Having the most frugal grocery budget in the world isn’t going to help you and if you can’t put together at least a few healthy, tasty, and cheap eats! Every few weeks, The Outlier Model features a cheap recipe idea, along with the cost breakdown.
The other week, T&T had a sale on pork shoulder for 99 cents/lb – holy crap! That is a GOOD price for meat. So naturally I sent Brian off at 8:30 in the morning to stand in line with the old Asian ladies to get a chunk of meat. And it was glorious…
I butchered the 10lb of meat up into more manageable chunks then was left wondering, what am I going to cook with all this meat? Well, one of the things I made was a pork roast. When people think of roasts, they often think of beef roasts. But pork can be delicious as a roast as well! And, it’s usually cheaper.
- 1 head of garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, divided OR 1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
- juice of 1 lemon juice
- 1 pork shoulder with skin, 5-7 lbs
Combine the garlic and salt and mash into a paste using a mortar and pestle (or other blunt objects). I put both into a Ziploc bag and mashed the hell out of it using the end of my chef’s knife. Then, mix in the oregano, vinegar and lemon juice.
Next, clean the pork shoulder by trimming away excess fat and cutting the skin away from the meat. If there is a lot of fat underneath the skin, cut that away too. Then, smear the seasoning paste all over the roast, especially underneath and on top of the skin. If there are any natural folds in the meat, feel free to cut away the connective tissue and stuff some seasoning in there as well.
Place the pork shoulder into a baking dish or roasting pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let it marinate in the fridge for 8 hours.
When you’re ready to cook, let the meat come to room temperature on the counter while preheating the oven to 350F. Cover with tinfoil and roast for 2 hours. Then, add half a cup of water and roast uncovered for an additional two hours, adding more water as necessary.
When it’s ready, the skin should be crisp and the meat fork-tender. Remove the meat and, if you like, add a bit of water and flour to the pan juices to serve with the meat. Add some potatoes and your favorite veggies – garlic Brussel sprouts are my choice – and you have a delicious weekend meal. With leftovers!
Adapted from: Garlic Roasted Pork Shoulder
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