Pork Shoulder is one of the cheapest cuts of pork…and I would say the tastiest!
When it goes on sale, rarely, there is no reason not to take advantage of that.
This article will discuss how I cook pork shoulder for the whole week without eating the same thing every day and without boring my family.
Sometimes pork shoulder is called a picnic roast, picnic shoulder or Boston roast. Some people get it confused with a pork butt…but it is not the same.
How to Cook Pork Shoulder
The best way to cook pork shoulder is low and slow. We have heard this over and over…we all know this already…right?
The crock-pot is your best friend here.
You can get a pork shoulder roast with the bone in or get it boneless. Usually, you can find a boneless pork shoulder roast that is 4 to 4 ½ pounds while a bone in roast can be as much as 12 pounds.
So, if you have a very large family, you may want to get the bone-in roast, keep in mind that you will have to cut the bone out if you don’t plan on putting the entire roast in the crock-pot all at once.
The recipes for this week use a total of about 13 pounds of pork shoulder roast. You can buy 2 large bone-in roasts at 6 or 7 pounds each or buy several boneless shoulder roasts which may be easier to work with.
Most of the recipes we are using this week are for 8 servings, if you don’t have the need for that many servings, adjust as needed.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
One of the easiest pulled pork recipes out there is Southern Living’s pulled pork recipe. You can find that here. Use one of the smaller boneless pork shoulders for this or half of one of the bone-in shoulders.
The recipe asks for a 5–6-pound shoulder roast but you can use a 4 ½ pound roast. The recipe only takes 5 ingredients and about 10 minutes to get going.
And it does not include bar-b-que sauce at this stage which means you can use the pork in more ways.
Prepping for the Week
Saturday or Sunday you can get your shopping done. You can also get all your chopping done and package the separate ingredients in meal prep containers or Ziploc bags and mark them for each recipe.
When I use Ziplocs for smaller amounts of ingredients for the week, I mark them all for the recipe they go with and then put them all in a plastic bin in the refrigerator together.
After chopping and packaging all the ingredients, you can start prepping all the recipes and sides for the week.
Finish Prepping for Monday
First let’s prep the Mexican rice that goes with the pulled pork for Monday. I use this recipe from A Couple Cooks. It is extremely easy and quick, 20 minutes total…and tastes good!
Prep anything else you normally have with pulled pork this day as well.
Tuesday Prepping
Next, take about 3 pounds of pork shoulder and prep it for the Pork Carnitas Nachos for Tuesday. This is a good recipe from Southern Living for that.
You are going to cook this in the crock-pot as well. Cook the brown rice on Sunday for the Mexican rice or if you have a rice cooker, you can wait until Monday evening when you get home.
Save the liquid from one of the cans of chipotle chilies because you are going to use that later in the week.
You can serve street corn salad with the nachos on Tuesday using this recipe from Delish. Instead of using ears of corn you can use 3 cups of frozen corn and pan fry it to get that smoky flavor.
Wednesday Barbeque
Wednesday is for Chinese Barbeque Pork using 3 pounds of the shoulder. You can get this marinating now and marinate it for at least 4 hours…which will increase the flavor. Allrecipes has a great recipe for that.
Cook the Chinese Barbeque Pork for an hour now and let cool. You are going to want to cook it another hour Wednesday when you get home.
Serve some easy fried rice with the Chinese pork, using this recipe from Allrecipes as well. You can cook that now or just cook the rice and mix it together on Wednesday when you get home.
Still Prepping
The next main dish to prep is the Grilled Pork Skewers called Mtsvadi. You can serve this on Friday or Saturday; however, you need to cube about 2 pounds of uncooked pork for that. Go ahead and marinate that now according to the recipe.
Oven roasted vegetables are great with this. I don’t have a recipe for this one but any recipe you normally use for roasted vegetables should be fine.
The rest of the week is a matter of putting everything together, since you will use whatever cooked pork you have, when you get home since you already prepped all the ingredients.
Getting It Done on Monday
Monday morning put the pork shoulder in the crock-pot before leaving for work and you are done for Monday.
When you get home, pull out the Mexican rice and heat it up in the oven or microwave…if you put it in the microwave put a cover on it to keep it moist. If you didn’t complete the Mexican rice on Sunday, it won’t take long to put it together now.
Tuesday is an Easy Day
Tuesday, put the Pork Carnitas in the crock pot. Heat up the Street Corn salad when you get home from work. You are done for Tuesday.
Wednesday is not a Hump Day this Week
Wednesday when you get home from work, put the Chinese Barbeque Pork in the oven. I know the recipe says to grill it, but if you don’t want to get the grill going, you can cook it in the oven for another hour to finish it.
When the pork is nearly finished cooking put the fried rice together. That will take about 15 minutes. You are done for Wednesday.
Smoky Thursday
Thursday is for Smoky Pork Taco Soup from Betty Crocker. It only takes about 30 minutes to put together. Mexican Cornbread goes great with taco soup.
Southern Plate has a great recipe. It only takes an hour to cook so start it before you get the taco soup going. I would not make it ahead of time…cornbread is always better hot out of the oven.
Friday is Cuban Celebration Day
Friday, when you get home let’s make some Cast Iron Cuban Casserole. Use this recipe from Grilling 24×7. It only takes about 30 minutes to do.
At the same time, start the Creamy Cucumber and Grilled Potato Salad to serve with the casserole. There is a great recipe from Food and Wine here. The extra 15 minutes the potatoes take will let the casserole cool a bit so you can eat it!
Yay for the Weekend!
Saturday, lets make Pulled Pork Enchiladas with Salsa Roja. The recipe from Hispanic Kitchen is a good one. This one takes about 3 hours to get right…why we are doing it on a Saturday.
You can serve all the left over sides from the week along with a salad and your favorite dressing.
You are done for the week and nobody had to eat the same thing twice all week…unless you had enough for lunches the next day. I love leftovers for lunches.
Don’t forget, you can cut down any of these recipes if you are single or have a small family. You can also double them if you have a very large family…all of them are adjustment friendly.
Mostly, you did not have to spend more than an hour any night of the week to get a great meal on the table and you did not have to order out once!
Don’t forget, one day a week if for you to be taken out to eat. No prepping, no cleaning after and good wine. Don’t forget the wine!
If you do make any of these recipes, let me know in the comments below.
If you want a shopping list for the entire week, let me know and I will work that up for you.