatoey, spicy noodle broth with veggies and pulled pork. My stew was more liquid than thick, and that really helped. Skeptical at first, my wife is on board with this one, and it will likely become a staple to our home menu.



Redneck Pho:
~1 lb pulled pork (frozen or thawed, doesn't matter)
~1 cup mixed veggies/veg all (frozen is fine)
~1/2 cup fresh green bean
1 quart(ish) canned tomato sauce (stewed, crushed, fire roasted - all good)
~ 1 TBS garlic (I use tubed garlic)
~ 1 TBS tomato paste
~ 1TBS chili pure (from tube I get a publix)
~ 1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce. I used Archer Farms Mustard and Vinegar from Target. It is suprisingly good on pork.
Mix of spaghetti and small linguini noodles for your number of folks

1. Get a large pot, I use a six quart enameled cast iron dutch oven. Fill about half full of water, and put in pork. Allow this to cook for about 10-20 minutes to thaw the pork if frozen. Note that you are just making your own stock at this point.
2. Once pork is thawed, all all other ingredients.
3. Let simmer on med low for as little as 30 mins and as long as all afternoon. Note that like all soups and stews, this seems to get better after a day or so.
4. Cook noodles. When complete, put cooked noodles in bowl, ladle stew from above noodles. The beauty of this is the personal condiments, I like heavy on the spice. I think some thinly sliced green onion would have worked well on top too.

ETA: The BBQ sauce ....forgot that part.

[BrunswickDawg]

I think I may have to add that to my list. Always looking for a new way to use Brunswick Stew. Lo Mein noodles would probably work well too.

[Treemydawg]

My grandmother has been making a dish just like this for her whole adult life that she calls goolash (sp)? It has all the same ingredients excect the noodles, she uses egg noodles they are really fat and wide. After you cook it next time trying adding a tbsp of sugar to the bowl of (goolash) you are going to eat the sweet really adds to the overall flavor of everything involved.