Further Culinary Adventures (Grinding Meat)
A couple years back, my friend's dad taught me how to grind beef. It certainly makes sense in terms of the "Burger that Shattered Her Life" but on a more basic level, a cheap cut of beef should not be cheaper than the ground version (even if they do add unrevealed variables). But my house is a constant dearth of cooking utensils (can somebody say chopsticks?) so without a food processor, I could never really follow up. Plus, I stopped eating so much beef so it became a moot point (although last week, I had to have steak after a 3 week haitus- but only .5 lb servings for me and my friends!).
This week, Safeway was having a sale on bone-in pork shoulder blade roast at 99 cents/lb. So I bought 4 lbs, with the intention of deboning and then making ground pork of it once I found out Carolyn had a food processor that she never used. However, upon further reflection, I decided it'd be a waste to waste the bone (yes, that's how ridiculous my waste-reducing has become), so looked for roasting options. I figured I could also make good use of the flat 1/8 2 liter bottle of Dr. Pepper (that I had drank over the period of 48 hours in an attempt to beat it's flatness...a disgusting endeavour that will never be repeated).
Enter my first, and of course successful, braising experience. In short, braising is browning the meat on the stove top before you put it into the oven, half submerged in liquid. I'm not sure why it's only half covered- probably to retain the brown but not lose out on the slow/low temp cooking. I "cooked" it for 5 hours, although I use the term loosely since really all I did was let it sit in the oven for 5 hours at 175 degrees. It turned out beautiful, a nice Dr. Pepper braised pork shoulder with meat that fell off the bone with a simple tug of the fork.
I fed it to Carolyn who was astounded that pork could be good, as her experiences with it were dry and tasteless. I've actually heard this comment a lot when I cook pork and it makes me sad, apparently American cuisine has killed vegetables AND pork. Growing up, I didn't know the difference between pork and beef, both were served in thin, flavorful slices that still make my mouth water (no really, I'm literally salivating right now). After reading a cookbook today, it appears as if most of my pork cooking brethren takes it out too late. So hint, when cooking pork, you have to take it out 5-10 degrees below what you want it to be (which is 175 serving temperature) at a, get this, medium doness (A random internet source). But this has nothing to do with the braising, there is no way to get medium doness after 5 hours of cooking. It's soft and tender from sitting in its own juices.
The next day, I took a fraction of that leftover pork, pulled it apart and added it to onions on the stove while toasting some wheat bread with a slice of cheese on top in its juices. Oh god, such a delicious pulled pork sandwich. Bread soaked in meat juices = brilliant.
In conclusion, $4 of pork became Turkish Kabobs (over a bed of summer squash and zuchinni), a beautiful braised pork roast, multiple pulled pork sandwiches, pork broth, a future pork hash, and a future meatloaf (which will probably contain pork and turkey, instead of beef). It's enough to feed me and those lucky enough to be fed by me for days and days. And this is what amazes me most of all. That $4 can be so versitile but last so long. So while Safeway also now sells frozen meals for an "everyday low price" of $2, I'm just going to have to pass. Wouldn't want to get ripped off now.
This week, Safeway was having a sale on bone-in pork shoulder blade roast at 99 cents/lb. So I bought 4 lbs, with the intention of deboning and then making ground pork of it once I found out Carolyn had a food processor that she never used. However, upon further reflection, I decided it'd be a waste to waste the bone (yes, that's how ridiculous my waste-reducing has become), so looked for roasting options. I figured I could also make good use of the flat 1/8 2 liter bottle of Dr. Pepper (that I had drank over the period of 48 hours in an attempt to beat it's flatness...a disgusting endeavour that will never be repeated).
Enter my first, and of course successful, braising experience. In short, braising is browning the meat on the stove top before you put it into the oven, half submerged in liquid. I'm not sure why it's only half covered- probably to retain the brown but not lose out on the slow/low temp cooking. I "cooked" it for 5 hours, although I use the term loosely since really all I did was let it sit in the oven for 5 hours at 175 degrees. It turned out beautiful, a nice Dr. Pepper braised pork shoulder with meat that fell off the bone with a simple tug of the fork.
I fed it to Carolyn who was astounded that pork could be good, as her experiences with it were dry and tasteless. I've actually heard this comment a lot when I cook pork and it makes me sad, apparently American cuisine has killed vegetables AND pork. Growing up, I didn't know the difference between pork and beef, both were served in thin, flavorful slices that still make my mouth water (no really, I'm literally salivating right now). After reading a cookbook today, it appears as if most of my pork cooking brethren takes it out too late. So hint, when cooking pork, you have to take it out 5-10 degrees below what you want it to be (which is 175 serving temperature) at a, get this, medium doness (A random internet source). But this has nothing to do with the braising, there is no way to get medium doness after 5 hours of cooking. It's soft and tender from sitting in its own juices.
The next day, I took a fraction of that leftover pork, pulled it apart and added it to onions on the stove while toasting some wheat bread with a slice of cheese on top in its juices. Oh god, such a delicious pulled pork sandwich. Bread soaked in meat juices = brilliant.
In conclusion, $4 of pork became Turkish Kabobs (over a bed of summer squash and zuchinni), a beautiful braised pork roast, multiple pulled pork sandwiches, pork broth, a future pork hash, and a future meatloaf (which will probably contain pork and turkey, instead of beef). It's enough to feed me and those lucky enough to be fed by me for days and days. And this is what amazes me most of all. That $4 can be so versitile but last so long. So while Safeway also now sells frozen meals for an "everyday low price" of $2, I'm just going to have to pass. Wouldn't want to get ripped off now.