Go Ahead - Shop at a Discount Grocery & Some Pork Chops

Discount grocery stores are fantastic.  If you've never shopped at one, do it!  Most cities have at least one (Hattiesburg has two), and I imagine larger cities have many to choose from.  Check out my haul from the local E&B Grocery.  All of it for twenty dollars.


3 Boxes of Kashi cereal
4 Boxes of Wolfgan Puck organic chicken broth
2 Containers of Tropicana orange juice
2 Bottles of Pellegino
Back to Nature granola
Celestial Seasons white tea
Grey Poupon mustard
Lucini Pinot Grigio vinegar
Annie's organic dressing
Barilla whole grain pasta
½ lb organic spring mix


Items typically sold at discount stores are damaged (think dented cans), slightly expired (one to two months), or discontiued.  They are great places to pick up gourmet pantry items.  And remember, they are going to be hit or miss. I wouldn't suggest you treat a discount grocery like your regular grocery store.  Below is a list of tips to get the most out of a trip.


1.  Find out when the store gets their merchandise in.  The E&B gets merchandise on Thursday, so the best shopping days (as far as selection) is either Thursday or Friday.
2.  Check expiration dates.  A lot of the merchandise is slightly expired, say a month or two, but be careful, I once bought a box of cereal that had been expired over 12 months.
3.  Know your prices and don't buy common staples.  These stores know what people are most likely to buy, and they tend not to discount those items as much (or at all). Sometimes an item is the same price or less at a regular grocery store.  
4.  Hunt for unusual items; items people do not buy on a weekly basis.  Think gourmet mustard, hot sauce, specialty vinegar, salad dressing, herbal tea, and chocolate bars.  And it may be my location, but I alway seem to find great deals on organic, whole-grain cereal.  

Now for those pork chops (no, I did not purchase these at the E&B).  It is still grilling season in southern Mississippi, so forgive me norther dwellers, but this is another grilling recipe.  And due to the nature of the rub, I wouldn't suggest cooking them any other way. The rub is a combination of freshly chopped herbs, muddled together with garlic, lemon, and oil.  The muddling process helps the herbs release their fragrant oils for a big flavor punch.  The chops smelled delicious even before putting them on the grill; my whole kitchen smelled of garlic, tarragon, rosemary, and parsley.  


Herb Marinated Pork Chops


3-4 bone in pork chops, 2-3 lbs.
2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
Juice from 1 lemon
Zest from ½ a lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste


With a mortar and pestle muddle the fresh chopped herbs, the chopped garlic, the lemon zest, juice from half a lemon, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 2 minutes.  

Pat the chops dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides.  Spread the herb rub over the chops, again covering both sides.  Drizzle with the remaining lemon juice and olive oil. Cover and let the chops marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator (the longer the better).  Bring the chops to room temperature before grilling.

Prepare a charcoal or gas grill (see below) for direct grilling over medium heat.


Charcoal Grill
Ignite the coals.  When they turn ashen-white arrange the coals evenly over the fire bed.  A medium temperature grill is achieved when the coals are very mature, with no visible flame.  Place the chops directly over the coals, positioning the bones over the hottest part of the grill.  Cook 4-5 minutes each side, basting with any reserved rub.

Gas Grill
Preheat the grill, set to medium.  Grill the chops directly over the heating elements, positioning the bones over the hottest part of the grill. Cook 4-5 minutes each side, basting with any reserved rub.

Serve immediately.

HONEY TAR-ragon CHICKEN

Doesn't that look TASTY!

I love cooking and eating whole chickens.  I don't mean that I eat the whole bird, I just enjoy chicken cooked in its most unadulterated form.  Naturally, the cavity of the chicken becomes a place to stuff all sorts of yummy goodness, allowing flavors to permeate through the meat.  Usually I stuff a chicken with some type of citrus like lemon or orange (not lime, in my opinion lime overpowers chicken's delicate flavor), onion, garlic, and herbs. Easy as pie, and it is a great way to experiment with different flavor combinations.

For this recipe, the chicken is cooked on the grill, but could certainly be roasted in the oven.  However, if you have never grilled a chicken whole, try it out!  It  keeps your kitchen from over-heating in the middle of summer and produces a golden brown bird with crispy skin and juicy meat.  Here I use a honey based sauce which caramelizes while the chicken cooks, producing extra crispy skin.

Below I've provided instructions for cooking either on a gas grill or a charcoal grill (I use charcoal).

Honey Tarragon Chicken

1 roasting chicken, 4-6 lbs.
2 lemons
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves, smashed
4 sprigs of tarragon
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Rinse the chicken inside and out, and pat dry.  Cut one lemon and the onion into wedges.  Stuff the chicken cavity with the wedges, two sprigs of tarragon, and the garlic cloves.  Position the chicken on its "shoulders" and carefully drizzle 1 tablespoon of honey into the cavity.  Keep the chicken upright for a few minutes to allow the honey to drip down and around the lemon and onions.  You should be able to balance the chicken.  Next place the chicken breast side up.  Using your fingers and starting at the tail cavity, loosen the skin of the chicken.  Carefully insert the remaining tarragon sprigs under the skin, one over each breast, and truss the chicken.  If you need more instructions on how to truss a chicken, check out the Reluctant Gourmet, here.  Insert a digital thermometer, with a long cord, into the thickest part of the thigh, being careful not to touch the bone.  The thermometer cord needs to be long enough to reach outside the grill, other wise don't use it.

All trussed up

In a small bowl whisk together the remaining honey, the oil, the mustard, and juice from half a lemon.  This will be brushed over the chicken as it cooks.

Prepare a charcoal or gas grill (see below) for indirect grilling over medium heat.

Charcoal Grill
Ignite the coals.  When they turn ashen white arrange the coals on either side of the fire bed, leaving a vacancy in the center, and place a drip pan in that vacancy.  This pan collects the dripping juices and fats, preventing flare ups.  Make sure to position the handles of the grill grate over the coals.  This allows you to easily add more coals if need be, to maintain temperature.  Place the chicken, breast side up, on the grill rack, over the drip pan.  Cover the grill and cook, adding more coals about halfway through grilling, until the chicken has reached a temperature of 170°F.  For those without a thermometer, this should take 1½-1¾ hours.  The chicken is done when the juices of the thigh run clear.  Brush the sauce over the chicken a couple of times during the last 15 minutes of cook time.



Gas Grill
Preheat the grill using all of the burners.  Then turn off the burner directly below where the food will sit.  Place the chicken breast side up over the no heat zone.  If using a three burner grill, adjust the burners on either side of the chicken, so as to provide even heat.  If using a two burner grill, the chicken will need to be rotated throughout cooking to ensure even cooking.  Cover the grill and cook until the chicken has reached a temperature of 170°F, or the juices of the thigh run clear, about an1½-1¾ hours.  Brush the sauce over the chicken a couple of times during the last 15 minutes of cook time.  Grilling instructions for the gas grill preparation were adapted from Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Grilling.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes before carving.  The temperature will rise another 5°-10°F while resting.