One Roast – Five Dinners – PART II Pork
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I live in a rural area on a township-county line and plowing seems to be a hand off between the two. I watch the weather forecast to learn when storms are due, but also to see the weather for the days following it to calculate how long Mother Nature will take to clean up the mess, mainly the ice. Although I take my own advice on stocking the pantry for storms, I soon realized that I could be snowbound longer than planned and needed a back-up reserve. What better safety net than a roast? So far, this winter, I’ve had to use two of them. The third I bought when I decided to write these posts and bought the chicken I discussed last time. Even though we’re to get more snow this week, I don’t think it will stay around, so I’m going ahead with the discussion.
My meat of choice for reserve this winter has been pork and it seemed the best option to use for this test. It’s versatile, closest in price and available sizes to chicken, which has been the consistent meat used in demonstrations of making one item stretch through several meals. The pork was more expensive by $0.10 per pound. The chicken was exactly 4lb; the pork was 3.83lb. Its total price was $0.07 more. Neither roast was on sale.
In all fairness, this was a loin roast and the ones I purchased earlier were arm. They run cheaper and would therefore have more poundage than the chicken, presenting an uneven match. I wanted the playing field to be level. I treated the loin as I would have the arm, by first cutting away the bones, leaving enough meat on them to provide a dinner of pork and kraut. In trimming the fat, I found, as I had with the arm roasts that there was a flap of meat, connected by a membrane that could be removed and would provide enough for a, Italian Pork pasta dinner. The actual loin I roasted as I had the lobe I cut from the arm, and I was able to slice the meat for two meals with different sauces, one was an Au Jus and the other was a Cranberry-Wine Sauce.. There was enough left over to make a third dinner of Pork Tangine. The recipes are below along with my conclusions. Bear in mind that my meals were for 2 servings each and quantities should be multiplied for more.
1 pork 5 dinners roast
MEAL ONE: Pork and Sauerkraut: Serves 2
This is the dish as made by my Grandmother who prided herself on making her own kraut. It’s the simplest, yet tastiest way I’ve ever had it served. It’s important to include some bones and a bit of fat on the meat to get the proper flavor.
1 lb. pork meat and bones—thick chops are excellent, Allow one per serving.
1 lb. sauerkraut
Water
Mashed potatoes-made from scratch or from a mix
Put half the kraut in a deep pot, layer with the pork and cover with the other half of the kraut. Pour in enough water to be level and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. The meat will all off the bones and the fat will have dissolved. Serve with plain mashed potatoes. Pass the juice on the side.
MEAL TWO: Roast Pork Au Jus This is for 2 servings but amounts vary with number of portions.
Loin of pork
1 tsp. dried powdered rosemary, dried marjoram or thyme
½ tsp. black pepper
1 ½ cups of chicken broth
¼ cup Madera or Port
Rub meat with the seasonings and put in a pan with a bit of broth in the bottom to prevent sticking. Roast in a 350 deg. oven for 30-35 min. per pound until thermometer reads 170 deg. and meat is nicely browned. Use broth to keep meat from sticking while cooking, and the reserve to deglaze the pan. You should have a bit over 1 cup left. Mix broth and wine and boil until alcohol burns off and it reduces a bit Pass with meat.
MEAL THREE: Pork with Cranberry-Wine Sauce: Serves 2 (Black Cherry jelly can replace the cranberry)
(4) ½ inch slices of roasted pork loin
1 Tbs. oil
1 small onion- diced or thinly sliced
½ cup whole berry cranberry sauce
¼ cup red wine
Fresh ground black pepper to taste – be generous
Sautee the onion in the oil until soft. Add the sauce, wine and pepper, stir to mix. Add the pork, cover and simmer on low for 5 min. until pork is heated through. Uncover for 3-5 min. more until sauce has thickened a bit. Serve at once.
1 pork 5 dinners pork tagine
MEAL FOUR: Pork Tagine: Serves 2
Remainder of pork loin diced – about 1 cup or a little more
1 large onion – diced
1 rib celery – sliced
½ Tbs. flour
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½ tsp. paprika
½ tsp. turmeric
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. powdered garlic
1 Tbs. oil
1/3 cup raisins
¾ cup chicken broth + more for couscous
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro
¼ cup slivered almonds- toasted.
½ box of couscous
½ cup cur green beans cooked – optional
Toss pork with flour and spices. Sautee onion and celery in oil for 3 min. Add meat with spices and turn over 1 min. to coat with oil. Add 3/4 cup of broth with raisins. Simmer uncovered 7-10 min. until flavors meld and sauce thickens a bit. Meanwhile using broth, cook couscous according to package direction for ½ a box. Add cilantro. Serve Tangine over couscous garnished with almonds. If you feel the Tangine is a bit sparse, stretch it with the addition of the cut green beans.
1 pork 5 dinners pasta
MEAL FIVE: Pork Paprika Over Pasta: Serves 2
Scant 4 oz. of pork cut in strips– I used the flap I cut from the roast, but leftover will do as well
1 Tbs. chopped parsley or
1Tbs.oil
1 medium onion thinly sliced
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 Tsp. paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 Tbs. chopped parsley or 1 tsp. dried- divided
2 tsp. tomato paste
1Tbs.port or sherry
5oz. sour cream
4 oz. can sliced mushrooms or stems and pieces
½ lb. bow-tie pasta
1 tsp. butter
1 Tbs. poppy seeds
Sautee onion in the oil until soft about 5 min. Add the pork, seasonings and ½ the parsley to the pan and cook until meat is no longer pink. Add the wine and burn off alcohol about 30 sec. Reduce the heat to low, then add the sour cream, tomato paste and mushrooms. Stir only to heat through and do not allow to boil. Meanwhile cook pasta al dente. Drain and toss with the butter, poppy seeds and the rest of the parsley. Serve pasta topped with the pork mixture.
So there are the second results. Five meals from the pork roast. I felt I had more to work with this week and there is no doubt that had I relied on price comparison alone, without figuring in weight, I could have bought the less expensive pork arm roast and had more meat.. This refutes the old belief that the most economical meat to rely on is chicken. It also highlights the effect of the drought a few years ago on poultry prices. The high cost of feed caused the reduction of flocks and drove many small chicken farms out of business. Until the industry recovers, if it does, to the extent it existed five years ago I’m told prices won’t come down; nor will that of eggs. On the bright side, sales on chickens are far deeper than they are on other meats. So, if you like chicken, my advice is to plan ahead and use your freezer space to take advantage of the sales. Above all please remember that many pork, veal and chicken recipes are interchangeable. Substituting the most budget friendly of the three in a favorite recipe is an alternative.
