WARM UP WITH PORK

 

                                    Warm Up With Pork

          The New Year has arrived with its usual challenges and dire forecasts for our economy acerbated by inflation last year. After splurging for the holiday season, it might be prudent to reevaluate the budget for food choices keeping nutrition and flavor as well as thrift in mind. Meat and fish as well as fresh vegetables and fruit are the priciest items in our shopping cart.

          The meat budget will depend on the type of cut as well as the kind of meat you purchase. Chicken has been long accepted as the most economical source of meat, but pork certainly rates a close second. Pork is still the most widely used meat in the world and pig husbandry (the source of pork on our tables) has been around since 5000 BCE. Probably, since a pig pen is not likely to be raided by a hungry fox at night.

          A well-trimmed cut of pork is nutritionally dense with protein, is rich in B vitamins and yields many flavorful dishes from roasts to dumplings. Pork is always served well cooked or cured by salt and smoke. For a quick pork weeknight dinner, you can’t beat a pork stir-fry for two.

                                     Ginger-pork with mushrooms and broccoli

          Toss ¼ inch slices from two 4-6 oz. center cut cutlets with 1 tblsp. Soy sauce and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Toss again in 2 tblsp. cornstarch to coat. Fry meat in 2 tblsp. hot peanut oil until no longer pink and set aside.

          Continue with the same pan and sauté for 5 minutes: ½ thinly sliced onion, 6 large mushrooms sliced, 1 ½ inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and shredded and 1 large, minced garlic clove. Stir in 1 tblsp. lemon juice, ½ cup low salt chicken broth, 2 tsp. Hoisin sauce and 1 tblsp. soy sauce. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, stir in 2 cups broccoli florets and the meat. Cook with stirring for 2-3 minutes and serve over rice.

Roasted meat is one of the easiest dishes to prepare, since the oven and time do most of the work. Unless you are partial to standing rib roast, most roasts are a thrifty source of meat and provide the basis for more than one meal.

Time is usually a factor, but many weekend activities may proceed while your dinner is roasting quietly. The bonus is the delicious and appetizing odor wafting from your kitchen while you are free to do something else or just sit and relax.

Roast chicken, probably the thriftiest multi-meal source, was thus chosen for this column’s logo, but a pork-butt roast comes close second. Like most inexpensive cuts of meat, it requires long cooking, but once you place it in the oven, it takes care of itself for hours. It also has the advantage, that a Dutch oven is large enough to allow inclusion of carrots and potatoes in the same pot, thus cooking the entire meal in one pot.

 

                                Pork-butt roast with vegetables

Select a 4.5 lean pork-butt, wipe it and rub overall with salt and pepper. Insert slivers from 2 large cloves of garlic in slits in the roast. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1)    Heat a Dutch oven on stovetop and sear the meat for 2-3 minutes on all sides.

2)    Slice 2 large onions. Slip some onion slices under the roast and layer the rest on top. Pour 1 cup water plus 1 tblsp. apple cider vinegar in the bottom of the pot and ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce on top of the roast.

3)    Cover tightly with the lid and place in the oven to bake for 3 ½ hours.

4)     Peel and cut 2 large potatoes and 3 carrots in 2-inch pieces. After 3 ½ hours, add the vegetables to the pot, cover and continue to bake for an additional hour.

5)    Remove from oven and place roast on a serving dish surrounded with the vegetables. Cut against the grain and remove extra fat before serving. Serve with the rich sauce from the bottom of the pan.

Unless you have a large family, there will be enough leftovers for another reheated meal. The meat is also tender enough to shred with a fork for sandwiches or other dishes combined with rice or pasta.

    (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)