Back in December, one of our local markets had a Buy One, Get One Free deal on boneless pork roasts, and I took ’em up on it. I cannot recall exactly what I did with the first roast back in the day, but the second got stashed in one of the freezers.
Until…
on a cold January weekend, I had a taste for a Mississippi Pot Roast, and kinda thought that my stashed pork roast would work a treat in place. It did.
Note: I have done a pork version of this roast before, using loin tip ends, and it was very good, but for this salad, I think a boneless pork loin works a might but better.
INGREDIENTS
•1 pork loin roast, cooked*
•Sweet kale salad kit
•Ranch dressing
•Honey Mustard Dressing
•Sliced scallions
*To cook the pork roast, apply cooking spray to a slow cooker, arrange the pork roast in the bottom, and sprinkle with one packet of ranch dressing mix. Arrange sliced peperoncini over the top, and place one stick of butter on top of it all. Cover and cook on LOW for eight hours, or HIGH for four hours. Let rest for a few minutes, then slice and serve as you will. I had about 1/2 of a roast leftover that I used for this salad.
Slice your leftover cooked roast pork, then cut each slice into strips and place in a large bowl with some of the barbecue sauce.
Note: depending on how big a crowd you are making this for (we have a dear friend who loves little better than “a salad, with meat!” so use as much of the pork as you like and adjust barbecue sauce amounts accordingly). You don’t want the pork swimming in the sauce, just nicely glazed and a bit crispity at the end.
Toss the pork in the sauce to lightly coat, then set aside to rest for thirty minutes.
Heat your air fryer to 400º and line a tray with parchment paper.
Note: as I am always saying, every air fryer is different, and seems to have its own “best at” temperature. Mine seems to be 400º. I also used my “Air Roast” setting, which adds a little broiler action to the process.
Arrange your pork strips in a single layer on the parchment lined tray, and air fry for about eleven minutes.
Turn the strips over, and air fry for another ten minutes or so, until the strips are browned and a bit crispity on the edges.
Prepare your salad kit according to package directions. After the first toss, I thought that this particular kit was a bit light on the included poppy seed dressing, so added a dollop of ranch and tossed it all again.
Much better.
To serve, place the salad on a large plate and arrange the pork strips on the side.
Drizzle it all with a bit of that Honey Mustard Dressing (trust me, this combination is kinda magical).
Sprinkle it all with freshly chopped scallions and, if you happen to have a Trader Joes nearby, some of their Crispy Jalapeño Pieces, for an extra little crunch.