TO SERVE COLD ROAST PORK
Roast pork
Salt
Cut the slices very thinly across the grain, dust on, if not sufficiently salt, a trifle of fine salt on each slice as it is cut; if for breakfast or dinner, serve with it hot slaw and mashed potatoes.
The Housekeeper’s Encyclopedia by Mrs. E. F. Haskell, New York 1861.
Comment: Leftovers are always a challenge, aren’t they? We see here that the problem is hardly new. As pork was normally salted for preservation purposes in the 19th century, it is unlikely that any more salt would be needed, but with modern refrigeration making fresh pork a year-round item, use your own judgment in the matter.
We do have to say we find the prospect of hot slaw, or for that matter any cabbage product, for breakfast a somewhat daunting proposition. Mashed potatoes however, if flattened and fried a bit, would not be that unusual for people accustomed to eating hash browns at the morning meal. Breakfasts were substantial meals for people who walked almost everywhere they went and engaged in heavy physical labor much of the time just to get through a normal day’s activities besides.