Pork Sirloin Half. Good Food, Cheap !!

How would you like to be able to eat a nice piece of pork, for under 50 cents a serving ??
When it comes to buying meats, you just cant beat buying the whole loin , or even a portion of one , and doing the trimming yourself.  The savings are amazing , and you get to decide just how much fat is left on each piece.   I personally do not like thick fat , but do enjoy a thin strip of it on the outside of a roast or steak.  Okay, the first thing you have to do is find a sale,  every couple of months you will find these on sale for about $1.00 per pound.  Now I realize this is not the BEST pork I could be buying , I am looking for a good free range source I just haven't found one yet.  The good news is: it is local, tastes great , and the price is right when you are on a tight budget .

I usually buy two at a time.. fill the freezer up a little.  

I like to give the loin a good rinse, and start by laying it fat side down on a cutting board.  

For whatever reason I always align what I call the scrappy end , to the right side of my board.  Simply start by slicing that piece off... 

The scrappy ends , don't make for good roasts or steaks... so I cube it up for stews ,and chili.  1" square is best , you will want to cut out any really fatty bits while you are cubing it.  

Next flip the loin over, and trim the fat down  to an appropriate thickness.. You will need a sharp knife with a good point for this.  Poke the knife thru the fat , and cut from the middle towards the outside.  I'm not sure why but I find this easier to do.     

I had two, so one I went rather lean on and the other I left a good fat cap on.  

Here's the other one, lightly trimmed and simply cut into two large roasts.  

The one I trimmed lean, became pork chops.  Nice and thickly cut about 6oz each.   

Don't forget to label & date your freezer bags. I find adding the weight on there really helps too.  This was from one loin,  I got several nice chops, a large bag full of cubed pork, and a good sized roast , and about 3/4 lbs of fatty bits that will become dogs treats. All this for under $6!!  

Here is one of the roasts , with the fat scored , and a little honey and chili rubbed in.  

I just love roasted pork !!  

This piece cost me about $1.50 :)) and I got 4 servings from it.  

I take all the fatty bits , and lightly fry them up for the dogs ,  they LOVE it !!  They need a bit of extra fat in their diet this time of year .

So , from $ 12.00 worth of pork ( rounded up to make the numbers easier )  I ended up with 11lbs worth of trimmed pork.  I'm going to use 6oz as a serving size.

11lbs = 176oz 

176oz / 6oz = 29.3 servings 

$12.00 / 29 = $ 0.40 per SERVING!! 

There you have it, by taking a little bit of your time, you can eat Good Food, Cheap!!  $0.40 per serving!!  Sure beats paying $4.00 a pound to have someone else butcher it for you.  I hope you have enjoyed my new series , Good Food , Cheap!!  If you have any questions ,or suggestions for future posts , please leave a comment below.  Happy Cooking !!