Any ideas for an old pork roast?

I like cooking, but I'm not much of a chef. I need some advice from someone creative.

At the bottom of my deep freeze, I found an old Swift Premium pork tenderloin. The date on it is August 2011. My husband says to toss it. We paid $20+ for it and it seems wasteful to just throw it out. It was vacuum packed and has a "hickory smoked" rub. Despite the vacuum packing, there are ice crystals all over it. What can I do with it? I was thinking of defrosting, cutting it into small pieces and making some sort of stew. Would braising it in a crock pot make it edible? I'm assuming the texture has been compromised after 2 years, but the meat should still be good, right? I'd really appreciate some ideas.

I think it's fine and would make it in anyway you want. Let it thaw well, maybe give it a good rinse. Should be fine just don't cook it to death.

In my opinion, tenderloin is a terrible choice for crockpot/stew. That doesn't stop a lot of people from doing it, but, for me, it's the wrong cut, too lean, too dry, not enough connective tissue for low, slow cooking. If I wanted to try and salvage it (and, who knows, it may still be okay--I'm a cheap bastard, so I'd give it a try), I would try some sort of stir-fry concoction, or just roast it normally and see how it goes.

I agree that a braise/stew is not optimal. I might go for a stir fry, or maybe a pork scaloppini.

With a tenderloin already being lean, and ice crystals indicating it drying out a bit, you're in a bit of a pickle.
Check the labeling: Is there a "contains 42% injected solution" or something like that (kidding about 42, usually no more than 12). If there isn't, then a couple of hours of brining might help save this. If it's already in there, you're not likely to get it to absorb more water and flavor.

I agree that a quick cook is your best bet: grill quickly, slice thinly and serve on flour tortillas with grilled peppers, mushrooms and onions. Sauce either with salsa and guacamole for pork fajitas, or with hoisin and scallions for mu shu.

I'm in the JoelF camp-
quick cooking is the way to go

another option would be chinese BBQ pork which would play off the hickory flavor-
cut it into 2-3 chunks
quick marinade in the red BBQ sauce from the chinese section
roast it on a rack at a super high heat (400-450) for a short time to like 135-140
then slice thin and enjoy-
you could even stir it into some fried rice after....

Pork schnitzel or a breaded pork version of veal "Parmagiana" style dish. The breading and added fat will help cover up any dryness.

I'll be the voice of dissent here and say that that covering of ice crystals on a wet piece of meat frozen well over a year ago indicates serious freezer burn. I think you will be disappointed with the taste and texture of that pork, no matter how you cook it. That $20 is long gone. Be prepared to let it go, either before or after you go to the trouble of planning a meal around and cooking that sad little forgotten freezer find. If you're not sure what to do, thaw it out and cut off and cook a small piece of it before you go wasting another $20 or more in time, other ingredients, and hopeful expectations on it.

Katie wrote:I'll be the voice of dissent here and say that that covering of ice crystals on a wet piece of meat frozen well over a year ago indicates serious freezer burn. I think you will be disappointed with the taste and texture of that pork, no matter how you cook it. That $20 is long gone. Be prepared to let it go, either before or after you go to the trouble of planning a meal around and cooking that sad little forgotten freezer find. If you're not sure what to do, thaw it out and cut off and cook a small piece of it before you go wasting another $20 or more in time, other ingredients, and hopeful expectations on it.

im with you Katie,

I would have tossed that meat without a second thought.

Wow! I sure picked the perfect place to ask. These ideas all sound interesting and relevant and I'll let you know what I decide to do.

It is not like you actually missed the $20 over the last year so go ahead and pitch it in the bin....

Those who think it out to be tossed are totally reasonable. I'm not gonna get the $20 back. It just seems so wasteful! There are hungry people, and here I am throwing away food. I suppose my ideal solution would be to get a great idea for resurecting it here, make something edible and donate it to a shelter or something.

I don't know- I'm with the OP, I almost NEVER throw anything out,
it has to be unsafe- as in "when in doubt, throw it out"
but that's probably because I'm still feeding two teenage boys
in addition to the hubby and adult daughter-
the frig is almost always empty-
we go thru a staggering amount of food- so when something turns up in the back of the freezer-
it gets tossed into a soup or stew or jambalaya
and becomes part of something else and no one is the wiser.....

maybe your pork could be part of red beans and rice?

I, too, hesitate to throw anything out unless there are clear signs that it's dangerous. If it's merely a bit less pleasant than it was fresh, then I find a way to resurrect it. I'm with Irisarbor regarding a soup or stew, if the meat really has dried out. Once it's thawed, you'll be able to tell better. But if it's dry but not spoiled, there are a lot of recipes out there for hearty pork-based soups and stews, and I'd pick one of those as a way of saving the protein and still having a tasty dish.

I have used "close out" Smithfield marinated pork roasts in my pressure smoker many times.
I have to admit that I usually purchase them for $6 on sale/special though. They make great pulled pork after being pressure smoked.

However, if there is any question, toss it.

I use freezer-burned meat for broth sometimes. It turns out great, especially with mirepoix (celery, carrot, onion) or the "holy trinity" (bell pepper, onion, carrot) used in the broth.

Cynthia wrote:I, too, hesitate to throw anything out unless there are clear signs that it's dangerous.

Same here. Just cut off a bit, defrost it, and fry it up quickly in a pan and see how it tastes. If it's really freezer burnt, toss it. If not, go for one of the quick-cooking concoctions. It's worth a shot and doesn't cost you anything except a little bit of time and gas for frying up a test portion.

I personally wouldn't use anything that tastes freezer burnt for broth. That flavor just permeates everything it seems. At least to me. If it's just suffering in terms of texture, yeah, that's fine. But if it has that "freezer burnt" taste, that's pretty much the end of it for me.