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Fun with Leftovers

Fun with Leftovers
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  • Fun with Leftovers

    Post #1 - May 2nd, 2008, 10:05 pm
    Post #1 - May 2nd, 2008, 10:05 pm Post #1 - May 2nd, 2008, 10:05 pm
    LTHForum,

    There are a number of leftovers threads devoted to a single item, thought I'd start a more general discussion.

    Please accept my humble offering to start, Smoked Spare Rib Fried Rice.

    - Prepare a thin omelet, reserve.
    Image

    - Ducks in a row
    Image

    - Strip smoked spare rib meat
    Image

    - Stir fry
    Image

    - Serve, eat, enjoy
    Image

    Enjoy,
    Gary
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #2 - May 2nd, 2008, 10:35 pm
    Post #2 - May 2nd, 2008, 10:35 pm Post #2 - May 2nd, 2008, 10:35 pm
    Nice, Gary. What are you using for sauce . . . just soy sauce and oyster sauce? I use those and a touch of toasted sesame oil at the end, after the cooking.

    Do you add any dry seasonings? I make "clean out the fridge" fried rice frequently and it's always tasty but also seems like it might be missing a certain something, as well. For seasonings, I'll generally use freshly ground white pepper, szechuan peppercorn and a bit of 5-spice powder. What else do you recommend?

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #3 - May 3rd, 2008, 6:17 am
    Post #3 - May 3rd, 2008, 6:17 am Post #3 - May 3rd, 2008, 6:17 am
    ronnie_suburban wrote:What else do you recommend?

    Ron,

    I generally start the stir fry with garlic, ginger, hot pepper (fresh or dried) and, often, Chinese style fermented black beans. If I'm using raw meats I will partially cook and reserve, then stir fry the veg and incorporate in turn the rest of the ingredients.

    Specific spicing wise, I don't tend to make fried rice the same way twice, though I always finish with a light drizzle of toasted sesame oil, as you mention.

    Enjoy,
    Gary
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #4 - May 3rd, 2008, 10:10 am
    Post #4 - May 3rd, 2008, 10:10 am Post #4 - May 3rd, 2008, 10:10 am
    I thought, in the case of spare rib fried rice, that you would have used Open Pit. :lol:
    Steve Z.

    “Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
    ― Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Post #5 - May 4th, 2008, 8:47 am
    Post #5 - May 4th, 2008, 8:47 am Post #5 - May 4th, 2008, 8:47 am
    stevez wrote:I thought, in the case of spare rib fried rice, that you would have used Open Pit. :lol:

    I seriously considered it, but thought the bride might prefer a more traditional approach.
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #6 - May 26th, 2008, 9:50 pm
    Post #6 - May 26th, 2008, 9:50 pm Post #6 - May 26th, 2008, 9:50 pm
    LTH,

    Had a very casual Memorial Day cookout, burgers, brats, Ream's wieners, which are incredibly good, and for a side I utilized leftover brown rice for KimChi Fried Rice.

    My basic method is the same as above.

    KimChi Fried Rice

    Make an omelet, reserve
    Image

    Ducks in a row
    Image

    Saute ginger, garlic, crushed red pepper, add kimchi, carrot, green pepper, Ream's wiener
    Image

    Add brown rice, soy sauce, stir fry, add a bit of water if dry. Add omelet
    Image

    Finish with a light drizzle of toasted sesame oil and top with scallions
    Image

    Went very well with grilled burgers

    Burgers, brats, Ream's wieners
    Image

    Enjoy,
    Gary
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #7 - May 27th, 2008, 1:31 am
    Post #7 - May 27th, 2008, 1:31 am Post #7 - May 27th, 2008, 1:31 am
    Looks great, Gary. I'll really need to try your fried rice approach to using brown rice sometime. Seems like: 1) an easy way to get the non-brown rice loving components of my family into consuming some, and 2) an ingenious way to spiff up fried rice.

    And thanks for linking to that fantastic thread of Ron's from your guy's visit to Ream's. It's an incredible post from an incredible visit to an incredible store. Great stuff!
  • Post #8 - May 27th, 2008, 5:15 pm
    Post #8 - May 27th, 2008, 5:15 pm Post #8 - May 27th, 2008, 5:15 pm
    Gary,

    Looks most excellent with the smoked ribs! I do something similar, quite similar in fact, but I've found a taste to go along with the smoke that just klonks my magic klanger: this stuff

    Image


    is the main ingredient in my cooking sauce. (Typically I use Mae Ploy when I can get it, but most of these sweet chili sauces are pretty similar.)

    Geo
    Sooo, you like wine and are looking for something good to read? Maybe *this* will do the trick! :)
  • Post #9 - August 2nd, 2008, 7:30 am
    Post #9 - August 2nd, 2008, 7:30 am Post #9 - August 2nd, 2008, 7:30 am
    Geo wrote:is the main ingredient in my cooking sauce. (Typically I use Mae Ploy when I can get it, but most of these sweet chili sauces are pretty similar.)

    Geo,

    Chili sauce for chicken is an arrow in my quiver as well, though I most often use it as a condiment as opposed to an ingredient.

    Speaking of fun with leftovers, I did a few duck parts from Harrison's indirect on the Weber kettle last night, had farmer's market potatoes and was going to make a salad with romaine and red leaf I had washed, dried and tucked in the fridge. When I went to retrieve the lettuce it had partially frozen making it no longer suitable for salad. Wanting some sort of veg, and not wanting to toss the lettuce, I simply stir fried the lettuce hot and fast with a couple of cloves of garlic and finished with a glug of oyster sauce, making for a tasty accompaniment to duck breast and potato.

    Oyster Sauce (L), Sweet Chili sauce for Chicken (R)
    Image

    Enjoy,
    Gary
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #10 - August 2nd, 2008, 1:34 pm
    Post #10 - August 2nd, 2008, 1:34 pm Post #10 - August 2nd, 2008, 1:34 pm
    Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce on chicken wings is one of my favorites, too. Mmm, really I'd eat it with almost anything whether as a condiment or an ingredient.
  • Post #11 - December 29th, 2008, 10:41 am
    Post #11 - December 29th, 2008, 10:41 am Post #11 - December 29th, 2008, 10:41 am
    Recent adventures in leftovers:

    This week's 5th night of Chanukah dinner included a simple pot roast. When I make a dish like this, I buy the biggest piece of meat that I can manage because I love working with the leftovers.

    This pot roast made two more appearances on the dinner table in very different forms:

    1) Pot Roast Stroganoff: I cooked mushrooms and onions in a skillet while boiling tagliatelle. I added the pot roast chunks to the skillet and a good amount of black pepper. After the meat had heated through, I tossed it all with a little flour. The noodles were added to the skillet just before they were ready. A little bit of pasta water and a little whole milk were added to create a sauce, thickened by the flour. I added some frozen peas at the end because I feel guilty if I don't serve a green vegetable.

    2) Pot Roast-Sweet Potato Hash: Thin-sliced sweet potatoes were browned in olive oil in a skillet. Sliced red onion, pot roast chunks, and frozen sweet corn were added to the pan. When everything was heated through, I added chopped parsley and served it on top of arugula, dressed with good olive oil and white wine vinegar.

    Best,
    Michael
  • Post #12 - March 14th, 2009, 8:02 am
    Post #12 - March 14th, 2009, 8:02 am Post #12 - March 14th, 2009, 8:02 am
    Have you had any really good left overs or know of awesome ways to cook with them the next day? I just wanted to pass along these two gems for consideration:

    If you ever happen to have duck left overs from Sun Wah (we purposefully didn't eat all of ours specifically to have them), a great way to use them is to make a duck eggs benedict the next morning. Start making your poached eggs, meanwhile cook up the scallions and carrots, and then reheat the duck in a frying pan. Serve on toast or english muffin, and voila!

    Also, if you impulsively buy from the tamale guy and don't have room to finish them all, save some tamales and the green sauce it comes with, chop it up the next morning and cook it with eggs. SO good.
  • Post #13 - March 14th, 2009, 9:15 am
    Post #13 - March 14th, 2009, 9:15 am Post #13 - March 14th, 2009, 9:15 am
    Funny, was just talking about this at lunch the other day...Sparky got a free pizza for dinner at Pizza Hut, and remembering my frightening experience there the last time, I decided to rummage through the fridge and see what I could come up with.

    I had a tub of smashed potatoes/collards and cheddar cheese, leftover roasted turkey thigh, and half an onion. Onion and turkey were diced, skillet heated with some EVOO, and everything got tossed into the hot oil, topped with provolone, fried together until the bottom was all crispy and the top all melty. Mmmmm.
  • Post #14 - March 14th, 2009, 9:56 am
    Post #14 - March 14th, 2009, 9:56 am Post #14 - March 14th, 2009, 9:56 am
    Tamales and eggs are a long time staple in the seebee household. Cilantro, onion, tortilla chips, tomato, avocado, salsa, chopped chiles, the works. If you have some carnitas to add in, all the better. Don't worry about "not having room to finish them all" with tamales. I always buy extra specifically for the tamales and eggs breakfast.
    We cannot be friends if you do not know the difference between Mayo and Miracle Whip.
    Pronoun: That fool over there
    Identifies as: A human that doesn't need to "identify as" something to try to somehow be interesting.
  • Post #15 - March 14th, 2009, 1:43 pm
    Post #15 - March 14th, 2009, 1:43 pm Post #15 - March 14th, 2009, 1:43 pm
    I smoked some spare ribs the other day. I bought them completely untrimmed for .79/lb. After trimming them up, I was left with a considerable amount of leftover chewy meaty bits. I threw those on the smoker also. The next day, I made pea soup with them. It was the best pea soup I have ever eaten (if I do say so myself).
  • Post #16 - May 4th, 2009, 8:09 am
    Post #16 - May 4th, 2009, 8:09 am Post #16 - May 4th, 2009, 8:09 am
    The weekend's fun left me with some sugar cane shrimp from Sticky Rice, a big, juicy Knackwurst from Resi's Bierstube (yesterday was great day for the beer garden), and a few extra ramps that I didn't need for the pesto I had made a couple of days ago. Also had some fancy wild rice from Northern Minnesota, some good farm eggs, and some fun micro greens from an event at Lockwood.

    German-Thai-Midwestern Fried Rice With Indian and Mediterranean Accents

    - A few Ramps, chopped up
    - Leftover sugar cane shrimp from Sticky Rice, removed from the cane and chopped up.
    - Leftover Knackwurst from Resi's Bierstube (they get it from Paulina meat Market), chopped up.
    - plain omelette, chopped up
    - spice mix (pink peppercorns, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, ground with mortar and pestle)
    - Cooked Minnesota wild rice (cooked with a cinnamon stick and bay leaf)
    - anise hyssop leaves

    Put some oil in a hot pan, then sizzle in the shrimp, knackwurst and ramps. Season with spice mix and some salt. Add the cooked rice, some more spice mix and salt to taste. Stir it around in the very hot pan until it crisps up a bit, then add the omelette. Serve, garnished with anise hyssop leaves.
    ...defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions." Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

    Fuckerberg on Food
  • Post #17 - June 2nd, 2009, 10:15 pm
    Post #17 - June 2nd, 2009, 10:15 pm Post #17 - June 2nd, 2009, 10:15 pm
    I am always interested to hear how people transform their leftovers into new meals.

    My last transformation.
    Palak Aloo from Klay Oven in Oak Park made into omelet accompanied by pita bread I had on hand and leftover raita. Pretty darn good. I hate to waste and love reworking bits of old meals.111

    Food is Fun!
  • Post #18 - June 3rd, 2009, 12:05 pm
    Post #18 - June 3rd, 2009, 12:05 pm Post #18 - June 3rd, 2009, 12:05 pm
    My leftover makeover of the day is cutting up the leftover grilled teriyaki chicken pieces and mixing them into fried rice. Sweet, meaty, and another full meal!
    "Your swimming suit matches your eyes, you hold your nose before diving, loving you has made me bananas!"
  • Post #19 - June 3rd, 2009, 1:25 pm
    Post #19 - June 3rd, 2009, 1:25 pm Post #19 - June 3rd, 2009, 1:25 pm
    I took leftover sweet pea/mint crostini topping and made ravioli with some whole wheat homemade pasta. Hopefully there will be no leftovers since I am not if there could be another transformation.
  • Post #20 - November 3rd, 2009, 7:28 pm
    Post #20 - November 3rd, 2009, 7:28 pm Post #20 - November 3rd, 2009, 7:28 pm
    G Wiv wrote:Please accept my humble offering to start, Smoked Spare Rib Fried Rice.

    Smoked lamb breast fried rice kicks monkey tush. No pictures, but the smoky rich lamb, combined with ginger, black bean (fermented), garlic, scallion, jalapeno and a mix of fresh veg really hit a home run. I have taken to using brown rice for fried rice, I like the slight nutty note, plus I can tell myself it's healthier as I finish the dish with a glug of sesame oil.

    Enjoy,
    Gary
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #21 - December 22nd, 2009, 9:24 am
    Post #21 - December 22nd, 2009, 9:24 am Post #21 - December 22nd, 2009, 9:24 am
    I had a very pleasing leftover breakthrough last night. The story:

    Two nights ago we ate at Ras Dashen with some family. Unfortunately, our two young toddlers weren't too into the whole "eating in a restaurant" thing that night so we weren't able to linger very long. There was a fair amount of meat and bits left on the tray, but we just had to go. I asked to take everything home, partly because the owner had been so friendly with us and the boys that I didn't want to send food back. I stashed it in the fridge when I got home, hoping I'd find a use for the random bits of 5 or 6 different Ethiopian dishes.

    Last night, we needed a light, relatively quick lunch. I defrosted some frozen, curried butternut squash soup that we made a big batch of earlier in the fall. It occurred to me that what is normally just random bits of meat, chiles, lentils and spinach made a really nice addition to a squash soup. I had no use for the leftover injera that they packed up.

    Long story short: leftover Ethiopian food makes very, very good mix-ins for a soup.

    Best,
    Michael
  • Post #22 - January 2nd, 2010, 2:54 am
    Post #22 - January 2nd, 2010, 2:54 am Post #22 - January 2nd, 2010, 2:54 am
    LTH,

    Fried rice is perfect for using up lonely little packets of this and that in the fridge, tonights late dinner a perfect example, corned beef/kimchee brown rice fried rice. Sounds, and looks, ugly, tasted surprisingly nice.

    Brown Rice Fried Rice w/corned beef, kimchee, onion, cabbage, celery and egg. Side of torshi and marinated eggplant.

    Image


    Kimchee - New Chicago Kimchee
    Torshi/eggplant - Attra Middle Eastern Grocery
    Corned beef - Excel Corned Beef
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #23 - January 2nd, 2010, 6:15 am
    Post #23 - January 2nd, 2010, 6:15 am Post #23 - January 2nd, 2010, 6:15 am
    Is that baby corn I see?
    Steve Z.

    “Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
    ― Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Post #24 - January 2nd, 2010, 7:16 am
    Post #24 - January 2nd, 2010, 7:16 am Post #24 - January 2nd, 2010, 7:16 am
    stevez wrote:Is that baby corn I see?


    Must have taken a lot of therapy to get over that phobia :wink:
    ...defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions." Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

    Fuckerberg on Food
  • Post #25 - January 2nd, 2010, 10:15 am
    Post #25 - January 2nd, 2010, 10:15 am Post #25 - January 2nd, 2010, 10:15 am
    stevez wrote:Is that baby corn I see?

    Kennyz wrote:Must have taken a lot of therapy to get over that phobia :wink:

    Torshi from Attra is so completely delicious, wonderful spice aroma, pungent with turmeric and mustard, I attempted to eat the baby corn. But in the end, as does all baby corn that crosses my path, it ended up at Busse Woods Forest Preserve just over the Chicago border, a shallow dirt grave its final uneasy resting place.
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #26 - January 2nd, 2010, 9:38 pm
    Post #26 - January 2nd, 2010, 9:38 pm Post #26 - January 2nd, 2010, 9:38 pm
    Gary,

    Over the years, I've marvelled (not to mention slobbered) at your pix of some of the beauteous things you've conjured up. But I must admit that this particular concoction isn't all that appealing. Visually speaking, of course. (Must be the baby corn...) But I'm sure it smelt and tasted better than it looks. :wink:

    Happy New Year from a snowy Montréal!

    Geo
    Sooo, you like wine and are looking for something good to read? Maybe *this* will do the trick! :)
  • Post #27 - January 5th, 2010, 6:55 pm
    Post #27 - January 5th, 2010, 6:55 pm Post #27 - January 5th, 2010, 6:55 pm
    froze some leftover meat i pulled from some bb ribs I smoked 2 weekends ago on the WSM. Had some chicken stock I added some carrot, celery, celery leaves, and onion to. Also had a couple packages of frozen Udon noodles from H-Mart.

    became a great imho Tuesday night bbq pork dish. Smokey, hot, supple noodles, crubcy veg..

    Topped with green onion, some soy sauce, and Shark Siracha, it was really nice on a cold night.

    Image


    Image
  • Post #28 - January 20th, 2010, 6:19 pm
    Post #28 - January 20th, 2010, 6:19 pm Post #28 - January 20th, 2010, 6:19 pm
    used to hate leftovers, then I discovered how good leftover bbq can be.

    tried an udon with bbq pork dish again. Much better results. Used leftover smoked turkey broth from t-giving. Added sliced carrot, smashed garlic, green onion, parsley, the leftover meat from some bb's i did this weekend, and the bones from the meat. Simmered for a while, cooked off some udon noodles, and was set.

    Image
  • Post #29 - January 20th, 2010, 6:33 pm
    Post #29 - January 20th, 2010, 6:33 pm Post #29 - January 20th, 2010, 6:33 pm
    more smoked meat leftovers.. this was supper last night. Leftover smoked chuckie pulsed in the food processor, some sauteed onions, and some par deep fried potato cubes. Servd with 3 yolky, overeasy eggs.

    chuckie:

    Image


    par deep fried potato cubes:

    Image


    my plate:

    Image

    thanks for looking, this was really good, think smoked potroast hash... mercy...
  • Post #30 - January 20th, 2010, 7:54 pm
    Post #30 - January 20th, 2010, 7:54 pm Post #30 - January 20th, 2010, 7:54 pm
    Swsidejim -
    I want somma that. Like, I'm not even kidding. For me, that hash is screaming for some jaleapeno/serrano diced into the whole mix, and served on a bed of corn tortillas, topped with the eggs, then smothered with some kind of smoky salsa, but damn, I gotta have some. Thanks for the inspiration. Like for real, thanks. You da (smokin) MAN!
    We cannot be friends if you do not know the difference between Mayo and Miracle Whip.
    Pronoun: That fool over there
    Identifies as: A human that doesn't need to "identify as" something to try to somehow be interesting.

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