Simple and Easy Pulled Pork : Good Food , Cheap

Ive been meaning to get to this one for well over a month,  I must admit it slipped through the cracks lol .  A request from a friend reminded me that I never did actually finish this post , just got as far as uploading the photos.  Now , like making chili , or gumbo there are a million different ways to go about making a pot of pulled pork and I'm sure more than a few people have a very strong opinion on it :))  What I'm making here , is the simple and easy method.. just a few minutes prep and the slow cooker does the rest !!  

What you will need :  Makes approx 16 servings 

1 Large smoked pork shoulder -                $8.00 for 8lbs on sale 

--  Please note , when using a commercially smoked piece of pork DO NOT add any more salt.  I made that mistake once , and it was almost inedible.  

5 or 6 medium red or white onions             $3.00 for 10lbs = $ 0.60

2 large utility carrots                                    $ 3.00 for 10lbs = $ 0.25 

6 or 7 cloves of garlic                                   $ 3.00 for 3 heads = $ 0.50

3 hot dried chili ( You decide the heat here ... I should have used 6 !  )  

Chili Powder 

Black Pepper

Hot Sauce & Worcestershire Sauce 

1L of homemade Beef or chicken stock - prefer the beef  ( 4 cups ) - 

                                                   Total Cost $ Under $10.00  , or about 65 cents a serving 

Assemble your ingredients :)  Wash and peel the carrots 

I like to give the pork shoulder a good rinse first , to help remove any excess salt.  Then score the fat to the meat , using about 3/4 to 1" squares. 

IN a hot skillet, quickly give all the sides a little colour :)) 

Meanwhile , back at the slow cooker. I added the rough chopped carrots , beef stock , dried chili , Lea & Perrins, and some Bourbon Street Bad hot sauce for a southern kick :)   I set it to high for the first hour , then its slow and low the rest of the time!  Add a tablespoon or two of chili powder too 

Add the pork shoulder to the pot, lol and this is my BIG crock pot.  You my need to move things around a little :) 

IN the same pan I browned the pork in, give the onions and garlic a quick sizzle. Add them to the pot, and cover the lid.  Check back in a hour. 

IT should look something like this , and start to smell amazing . 

I ended up letting mine simmer for a good 8 hours,  you can get away with 4 or 6 .. but I like 8 .. makes it just fall  apart ! 

Remove the carrots , and get in there with a couple of serving forks.  Shred it well. 

Of course a sample is required to test the seasoning :)) 

Sampling the pulled pork ... plain so I can judge the flavours :))Mmmmm good!!  

Later I added some extras, a little red pepper, onion and mushrooms, on a toasted garlic ciabatta roll!!  

I also turned some into a loaded jacket potato :))
http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/2011/01/creative-leftovers-pulled-pork-n-beans.html

That's it ,  Its only about twenty minutes worth of work , and the rest is just waiting :))  Sampling is allowed so its all good :)) So what do you think of my latest Good Food , Cheap post ?  Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated :)  Happy Cooking !

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.  

Mushroom Beef and Ale Soup

Well, I for one am glad that I have finished the 10 recipes with 5 ingredients, as much fun as that was ... I do enjoy just a few more ingredients to a meal.   I have a couple of questions though... did you like the recipe format I used ? compared to my normal method of just showing you what went into the dish ?   Please leave a comment below , thanks.  
Soup , is always a great choice ... its good any season of the year , for lunch , dinner, even breakfast !!   I love a good soup,  my only problem with making them .. is that I tend to turn them into stews!!  So I was determined the other day to create one , that not only was healthy and tasted great , but that actually resembled a soup!!

Ingredients Required :  

1L of beef broth , or stock ( this is the last of my store bought , gone forever from my kitchen now) 

1lb of a variety of mushrooms   I had white , portabello, shitake and oyster 

2 cups of cooked ground beef 

2 onions 

3 cloves of garlic 

1/2 can of your favourite ale. ( This is a local craft brew , very good !! ) 

A couple of pats of butter 

Salt n Pepper to taste

Here is what you will need 

Simply slice everything up , bite sized for the mushrooms and a medium dice for the onion 

Add it right into the soup pot ,  butter in first then all the onions, mushrooms and garlic together . Season with your favourite herbs,  I went with basil , thyme and oregano/:) Med/High heat .  

Once the Mushrooms and onions have softened just a bit , add the beef in .  Give it all a good stir. 

Once the beef is in the pot for about a minute , pour in the liter of stock, and half the can of ale ...  stir , reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes to blend all the flavours.

Less Words, More Food 9

Playing a little catch up again with my posts, I have lots photographed .. its writing the recipes that gets me.   As some of you know I don't follow recipes when cooking , I simply grab a handful of goodies and start making dinner.   Okay , enough talking this is a LWMF post !

Making a batch of chicken stock for the freezer, ended up with 7L worth, all for basically nothing. 

A couple of different 12 grain whole wheat bread loaves.
http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/10/garlic-and-onion-12-grain-foccacia.html

A taste of summer, in the middle of winter:)

Ive been trying to get outside all week to have a BBQ, but the weather just did not cooperate.   The reason I wanted to have a BBQ is a fellow food blogger Laurie ( http://foodslove.blogspot.com/ ) was having a little fun Summer Party to help break up the winter blues.    I wasn't able to cook something specifically for this , but i went back through a few of last summers dinners , and came up with a few you might like :))

Oh how I miss my farmers markets and fresh veggies :) 

A couple of 1/2 pound home burgers is my usual summer dinner .  

Chili Chicken, peppers and onion skewers