Can I rescue this casserole??

[DahliaBloom]

Last night I made an orange, celeriac and pork casserole using leg of pork instead of shoulder, as that was all the supermarket had; they assured me it would go soft and tender.

It turned out ok, I suppose, but definitely not melty/falling apart - and now I've got a ton of it in the fridge and freezer, which I'm not particularly excited about! When it comes to reheating, would it help if I simmer it for a long time to try and get it more tender, or do I just need to give up?

[4merlyknownasSHD]

How long did you cook it for? I reckon that any good casserole needs a couple of hours first time, then probably another hour when you heat it up. I would always prepare and cook (first time) the day before you are going to eat it, and leave for juices and flavours to mix for a day before reheating to serve. When you get the stuff out of the freezer, I would leave it to de-frost for 24hrs at least. Always best after reheating, and more tender.

[DahliaBloom]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I cooked it for about three hours (recipe said two). Last night I took some of it out of the fridge, fished the meat out, pureed the vegetables as they were just mush (apart from the carrots, which were still intact), added a bit of water and simmered the meat in the sauce for about 30-40 mins I guess. The meat was much more tender and the whole thing tasted a lot better than when I made it!