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Pork Chops: Experimenting with Pork Loin Assorted Chops

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In last week’s post on Pork Chops: Slicing a Boneless Pork Loin, I shared that my rock bottom price is $1.99 per pound. When I find this cut of meat at this price, I stock up. The last sale I found was in April, and I purchased a half pork loin which netted about 11 pork chops. Do you think I purchased enough? I thought so, but after 3 or 4 open-faced pork chop sandwich meals, I was out. Having been looking for another sale and finding none, my troops requested more pork chops.

The Experiment:

Since I was not finding a sale and refused to pay full price, I decided to check the price at Sam’s Club. While browsing, I found 10.49 pounds of pork loin assorted chops for $1.98 per pound for a total of $20.77. Since this price was my rock bottom price for pork chops, I chose to purchase this package.

When I unsealed the meat, I immediately noticed the fat and the bones in each one. My eyes bulged. For some reason, I thought I was purchasing boneless pork chops and was shocked to find bones. Oh well, I have bones. Here is my pictorial tutorial for getting boneless pork chops from a pork loin.

  1. Place the meat on a cutting board and find the bones by feeling the pork.
  2. Cut away the meat from the bones.
  3. Stack boneless pork into meal-sized piles.
  4. Wrap pork in plastic wrap or place in zipper-topped bags.
  5. Place in freezer.

My Conclusions:

  1. Though both packages were about $1.99 per pound, the pork loin assorted chops is not the same deal as the boneless pork loin.
  2. The boneless pork loin half resulted in  3-4 meals for about $10 while the same 3-4 meals with the assorted chops cost $20. Ouch!
  3. With the assorted chops, I paid $10 for these bones.
  4. The Chicken Fried Chops tasted the same with both cuts of meat.

Overall, this experiment taught me to use my time wisely by waiting for a sale on the boneless pork loins, stocking up, and bypassing a $1.98 per pound sale on pork loin assorted chops. If I run out of boneless pork loins and really need them, I will consider paying full price for the boneless pork loin. Though it is hard to see so much money wasted on the bones, I have learned from this experiment and will be able to bypass this sale without wondering if it is a good deal.

Have you tried any experiments in the kitchen? I’d love to learn along with you.

Pork Chops: Slicing a Boneless Pork Loin

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Planning for Success

Photograph Credit: Fotolia

When Paul and I were first married, we enjoyed cooking together a new recipe each week. We had received some cookbooks for our wedding, and we would browse and choose one recipe to make. Besides giving us time with each other, these sessions also helped us find meals we both liked. I tended to cook foods that were coterminous with my mom’s style which was vastly different from Paul’s mom’s style. As a couple, we worked to find meals that were our style.

During these experiments, we tried different cuts of meat, including pork. We found that we liked the taste once we overcame the chewy consistency. As we added children to our family, the consistency of the pork I cooked, baked, or roasted was not tender enough for our little ones to chew. To spend my time wisely, I chose not to make pork until . . . I came across this great post from centsiblesavings.com.

After reading her post, I waited for boneless pork loins to go on sale for $1.99 per pound. At the sale, I purchased a small pork loin and tried her Chicken Fried Chops recipe in the crock pot. (Her recipe is included in her post here.) The result of trying this new recipe was . . . a family favorite! The pork was so tender after cooking in the crock pot for 6-8 hours. The realization that this was a “keeper” meal came when my children asked for more.

We love this recipe, and I have made some minor adjustments to stretch the pork more which saves me time, energy, and money. These are Tracy’s tips for this recipe:

  1. Purchase the boneless pork loin when it is on sale for $1.99 per pound or less. My rock bottom price for this cut is $1.99 per pound. In April, I purchased 5.17 lbs. of a “pork loin, loin half boneless” at $1.99 per lb. for a total of $10.29.
  2. At your time of purchase, ask the butcher to cut the pork loin into chops. Our butcher at Publix used a sharp knife to cut our pork loin into 11 pork chops. My kids loved watching this process. I am thankful for all the wonderful employees at Publix who willingly demonstrate and teach my kids as they help me save time, energy, and money.
  3. Consider using 3-4 pork chops for each meal instead of 6 or 7. To feed my family of 5, I use 3 pork chops.
  4. Add more ingredients. About an hour before serving the meal, I remove the fat from the edges of the chops, shred the chops using a fork, and stir in another mixture of ½ cup of milk and 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup.
  5. Allow the chops to complete the meal. Instead of serving a side of meat per person, I make open-faced sandwiches using toasted hamburger buns. The leftovers make great lunches. By using my time making this meal, I can serve one dinner and at least one lunch. Yeah, saving money, energy, and time while feeding my family makes me happy.

This meal is such a hit in our house that my son requested pork chops for his birthday dinner. I highly recommend this delicious recipe. You, too, can save time preparing dinner by allowing the crock pot to cook all day for you. Stay tuned next week for more on pork loins.