6 for $11.00....

Often the most expensive element of any meal is the protein or meat portion.  Finding a good deal is always a good thing.  This week through to March 17th, our local No Frills has boneless half pork loins on for $1.87 lb / $4.12 kg, a great deal for sure.  This is a stock up price for me, I picked up 2 yesterday, when I broke them down, I got 12 meal portions for 5 out of them.  This is how.....

This package  was 10.98  (the other slightly higher at 14.38)

It took me about an hour to break them both down, bag, label and get them into the freezer.

Start with a sharp knife.  That being said, I have lousy knives in my house, but I do have just recently acquired a sharpening steel and can get a pretty decent edge on even my lousy knives. It makes such a difference, and is much safer using a sharp knife over a dull one.  Learn how to sharpen a knife here, a valuable lesson for anyone to learn.

I started by cutting off the main loin portion and trimming the fat. 

From the loin section of this one  I got;

1 family sized roast

1 package of 5 chops. 1/2 inch thick

2 packages of larger pieces for pulled pork (recipe to be posted Monday)

From the smaller portion I cut away;

1 package of pork cubes/ pieces for sweet and sour

1 package, 1 Cup of pork bits for fried rice.

A few tips:

As stated above, start with a sharp knife - it will save you a ton of time, and some elbow grease.

Have everything you need out and handy.  Knives, cutting boards, bowls for different 'cuts' and one for the fat/discards. The last thing you want to do when everything is cut is to have to go find bags or conatainers or find you want a different knife part way through.

Use quality freezer bags or plastic containers that seal well.

Have a straw handy to suck out all the air out of the bags - this will keep your meat fresher longer in the freezer.

Lable and date each package. It can be hard to tell pork from beef or even chicken thighs when things are frozen.  A sharpie pen works great for this.

Add each bag to your freezer inventory.  That way you know what is in there without digging! 

6 meals, plus a couple of left over lunches for sure, from this single package.  From both loins I got 12 meal portions, the only difference is that from the second I got 2 larger "company" sized portions, thinking ahead just a little. I'd say that is not too bad.  It works out to less than 2.00 per family serving, and if your family is smaller than mine this has the potential to stretch even more. I am a happy camper with this deal.