Delicious Leftover Lechon Recipes To Spice Up The Dinner Table

Usually, lechon has the most leftovers during a Christmas dinner, and here are some recipes that can transform it.

There will always be leftovers in every Filipino celebration or party — especially from the Lechon. Reasons may vary why the beloved dish is usually the last one standing: too much fat, not enough fat, skin not crispy, spice not the same, change of diet, and the like. And while Lechong Paksiw will always have a special place in our hearts and dinner tables, here are some leftover lechon recipes to spice things up.

4 Leftover Lechon Recipes To Save On Fridge Space

1. Lechon Sisig

Sisig is a dish made from various parts of the pig, including the face, ears, and cheeks — the most common leftovers from the celebratory Lechon. With a butcher’s cleaver, chop the face and ears into smaller pieces while melting off the fat from the skin. Then, sauté some diced red onions, squeezed fresh calamansi or lemon juice, minced garlic, and a combination of sliced siling labuyo and siling haba.

Mix and toss a bit in the pan for the next 5-10 minutes and then, you’re done! The traditional way to enjoy this lechon leftover sisig recipe doesn’t use egg or mayonnaise. If there’s no lemon juice available, spiced vinegar (e.g. pinakurat, sinamak) works as a decent alternative!

Ingredients

• 250 grams of Leftover Lechon
• 2 whole heads of garlic, diced
• 2 medium red onions, diced
• 2 siling labuyo, sliced
• 2 siling haba, sliced
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice or 1/8 cup of spiced vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

2. Carnitas (But With Lechon)

What makes Carnitas Tacos delicious is how soft the pulled pork is when we eat it in the freshly toasted soft taco wrapper. While that recipe usually takes hours, using the leftover lechon cuts the recipe time from hours to minutes! Shred the lechon into smaller pieces then simmer it for 10 minutes in orange juice, bay leaves, black peppermill grind, Spanish paprika, cumin, onion, garlic, and oregano.

While that’s simmering, toast the soft taco wraps then shred some lettuce, slice up some tomatoes, grate some cheese, and voila: instant carnitas! No need to plate; make it a family activity to assemble their own tacos!

Ingredients

• 250 grams of Leftover Lechon
• 2 whole heads of garlic, diced
• 2 medium red onions, diced
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons of black peppermill grind
• 2 teaspoons of Spanish paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 2 teaspoons oregano

3. Bicol Express

The delicious coconut-milk-based stew like Bicol Express usually uses menudo or cubes but the leftover lechon makes a good substitute too! Melt the fat off from the leftover lechon skin and then sauté the diced onions and garlic, 2 sliced chilis, and some ginger needles with some salt and pepper.

Once the onions, garlic, and chili are mixed, add the coconut milk and bagoong. Simmer for 3 minutes and then finally, toss in the leftover lechon meat and stir for the next 3 minutes to make this heartwarming recipe!

Ingredients

• 250 grams of Leftover Lechon
• 2 whole heads of garlic, diced
• 2 medium red onions, diced
• 5 black peppercorns (whole)
• 2 teaspoons of black peppermill grind
• 1 teaspoon of salt or bagoong
• 2 siling labuyo, sliced
• 1/4 inch of ginger, sliced into needles

4. Lechong Batchoy

For those feeling under the weather, this leftover lechon recipe delights by filling tummies with some warm and aromatic soup, chewy noodles, and soft pork bits. Boil the noodles with some of the bones of the leftover lechon to infuse the flavor into the noodles. While that’s boiling, sauté onions, garlic, and lechon meat with a bit of soy sauce or bagoong until the onions are translucent.

Next, take some of the water from the noodles and add it to the pot where we’re sautéing the lechon, garlic, and onions to make sure it doesn’t stick. Then, strain the water from the noodles into the pot where the meat is cooking. That’s still technically flavored broth; just remove the bones! Make sure to only put the noodles after it’s done cooking so it doesn’t get mushy. Don’t forget to chop up the lechon skin for the “chicharon bits!”

For those who prefer boiled eggs, you can cook the noodles and the eggs at the same time. Just wash the eggs before boiling them with the noodles.

Ingredients

• 250 grams of Leftover Lechon
• 2 whole heads of garlic, diced
• 2 medium red onions, diced
• 5 black peppercorns (whole)
• 4 eggs (1 per person)
• 400 grams of noodles
• Malunggay (optional and for garnish)
• Spring Onion (optional and for garnish)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce

BONUS: Filipino-Style Carbonara with Lechon

Although Carbonara recipes use bacon which is crispy pork belly, why can’t we use the leftover lechon then? Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the fatty side of the lechon skin and then toast it. While toasting, boil the noodles with some salt and oil. Cut and debone the leftover lechon while sautéing it with mushrooms, sliced onions, garlic, and black peppermill grind.

For the cream sauce, there are two ways to go: the fastest and easiest way is just throwing in a tetrabrick of all-purpose cream. The second one involves using the lechon fat (which is the same as butter anyway) and adding some flour to make a roux before pouring some milk. Grate some cheese (you can even use the leftover Queso de Bola from Noche Buena!) into the cream to salt the dish.

Then, assemble by tossing the noodles with the lechon and cream sauce. Don’t forget to decorate the lechon skin bits to finish!

Ingredients

• 250 grams of Leftover Lechon
• 2 whole heads of garlic, diced
• 2 medium red onions, diced
• 2 teaspoons of black peppermill grin
• 400 grams of pasta
• 1 tetra brick of all-purpose cream
• 1/2 cup of grated Quickmelt cheese/ Queso De Bola
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese to garnish
• 198 grams of mushroom

There are so many recipes to transform lechon leftovers!

The beauty of leftover lechon is that it already completes the time-consuming part of cooking pork which is the softening of the meat. Unfortunately, not all lechons are equally delicious; some have better reheat value than others because of the spices they are roasted in. But the key to transforming the leftover lechon in these recipes is the technique: mixing the spices and cooking them in the proper order to get the maximum goodness out of them!

More about post-Christmas processes?

Why We Should Normalize Giving Practical Gifts
8 Easy Christmas Leftovers Recipes Beyond Lechong Paksiw
Restaurants With Christmas Party Trays We Can Order From