Pork Shoulder, Part 2

Once yesterday's pork shoulder was cut up to feed the people in our house, the remaining bone was dumped into a pot to make stock and more food for the pup.  There was a decent amount of grizzle and fat on the bone, so of course that had to go on to live another day.  Trying to make use of what most people throw away, I filled the pot with cooking stock left over from making a pot of chicken and andoullie jambalya a few days before.  That stock was a mixture of beef and chicken stock, and adding some pork to the flavor profile just meant it would be more universally useful.  That's why I refer to it as "cooking stock."  The ends of a head of celery along with an old carrot made use of odds and ends in the crisper drawer of our fridge.  Because this also goes to the dog, I never use onion.

This is the solid stuff I strained out of the pot.  The first thing I needed to do, was steal some of the delicious stock to mix with our leftover jambalaya.  Puppy was doing her "Teddy Two-Step" dance -- prancing back and forth on her front legs, hoping that this pile would make it directly into her bowl.  She is constantly underfoot when I cook because there is always something in it for her!

People are often hesitant to buy cuts like a shoulder, fearing they are paying mostly for bone.  That's often not the fact -- and even if it is, meat on the bone is far more flavorful with it than it is without.  In the case of this cut, only a very small portion was bone.  I picked the bone clean and mixed the remaining meat, grizzle and fat in with the cooked veggies. I also dug out whatever marrow I could from these bones.  Now, if Teddy was a small dog, I'd set the head of the shoulder bone aside for three days to cure.  Then it would be solid enough for recreational chewing.  The small bit might be fine for a cat to chew, but I'd keep it away from a dog.

As a reward for keeping me company, and also  because she was drooling like a goon, Teddy got a handful of this tasty goop.  The rest went into the fridge and she'll enjoy it as a snack over the next few days.  While it's all stuff that most people would throw out, for her it is an excellent source of energy and fiber.

Lately, we've been doing well with Teddy's skin, and her energy level is still great.  I credit a large amount of our success in keeping her healthy with the ways we find to augment her diet with these extras.  This doesn't cost us an extra cent.  But we get a lot out of using this by-product of cooking, and all it takes is a little extra time.  So don't be tempted to walk by cheap cuts like a pork picnic shoulder roast.  At 99 cents per pound, we sure did get our money's worth!