Church BBQ

Once a year my in-laws's church does a BBQ. It's not your average pick it up from a restaurant in bulk. These guys used to dig pits, build and bank a fire in it, then roast pigs over the course of a whole night and day. These days, the event has grown to the point that they are renting smokers and only handling Boston butts, but it is still excellent.

This stuff is like magic. I've turned bags of it into pots of thai soup or french bean soup, fried rice, and lo mein. It's one of those utterly mutable flavors and will blend well with pretty much any cuisine and does well as a starting point for any meal.

Here's one of my favorites:

2 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
4 c. cooked white beans, drained and rinsed (about 2 15 oz cans)
2 qt. stock or water
2 lbs. pulled pork
1 pound egg noodles

In a large pot, saute onion, carrots, and celery in the olive oil until soft and beginning to brown.  Add the rinsed beans and stock or water and raise heat. Bring to a boil.

Add pulled pork and egg noodles and simmer until noodles are cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 12

Assuming you have the beans cooked and pulled pork on hand, the whole thing takes about 30 minutes.