An Easy Pork Roast Recipe That Also Saves You Money

Here is an easy pork roast recipe that saves money because we cook the roast now and get a couple of meals off of it later when I don’t feel like cooking or when I am short on time.

Pork is a leaner meat than beef and provides a nice break from the chicken we usually eat.

Our local supermarket on occasion has pork roasts on sale for half off or more every few months. They may offer a partial sale in between, but I usually wait till they are half off.

There are websites out there that can show in your area what products tend to go on sale and when. The sites may charge a small fee, but if you have a lot of mouths to feed they could save you a lot of money and save you time, too.

We don’t have a large family anymore, so I usually will only buy 2 of the largest pork roasts I can find. You can ask the meat guy to bring you the largest and freshest if you want.

Why buy the largest you can find?

You are already going to be taking the time to prep and cook one, you might as well get the largest to save time and money by making it go farther.

I cook one roast at a time. I preheat the oven to 375°. Some people like to cook them at 400°, but I have found 375° keeps them really juicy and still has them cooked in about 2 hours depending on size.

Get your pan ready. Make sure your pan is at least an inch or two deep and long enough so that your roast doesn’t hang over the sides. I also use a wire rack in my pan so my roast is sitting just above the water. I add the water to just below the rack.

You want plenty of water so it doesn’t run dry. If this is your first time, make sure to periodically check to make sure you still have plenty of water in your pan. Add more if need be.

But I don’t want my roast “sitting” in a puddle of water either. Then spray non-stick spray on the rack to make it easier to remove your roast once cooked.

Get out all your spices so they are ready to go. Here are what I use:

• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• Mrs. Dash table blend

Sorry folks, I do not measure my seasonings. I go by taste and the, “That looks good” method. Don’t be afraid to play around with seasonings. There are much better cooks out there who could recommend many other and even better seasonings than I do. Do a search on the Internet for what seasonings go with pork and experiment.

I cut open the plastic surrounding the roast in the sink and let the juices drain out. I do this because I like to rinse off my meat. 

If we were ever at a meat processing plant I know we would never eat meat again, so washing it off I feel gets some of the dirt off. Yes, I know it doesn’t wash germs and bacteria off, but there is plain old grime on it that does rinse off.

Be sure not to run the water too fast as you do not want raw meat juices to be splashing all over everything. 

I then spray everything down with a good, but safe disinfectant to kill any bacteria that may be in the sink, on the faucets, counter, etc. I like to use Basic-G as my disinfectant. It is safe, easy to use and much, much cheaper than bleach. Plus it kills more bad guys and longer than bleach.

I do not pat the roast dry, but transfer it right to the pan. I then brush a generous coat of olive oil on top and shake on the seasonings.

Then I cut up carrots, celery and onion and add to the pan around the roast. This will help flavor your gravy later. I also sprinkle the seasonings in the water.

Then I make a tent of foil by taking 2 long pieces of aluminum foil, wrap around top edge of pan to meet in the middle, then lightly wrap the top pieces together so it looks kind of like a pup tent over the roast.

Pop it into oven and set the timer for 1½ hours. That isn’t long enough, but you will want to check the temperature after that time to see how far you have to go. Ovens vary and you don’t want to overcook it, so if you are getting close you can re-set your timer in 20-30 minute intervals and re-check as you go.

I remove the foil about 30 minutes before done to brown it just a bit and check the temperature of the meat.

I cook to 170° because I like my meat thoroughly cooked. Make sure to check in the thickest part of the meat and remember after it sits a couple of minutes the temperature will rise a few degrees.

I like to cut my roast into slices and freeze them to eat later in the week on one of those crazy nights when you have to take your kid to practice, etc.

I will let the roast rest a short time while I get my paper, foil and bags ready to freeze the slices.

I then transfer the roast to a plate and begin to slice approximately ½ inch thick chops off. (I do this after I peel a corner off to taste – yum! You do this, too, right? lol)

I transfer these slices to a plate in a single layer to cool a bit. I can sometimes get 10-12 chops off of one roast. If you try and buy 12 boneless pork chops at the store you will spend a lot more for them then cooking and slicing them yourself.

I take parchment paper and tear off the exact many sheets I need, one for each slice of meat in a size that easily wraps around each chop without leaving it exposed. I then will also tear off the same amount of aluminum foil pieces.

I tear the pieces of paper and foil off first as this makes it go faster rather than cut, tear, wrap, cut, tear, wrap, put in bag. I like to work faster and more efficient.

Wrap each slice by itself in a piece of parchment paper, then wrap it in a piece of aluminum foil.

You want to wrap in parchment paper first so when you go to pull it out of the freezer to warm up, you won’t be spending all your time trying to peel foil off your pork chop. If you ever had to do this then you know what I mean. The parchment paper releases real easy.

The foil helps to keep freezer burn out so make sure your foil piece wraps the chop entirely with no gaps.

Then put about 6 chops in a gallon size plastic freezer bag. Fold over the bag before sealing to get out all the air you can. Make sure to write on the bag what it is and the month/year. They should keep for up 3-4 months, but ours never last that long!

You can also use those food saver devices if you have one. I think you can find them here: Food Savers

Now pour off the juices with the veggies into a bowl and begin your second roast if you have one.

I like refrigerate the bowl of juices to cool it first, then later I skim off the fat that came to the surface and take a large spoon and spoon it into smaller freezer baggies to use as a gravy or cooking juices later.

The best way we like to re-heat our cooked pork chops it to take a non-stick frying pan, (I love those T-Fals) add the chops, and then add the frozen juices you poured out of the pan after cooking the roast. Do this by opening and peeling the plastic baggie off, then add the frozen chunk of juice to the pan. Add just a little water to help keep the chops from burning till the juices melt. 

Cover with a lid and cook on medium to heated through.

All your seasonings are right there so all you have to do is heat and eat! 

You can steam some veggies to go with it or eat the cooked carrots, celery and onion in the juices.

You can also shred the pork and make your own pork barbecue by adding barbecue sauce instead of pork juices to your pan.

To make an easy gravy, right before you remove the pork chops from the frying pan that have been heating in the juices, add a forkful or two of flour or cornstarch (your preference), stir well and often till the thickness is how you like it.

Some people may say, “Well, I don’t have 2 hours to cook one!” I understand that with jobs, homes, kids, and everything this can seem like a big chunk of time. 

You can do this on a day off while you are doing other chores like laundry, cleaning, etc. Once prepped and veggies chopped (you can also buy pre-chopped veggies, but they cost more), it cooks by itself for that time. Then it only take a short time to slice, wrap and throw in the freezer.

You will be oh so glad you did this on that one night you are too tired or too short on time to cook. And it keeps you from having to go through the drive-thru!

I am fortunate that I work from home so I can do this on the days I choose. That’s the benefit of having your own business. :)

If you have ever dreamed of having your own business you can work from home, contact me and let’s talk. I will explain what I do and you can look into it and see if it’s a fit for you. You can also visit my site and look around first:
Project M.A.H.M.A.

I hope you enjoy this simple easy pork roast recipe and if you spend some time cooking it ahead of time you can have a wonderful easy meal later in the weak when you don’t have time to cook one!

Save money. Save time. Yay! :)

Julie