Boxing Day: Make the most of leftovers with this incredible sandwich

We always make too much and the leftovers can make a tasty few meals for some days after. Turkey remnants have a well-documented procession from platter to Boxing Day plates, but what about those who use scrumptious alternatives like Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork.

Given that there has never been a better time to make the most of Specially Selected Pork, to this end, 'Make It Scotch' has teamed up with Lauren Gourlay, of Lauren’s Cravings on Instagram, to bring you a Boxing Day leftover sandwich like you’ve never seen before. And, I suppose, there's every reason to suggest that this might work with Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb too, with a few tweaks!

Rivalling Ross from Friends’ 'Thanksgiving Moist Maker' sandwich, Lauren has put all her Christmas Day leftovers together to bring you the perfect Boxing Day leftover sandwich, an easy-to-follow recipe with a Lauren’s Cravings twist.

This is an incredible six-layer sandwich that is part of a series of festive hacks, tips and red meat inspiration created for Make It Scotch’s ‘Make it a Christmas with Cred’ campaign, which hopes to inspire people to turn their leftovers into something totally different this Boxing Day.

Lauren’s recipe takes her home-made leftover carrot and parsnip chutney and pairs it with slices of Specially Selected Pork Porchetta and rosemary salted veg peeling crisps to help you make the most of Christmas Day leftovers, so you can minimise waste without compromising on flavour.

Lesley Cameron, director of marketing and communications at Quality Meat Scotland, told The Scottish Farmer: “This year, Scottish farmers, along with the whole red meat supply chain, are working even harder than usual to ensure that supply meets demand, so we’re encouraging the nation to support their efforts by choosing quality-assured ingredients like Specially Selected Pork this festive season.

“It’s never been easier to support local, just look out for the Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI or Specially Selected Pork labels in your local supermarket or butchers, for the best Scottish quality assured meat this Christmas – and follow Lauren’s recipe to use your leftovers too!”

Lauren Gourlay (Lauren’s Cravings) added: “Having leftovers is the best part of Boxing Day and I love thinking up new ways to use them so they don’t go to waste, so it was great fun to use Ross Geller’s iconic 'Moist Maker' as my inspiration when putting all the elements together.

“The best part of this recipe is that you can add your best bits and really make it your own – I hope people enjoy giving it a go!”

• For more Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork recipe videos and inspiration visit www.makeitscotch.com or follow Make It Scotch on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.

The Perfect Boxing Day Leftover Sandwich, by Lauren’s Cravings

Element 1: Carrot and parsnip chutney

Ingredients:

• 100g of leftover carrots and parsnips

• 50ml cider vinegar

• 300ml cider

• Half tsp ginger paste

• Half star anise

• Quarter tsp powdered cardamom

• Quarter tsp powdered cinnamon

• 25g demerara sugar

Method:

1. Chop carrots and parsnips into small cubes

2. Add all ingredients into pot, bring to boil – drop down to medium heat and simmer for 30-40mins (ideally we want some liquid remaining so it blends together)

3. Add to blender and blend gently to combine

Note: would ordinarily use fruit (eg pear, apple etc.), which breaks down in the cooking process, but because these veggies have already been roasted – they don’t break down as well and need a little ‘helping’ hand

Element 2: Sliced pork

Method:

1. Cut slices of leftover Specially Selected Pork porchetta as thinly as possible

Element 3: Crispy veg peelings in Rosemary salt

Ingredients:

• Leftover vegetable peelings from Christmas Day – potato, carrot, parsnip etc. (Storage: you can store the peelings in water overnight in the fridge, then pat dry with kitchen paper before using for this recipe)

• Olive oil

• Salt and pepper

• Fresh Rosemary

• Garlic

Method:

1. Finely chop leaves from two stems of fresh rosemary

2. Add peelings, chopped rosemary, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl

3. Grate (using a micro planer – if you don’t have one, just finely chop) one or two cloves of garlic into the mixing bowl

4. Drizzle in olive oil and mix through (just enough to lightly cover the peelings as they’ll crisp up the best this way)

5. Add to pre heated oven at 200°C for 18-20 mins

Deep fry option: fry in hot oil for three to four minutes (until veg rises to the surface and turns golden brown)

Element 4: Leftover veggie fritter

Ingredients:

• 40g plain flour

• Half tsp baking powder

• 100g mashed potato

• 65ml milk

• 75g finely chopped Brussels sprouts

• 50g finely chopped carrot

Method:

1. Finely chop any leftover veg you want to use – I’ll be using Brussels sprouts and carrots

2. Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir to combine (if you need to add either more milk or more flour to get the correct consistency, then do so, as individual’s mashed potato consistency will vary)

3. Add dollops of the mix into a dry, non-stick frying pan and fry on medium/high heat until golden brown and crispy on each side

Note: hopefully you’ve already seasoned the mashed potato you’re using, but if not, considering adding a pinch of salt

Element 5: Pork ‘bits’ in a cranberry glaze

Cranberry glaze ingredients:

• Three tbsp cranberry sauce

• One tbsp red wine vinegar

• One veg stock cube in 200ml water

• 50g cubed cold butter

Method:

1.Add cranberry sauce, vinegar and vegetable stock in pot – bring to a boil, then reduce down to a medium heat

2. Simmer until liquid has reduced by a third then add cubes of cold butter – two at a time – until sauce is glossy

Pork pieces/bits method

1. Slice some pork from your leftover porchetta and render down the fat in a frying pan – the fat will breakdown further and create crispy slices of pork

2. Once cooked, chop these into small pieces to create your pork ‘bits’

3. Mix these through your cranberry glaze

Element 6: Salad leaves

Use any leftover salad you have from the big day as the final element in your perfect Boxing Day leftover sandwich – with, of course, your own choice of bread!