Lately I’ve been so busy trying to keep up with all my work and other obligations that I struggle to find the time to cook. That’s when it’s easiest to make a large roast and use portions toward several quick meals later in the week. I bought a huge pork roast. It must have been 6-7 pounds.

The evening before I planned to cook it, I rubbed it down with spices, wrapped it up and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. The recipe for the rub follows. It makes more than you’ll need for one application and is also good with chicken and beef. Store unused rub in an air-tight container.

Spicy Sweet Rub
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Montreal steak seasoning
1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients together.

The next morning, I pulled the roast from the refrigerator and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then I seared all six sides in a shallow pan until they were golden brown. I placed it in my largest crock pot without adding any liquid. Cooking on high heat for the first two hours brought it up to heat quickly. Then I turned the heat to low and cooked for 4 more hours.

When done, I let the roast rest for about 30 minutes before pulling off a portion to shred for pulled pork sandwiches. The roast made lots of juice. I mixed some with a thick barbecue sauce and dressed the shredded pork with it. Save the remaining juice for later use. Break the remaining cooled roast down into a couple of containers and refrigerate.

We had pork sandwiches and street tacos for several meals. Street tacos are so easy to pull together once the meat is cooked. Just reheat the meat, chop vegetables and shred cheese. Roll it all up in a tortilla.

With the last portion of the roast, about 2 pounds, I made posole, a traditional New Mexico stew using hominy. My version is a little spicy and I serve it with cheddar cheese and jalapeño cornbread.

Posole
1 large onion, diced
2 green peppers, diced
1/2 jalapeño, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic minced
2 cans Rotel tomatoes
2 cans hominy
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
8 c. beef stock (or combine beef stock with leftover pork juice to equal 8 cups)
2 lbs. cooked pork roast, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onion and peppers in olive oil with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add bay leaves and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, hominy and remaining spices. Cook while stirring until the ingredients are incorporated and fragrant. Add stock and shredded pork and bring to a boil. Taste and adjust seasonings. Then turn down the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

Garnish the stew with sliced radishes, jalepeños, chopped cilantro and crumbled queso fresco. I also served with cornbread and our favorite is to add minced jalapeños and cheddar cheese. One can easily make the cornbread batter from scratch but if in a hurry, a mix purchased at the store speeds things up. I followed the directions on the back of two packages of mix and added 2-1/2 minced jalapeños along with a cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

Be sure to place about a Tbsp. of vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet and preheat at 400 degrees for about 7-8 minutes. Remove the screamin’ hot pan from the oven and pour in the batter. It’s perfect when the batter begins to fry as you pour. Return the skillet to the oven and cook as directed on the package or 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown.

For a less spicy version of posole, skip the jalapeños and substitute tomato bits for the Rotel.