Meatloaf is one of the classic frugal main dishes of all time.  You take the most inexpensive cuts of meat you can get and then add inexpensive fillers to make it go even further.  In addition, you add finely minced vegetables so your kids won’t notice.  Whoever invented meatloaf was either exceptionally lucky or pure genius.  Below is my latest meatloaf recipe that I baked in a cast iron skillet.  So to answer the question above, I’d say “one”.  But the real question is what pans do you need to make a meatloaf, a roast, cornbread, a cake, fried eggs, bacon, hamburgers, etc…   My answer is “just my one cast iron skillet”.

Super Meaty Meatloaf

• 1lb ground beef
• 1lb ground pork
• 2 eggs
• 1T all purpose seasoning
• 1 onion, finely minced
• 2t thyme, dried
• 1T sage, rubbed
• 1t red chile flakes
• 1T parsley, dried (or 3T fresh, chopped)
• 4T ketchup (or catsup)
• salt and pepper (depending on how much salt is in the all purpose seasoning)

Mix all ingredients well and shape into a cylinder.  Place into a lighly oiled cast iron skillet and put into a 350F oven for 1 hour.  After about 40min coat with the ketchup.

You’ve probably noticed that this meatloaf is pretty much all meat.  I’m still doing the low carb thing and its working (down 15lbs so far!)  so I left out the bread/crackers in this one.  You could add in a few slices of bread torn into pieces with some milk to wet the bread.  Crackers would also work.  I’d probably not use more than a cup of crushed crackers or two cups of bread for this amount of meat.  The thyme and sage in this give a little hint of breakfast sausage flavor.  You could also leave those out and use breakfast sausage instead.

To keep this low carb, another nice addition would be some finely chopped mushrooms.  I’ve done that before and it comes out really great.  Just chop the mushrooms into small bits and then fry to remove most of the moisture.  Then just add them to the meatloaf.  You could also add italian seasoning mix (1T) and parmesan cheese (1/2 to 1 cup) to make the meatloaf taste like a giant meatball.  I could probably come up with an infinite number of possibilities.

I served this meatloaf with a Broccoli gratin, which I guess I should include:

Broccoli Gratin

• 3 cups broccoli, steamed until just tender
• 2T butter
• 1/2 medium onion, finely minced
• 1T whole grain mustard
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup gruyere, or other cheese, grated
• salt and pepper

Saute the onion in butter until soft, about 10min.  Add in the rest of the ingredients, except broccoli, and simmer over low heat until the cheese melts and you have a nice sauce.  Turn off the heat, add the broccoli and toss well.  Put into a baking pan (or another cast iron skillet!) and bake uncovered for about 30min on 350F.  Serve with meatloaf.

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This recipe for kalua pork can be made in a regular oven or crock pot. It seems too simple but the end result will be shockingly close to the real kalua pork you get at a luau in Hawaii.

I’ve been to Hawaii a few times and once had the pleasure of seeing kalua pork in the making.  Two very large Hawaiians spent a couple of hours building a fire, digging an imu and then preparing and burying a pig.  It was an amazing site that few outsiders get a chance to witness.  The care that went into the process was amazing.  I got tired just watching all the painstaking labor that went into making this one dish!

Soon after this trip to Hawaii, I decided to make kalua pork at home.  I read many recipes, many of which involved some process nearly as complicated as the traditional method.  I did try one of these recipes which involved slicing the outer inch of a pork shoulder all over before rubbing with liquid smoke and Hawaiian sea salt and then wrapping in cabbage leaves and foil before baking for many hours.  The results were incredibly good but still way too much work.  I continued to make this recipe and try my own variations over the years and have currently landed on something ridiculously simple that still tastes amazingly good.

Frugal Kalua Pork

• 1 pork shoulder, either type
• 1T liquid smoke, mesquite-type
• 2T salt, or to taste

Put the pork shoulder into a dutch oven and bake for 4 hours at 275 degrees. You can also put into a crock pot set on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours until falling off the bone.  Remove the bones and separate the meat from the liquid.  Shred the meat with two forks.  Skim the fat off the juices and set the remaining liquid aside.  Add the liquid smoke and 1/2 the salt to the meat and start adding the reserved liquid back in while stirring the meat.  Keep adding liquid until the meat won’t absorb any more.  If you get all the liquid back in, add some water.  Add more salt and liquid smoke to taste.  The final dish will be salty, but you’re going to eat this with rice.

This dish is a perfect example of the use of Hawaii’s main seasoning- salt.  You could use Hawaiian pink or black sea salt, but I usually just use kosher salt.  The liquid smoke replaces the smokiness normally provided by the smoldering wood and ti leaves in the imu.  I’ve used hickory liquid smoke in a pinch but the flavor isn’t nearly as good as with the mesquite.

I recently served this with some brown rice and sauted spinach.  To really serve this island-style, put a big pile of kalua pork on a plate and with an ice cream scoop, serve two scoops of rice and one scoop of macaroni salad.  Mahalo, brau!

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Oven (or crockpot) kalua pork

A simple but excellent version of the classic Hawaiian kalua pork served at luaus.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 Pork shoulder Boston butt or boneless shoulder
• 2 tbsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Mesquite flavor liquid smoke Hickory is ok

Instructions

• Put pork shoulder in a crock pot and set to low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours. Or, put in a dutch oven or similar covered pot and put into a 275 degree oven for 4 hours.
• When finished, save the cooking liquid. Skim off the fat (and save for cooking!). Reserve the juices.
• Remove bones and cartilage from the shoulder and pull with forks until shredded.
• Add the liquid smoke, 1/2 the salt and a cup of the reserved juices to the pork. Continue adding the cooking liquid until the meat will not absorb any more. If it absorbs all of it, add hot water until it cannot absorb any more. Continue adding salt until it tastes on the edge of too salty.

Notes

This recipe seems too simple to taste authentic, but it gets surprisingly close to the kalua pork served at Hawaiian luaus. The authentic version is actually quite simple and based primarily on smoke and salt flavors.

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Adobada is like al pastor

Adobada is similar to al pastor. The chile marinade for both is nearly identical. The main difference is the cooking method. Al pastor is typically cooked on a rotating vertical spit and carved to order with a bit of pineapple sitting atop the column of pork. Adobada is simply grilled. Since I don’t own a vertical spit (and likely neither do you), adobada is the best method for achieving al pastor-like, deeply seasoned pork for tacos without all the equipment and work.

Serve this with rice and beans on the side.  I actually served this with a salad of roasted peppers, tomato, onion and avocado.  You can chop the grilled pork slices and use for tacos with corn tortillas, salsa, topped with a mix of chopped cilantro and onions. I highly recommend a habanero-based salsa for this. The end result is smoking hot, but the flavors of the habanero chiles pairs well with the pork.

The marinade/paste is so versatile it can be used with cubed pork threaded onto skewers.  How about a whole pork shoulder covered with this and slow roasted in the oven?  YUM!  You could also marinate chicken with this. And, if you actually have a vertical spit, you can use this marinade for al pastor.

Have fun with this recipe and remember that none of these ingredients or proportions are set in stone.  So, tweak things to suit your family’s taste and make this your own! 

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Grilled Pork Adobada

Pork marinated in a flavorful red chile paste.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword adobada, pork, tacos

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

• 2 lbs pork shoulder or loin sliced thinly
• 3 tbsp dark red chile powder guajillo, ancho, or other dark red chile
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp mexican oregano
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1/4 cup vinegar white or apple cider
• black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Slice the pork into 1/4 inch slices and set aside. 
• Mix the remaining ingredients except for the vinegar. 
• Add vinegar until you end up with a paste about as thick as gravy. 
• Add the pork and mix with your hands until you coat all of the pork.
• Fire up the grill and cook uncovered over high heat for a few minutes on each side. 

Notes

• The marinade should be thick enough to stick to the pork well.  Because the mixture acts almost more like a rub than a marinade, you can just put this straight onto the grill.
• Ideally, you should heat the grill to hot enough so you can char each side without drying out the meat.  If you don’t think your grill gets that hot, try just cooking on one side until the meat is cooked through and then remove (without ever flipping over).

More Mexican-inspired recipes

• Flavors of Mexico
• Mexican hummus?
• Pork Adobada

The post Pork adobada appeared first on Frugal Cooking.

I buy whole pork loins and then cut into roast-sized pieces and freeze.  I either roast them whole or slice about 3/4″ thick into pork chops.  Either way, it’s cheaper to buy the whole loin and cut yourself.  I usually get them from Costco.

Pork chops with vegetable pan sauce

• 4 lean pork chops
• 1T olive oil
• 1 slice of bacon, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup red wine
• 1t thyme
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3T refried beans, mashed smooth
• 1t kitchen bouquet (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a stainless steel skillet to medium heat.  Add olive oil.  Season pork chops with salt and pepper and add to pan.  Saute over medium heat until just done.  I cook them to medium.  When finished, the pan should have a light brown glazing with bits stuck here and there.  That’s good!  Now add the bacon and fry until crisp.  This should add to the brown bits stuck in the pan.  That’s even better!  This is where a ton of the flavor comes from.  Now add the carrots, celery and onions and saute about 15 min or until tender.  At first, the vegetables should release some liquid which dissolves some of the pan bits.  After the liquid dissolves the vegetables will start browning some and letting the pan collect brown bits again.  Add the mushrooms and cook another 5 min.  Once our vegetables are tender and the pan is nicely brown again, it’s time to deglaze.  Add the red wine and thyme.  The color will be purple at first.  We want to cook this until it reduces by at least half and the color starts turning more brown than purple.  Then add the chicken stock, beans and kitchen bouquet.  The sauce should pick up a nice body and color.  Cook with the lid off until it reaches the desired consistency.  If it gets too thick you can add some more chicken stock or water.  If it’s too thin, keep cooking.  The sauce should be velvety and a beautiful brown when finished.  Spoon sauce onto a plate and place a pork chop on top.  NOW GO EAT!

As usual this recipe is based on the ingredients I happened to have on hand.  The exact proportions of ingredients aren’t that important.  The most important aspects are good quality ingredients and proper cooking technique.  This explains why a good chef can turn nearly any combination of ingredients into something absolutely delicious.

This follows a fairly standard formula for making a meat dish with pan sauce.  Basically, you brown the meat until pretty much done, deglaze the pan with a liquid and then turn into a sauce.  This is a simple formula that results in an amazing meal.  Chicken works as well as pork chops.  Other ingredients you might substitute are:

• White wine instead of red wine
• Herbs like sage or rosemary in addition to, or instead of the thyme
• Root vegetables in addition to, or instead of the mirepoix (carrots, celery, onion)

Use these suggestions to make this recipe your own!  If you come up with a good variation, post a comment to let us know!

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Rule #1: Don’t trust any recipe that tells you how long to cook something!  There are very few things you can cook for a fixed time that come out perfectly, except maybe boiled eggs.

There are two main types of meat: the kind you just barely cook and the kind you cook to death.  Steaks and more tender cuts of meat should be cooked until just barely done.  “Barely done” depends on the type of meat and your personal preference.  Here are my guidelines:

• Beef roasts and steaks – Rare to medium
• Pork roasts and chops – Medium
• Chicken and Turkey- Medium well
• Fish – Medium
• Shellfish – Medium to medium well

The only way to figure out when meat is done is to either check the internal temperature with a quick-read thermometer or poke it.  I opt to use the poke method (since my mom stole my thermometer).  It’s hard to describe when something is done based on a poke- and by poke I mean, literally, using your finger to poke the meat.  Experience will tell you how done “feels”.  In general, rare meat feels pretty soft and spongy.  Medium feels firmer but still soft.  As meat gets near well done it firms up until it doesn’t give at all.  What you’re usually looking for is a place where the meat starts firming up but before it gets as firm as it’s going to get.  Poke everything you cook and you’ll get the hang of gauging doneness by poke.  For example, I cook chicken until it’s not quite as firm as it’s going to get.  I know this from experience.

Tough cuts of meat, like pork shoulder and beef chuck need to be cooked for a long time until they are tender.  These cuts can be timed because the cooking time is so long.  They go long past the “well done” phase to where the connective tissue start breaking down.  This is key to these fatty but flavorful cuts.  For these, you need to test them with a fork, hence the phrase, “stick a fork in it, it’s DONE!.  Stick a fork in the meat and twist.  The meat should give easily.  If the whole piece rotates, put it back in the pot and keep going.  Most of these cuts take 2-4 hours to get tender.

The post Cook it until it’s done (meat, poultry and fish) appeared first on Frugal Cooking.

I love pork shoulder for many reasons:

• It’s cheap!  I paid $1.39/lb for the last one I bought, but I often can find them for $0.99/lb.
• It’s easy!  It doesn’t need a lot of prep.
• It’s versatile!  Once cooked it can be used as an ingredient in many ways.
• It’s delicious!  It does have some fat on it, but as a result is super tasty.

Pork shoulder is one of those cuts that needs to cook a long time.  Unless you’re good with the pressure cooker, don’t even think about pulling a shoulder out of the fridge an hour before dinner time!  I either slow roast it in the oven for 3-4 hours at 275F degrees or put it in the crock pot.  Either way, I simply season it with some salt and pepper and then let time and heat do the work.  Cook it long enough so that it’s tender.  A good test is to try to pick it up by the bone- the meat should practically fall off.  So now that you have this cooked shoulder, what do you do with it?

Meal #1: BBQ Pulled Pork and slaw wraps

My inspiration for this was a southern bbq pork and slaw sandwich.  I don’t like the sweet and sour taste of most slaws so I make my own with no sugar or vinegar.  Mine has a much fresher, lighter taste.  I’ll do a future write up on my many variations of slaw.  I also don’t like all the sugar you get from commercial bbq sauce so I make my own.  Pulled pork is best with a sauce of mostly vinegar anyway.  The vinegar really helps cut the richness of the pork.  Whole grain tortillas took the place of white buns.

I took a hunk of the pork and shredded it with a fork.  Don’t cut it first because you want long, stringy fibers.  I added some homemade BBQ sauce consisting of ketchup, cider vinegar, onion and garlic powder, liquid smoke and a bit of stevia to make it a little sweeter.  A minute in the microwave and it was tasty BBQ pulled pork.  I made a really simple fresh slaw of red and green cabbage sliced very thinly with a bit of mayo, cream, celery salt and pepper.  My wife had the whole thing rolled into a burrito shape, while I turned the same ingredients into taco-shaped things using two smaller tortillas.  (Sorry, no pics for this one.)

Meal #2: Pork with quinoa pilaf

The wonderful texture of carnitas was an inspiration for this.  I love the soft, tender pork with crisp, chewy edges.  The ingredients were just what I had on hand, which is the way my recipes often come together.  This took all of about 10 minutes to come together.

I cut the pork into chunks and then fried it in a nonstick skillet until it was hot and sizzling.  The longer you cook it, the crisper the edges will get.

I already had some cooked quinoa in the fridge.  I microwaved it for a minute with fresh garlic, green onions and bit of butter and salt to turn it into a very tasty and low glycemic pilaf.  A little cheese and my homemade habanero hot sauce on the pork and it all came together into a very tasty breakfast. mmmm….

This is just a tiny fraction of the variations of things you could make with a pork shoulder.  Here are some more ideas…

• My dad is from China and used to cook a shoulder and eat it with a dipping sauce of 1/2 soy sauce and 1/2 sesame oil.  There’s also a chinese green onion and ginger sauce that would go well.
• Fry it up and use it as carnitas.  You could add a tiny bit of orange juice and oregano into the pan to add the hint of mexican flavors traditionally used for carnitas.
• Put on a cuban sandwich along with ham, pickles and cheese.  Fry the whole sandwich with a weight on it, like a panini.

I hope this gives you some ideas for creations of your own.  Post a comment and tell us what you did with your shoulder!

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