This weekly meal plan starts out strong with barbecued pork—but even if you don't have a grill or don't feel like heading outside, you can still pull it off since the recipe includes alternative instructions for roasting the pork instead. You'll miss out on that signature smoke flavor, but you can add a little back if you're willing to pick up a bottle of liquid smoke. Don't run! Liquid smoke is reallynot as scary as you may think it is.
An herb-loaded fish dinner greets you mid-week with a cooking technique that may surprise you, and the week rounds out with a riff on fried rice that uses up all the lingering leftovers.
Here's the grocery list:
Pantry
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup ketchup
- Mayonnaise
- Dijon mustard
- Soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoonsliquid smoke(optional)
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 anchovy fillets
- 1 jardill pickles
- 1 bagKettle chips
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 cups grains (such as barley, farro, or spelt)
- Sesame oil
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
Produce
- 2 pounds cabbage
- 3 large carrots
- 1 bunch radishes
- 8 green onions
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2–3 bunches tender herbs such as dill, cilantro, parsley, and/or basil
- 2 lemons
- 1 small red chile
- Endive or otherspring salad greens
- 6 cups romaine hearts or baby romaine
- 1 Kirby cucumber
- 1 avocado
- 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
Butcher's Counter
- 4–5 pound bone-in pork butt
- 8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
Seafood
- 4 skin-on white fish fillets (such as black bass, striped bass, or snapper)
Dairy & Eggs
- 1/2 dozen eggs
- 6 tablespoons buttermilk or plain regular yogurt
- 1/2 cup cubed Swiss cheese
Bakery
- 1 loaf country bread (optional)
- Hamburger buns
Wine & Spirits
- 1/2 cup bourbon
Special Equipment
- Disposable foil tray
Monday:BBQ PorkwithSlaw
Start your Memorial Day celebration on Sunday night by tossing together a quick and easy brown sugar rub and coating the pork loin with it. Stash it in the fridge overnight so the seasonings have time to penetrate the meat. You can get the slaw going too, if you'd like, by tossing the cabbage with vinegar and sugar and letting it chill overnight before draining off the liquid that the sugar pulls out. Finish up on Monday by grilling (or roasting) the pork—it could take up to 5 hours, so plan accordingly—while simmering together abourbon barbecue sauceand finishing the coleslaw. In the last hour of cooking the pork, baste it with the barbecue sauce once or twice. Build sandwiches with the shredded pork, slaw, pickle slices, and hamburger buns. And don't forget some kettle chips to serve on the side.
Tuesday:Fish with Herb Sauceand Grains
Put a pot ofgrains on to boil—any kind you like or have kicking around, making twice the amount your family would normally eat in a meal. Then make a quick herb sauce by mincing anchovy fillets and 2 cloves of garlic together until it forms a paste (we're doublingthe sauce recipeso you have more to use later in the week). Coarsely chop all of your herbs—I'm partial toa mix of cilantro and dillhere, but use what you like—and combine with the anchovy-garlic mixture. Finely dice a few of yesterday's leftover pickles and toss them in as well; finish the sauce with olive oil and lemon juice. Finally, follow the recipe's genius technique of searing fish fillets by starting them out in a cold skillet. The slow heat renders the fat from the skin, making it wonderfully crisp and avoiding the dreaded curl that happens when you toss fish into a hot pan instead. Spoon a mound of grains onto a plate, top with the fish, and drizzle some herb sauce over the top. Pack up leftover sauce and grains to use on Thursday and Friday.
Wednesday:Hot (But Not Too Hot) Honey Chicken
Remember that cold-pan technique from Tuesday? We're doing it again! This time with chicken! But first, marinate the chicken in a bit of garlic and lemon juice for as long as you can manage. While the chicken is working, simmer honey with a sliced red chile. To finish, you could slice up the country bread andfry it in the rendered chicken fat, as recommended in the recipe, but here's another option: toast leftover hamburger buns, chop and toss the endive or salad greens with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and layer both with the chicken and hot honey into sandwiches. Save any leftovers for tomorrow night's salad.
Thursday:Chef's Salad
Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil andadd all six eggs. Pull four of them out at 6 minutes and chill—let the other two go for another 4 minutes. Shred any leftover chicken and toss it with the leftover pork. Stir some of Tuesday's leftover herb sauce with buttermilk (or plain—not Greek—yogurt), mayonnaise, and salt. Mix roughly chopped romaine with any other salad greens you have, plus shaved radishes, chopped avocado, diced cucumbers, and halved cherry tomatoes, and toss with the dressing. Top the salad with the shredded meats, Swiss cheese, sliced hard-boiled eggs (save the soft-boiled ones for tomorrow) and—if you'd like—croutons made from leftover country bread.
Friday:Stir-Fried Grains
Taking a cue fromthis recipe, turn your leftover slaw, grains, radishes, scallions, and soft-boiled eggs into dinner. Start by stir-frying all of your leftover slaw (yup, doesn't matter that it's dressed—the mayo and vinegar will just add extra flavor), sliced scallions, and sliced or diced radishes. Add the grains, a bit of soy sauce, and some sesame oil and sauté the whole thing together. Plate it up and top with a soft-boiled egg and some more sliced scallions.
