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After slow cooking my pork over a bed of carrots, celery and onions. The pork gets eaten, the juice gets reduced to an amazing sauce base.

What can I do with the vegetables? They are tasty to eat as-is, but I want something a bit more creative?

Some idea (please chime in if you've tried something like this): -puree the vegetables with the juice, then boil, reduce, mix in other ingredients for a heartier sauce -use as toppings (pizza, burgers)

Also, with this in mind, are there other veggies I could add to the slow cooker? ie, adding veggies not just for how they flavor the meat, but adding veggies that will taste amazing after being cooked with meat for 12 hours.

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@user1575 you may want to adapt this post to CW format or tighten it up per: meta.cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/608/… –  mfg Sep 8 '10 at 20:54
@mfg, if you use the flag tool you can flag this for moderator attention so it and the answers can be converted to CW. And I think it is ok as per the FAQ post here as it is effectively asking for uses for waste. Feel free to start a meta discussion if you disagree. I've converted to CW. Thanks! –  Sam Holder Sep 9 '10 at 8:31

4 Answers 4

up vote 1 down vote accepted

Save the veggies in a freezer bag or air-tight bowl (in the freezer) and when it's full you've got most of vegetable soup without it taking so long.

Additional veggies that taste amazing after being slow-cooked with meat for 12 hours: rather, ask, Are there any veggies that won't taste amazing?

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but won't the traditional flavors that you expect for vegetable soup be in the pork juices, while the veggies taste more like pork juice? I've read not to reuse mirepoix. –  justkt Sep 10 '10 at 12:05

My children love this kind of vegetables in a quiche (with some ham and olives as well).

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Have you thought about using an immersion blender (or carefully using a real blender, noting that hot liquids and blenders can be scary) to blend the juices and vegetables into a thicker sauce and putting it over your pork?

The reason I ask is that I've never heard of re-using mirepoix (the trinity of carrots, celery, and onion). Their flavors have likely already depleted into the cooking juices (especially if you have liquid in your slow cooker during the process), though they have picked up pork flavors.

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So the veggies can be blended to a proper consistency for sauce? I guess I'm worried about having a liquid filled with tiny chunks rather than a thick sauce. –  user1575 Sep 8 '10 at 19:42
You could always try straining the sauce after blending if you find that there are too many chunks. Or maybe press it through a ricer? Just throwing out ideas, haven't tried them myself :) –  stephennmcdonald Sep 8 '10 at 19:56
I've thickened sauce with leftover mirepoix. It worked fine. Just run it through a sieve. I find it takes a bit of experimentation to get the right liquid/solid mix before blending. Too much and you're just moving chunks around, too little and it won't blend well. –  Chris Cudmore Sep 8 '10 at 20:41
@user1575 - think a soup consistency, and that's what you could potentially get, yes. It would be more of a gravy, perhaps, in terms of thickness. –  justkt Sep 8 '10 at 22:03

Mushrooms taste amazing after being slow cooked with meat, though they may need to be added later in the cooking time to avoid getting soggy. Hearty fall/winter veggies like butternut squash and sweet potatoes would be great as well.

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