Due to a super duper sale atthe supermarket, I currently have several pounds of boneless pork chops in the fridge.
How, besides grilling (because our grill is under a 6 foot snowdrift at the moment) would you suggest I cook these very nice looking porkchops? They’re about 1.5 inches thick.
Please let me know how you like pork chops best.
What cooking method?
Which spices?
Which side dishes?
Yum - pork chops.
I seem to own most kitchen equipment available to US consumers, btw, so I’m up for trying anything.
I like to cook them in a skillet, and then deglaze the pan with some compatible liquid–wine, sherry, orange juice or apple juice work well. Then cook the liquid down. If you are feeling decadent, cook it way down until it is syrupy and then add some cream and boil it until it thickens a bit. You can stir in a bit of Dijon mustard, too.
Seasoning for the meat: a combination of thyme, allspice, and black pepper.
One (hyphenated) word: stir-fry. Slice some chops thin on the bias (i.e., slanted), then do a quick sautee/chow in frying pan or wok with just a little high-temperature-capable oil (peanut, grapeseed, canola). Season with soy, salt, pepper, garlic, whatever, and add thin cut veggies of your choice. You can make a sauce using a base of store-bought hoisin or oyster sauce along with some chicken stock, then thicken at the end with a little cornstarch slurry. Serve over rice.
Sorry for the lack of detail, but when it comes to stir-fry, I tend to use whatever is available in fridge/cupboard and experiment from there.
One of my simple favorites is wiener schnitzel. Debone your porchops and, using a mallet or whatever you have handy, beat them down fairly thin. They should end up about a 1/4-1/2 inch thick and about 8-12 inches in diameter. Dredge in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs (with salt & pepper). Fry until evenly browned and serve with whipped mashed potatoes and something sour (kraut, pickled peppers, pickles, etc…)
Total comfort food. Of course, you can always go the way of the stir fry and do something cool like a ginger/hot pepper/garlic/black bean paste sauce to go with it, but I likes me my wiener schnitzel from time to time.
Brown the chops. Layer them in a casserole with thick-sliced potatoes, and sauteed portabello mushrooms and sliced onions. Pour over all canned pork gravy doctored with: white wine, Worchestershire sauce, thyme, bay leaves, garlic, S&P to taste. Bake, covered, for 1 hour. Remove cover and continue cooking 'til chops are done. Serve with roasted asparagus or Brussels sprouts sauteed with red onions and balsamic vinegar. Just made some tonight, can’t wait for leftovers.
Take bread crumbs (I use store bought italian style) add spices to taste. I use black pepper, red pepper, cajun pepper, garlic powder (never salt), oregeno, basil, rosemary, thyme, and basically anything else I grab that sounds good on pork. Mix.
Break an egg into a seperate bowl and beat. Dip the chops in the egg then into the mixture. Coat both sides. Place chops on a cookie cooling rack which has been placed inside a cookie sheet. When done, pour the remaining egg on the top of the chops and then top each one with a pat of butter. Bake at 325 for about 45 min (more if the chops are thick) or until no pink can be seen if sliced.
I usually serve with boiled or baked potato or with rice.
Pork and Green Bean Stir Fry. Cut pork into strips. Place in preheated wok which has been coated with a good oil. Saute until all pink is gone. Add fresh green beans that have been washed and clipped and a couple cloves of crushed garlic. Saute a few moments.
Mix up a sauce (usually before you start) which includes oyster sauce, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, black pepper, and a little sugar. Pour over pork and green beans and mix. Allow to simmer a couple more minutes. Serve with rice.
Simmer them in apple cider or apple juice spiced with a generous amount of cinnamon, a bit of nutmeg, just a bit of garlic, salt, and cayenne pepper. When they’re almost done, then brown them lightly.
As for side dishes, I think glazed baby carrots would be really really good.
Fennel seeds also provide a wonderful flavor to pork tenderloin and chops. My favorite loin roast is encrusted in cracked peppercorns and cracked fennel seeds—I’m sure the idea can be ported over to pork chops.
Two Words: Stuffed Porkchops. Slice pork chops down the side making a little pocket. Stuff with oh, hell just about anything. I like a little stovetop mixed with small diced apples, celery, and raisins. Brown both sides of the porkchop in skillet with a little butter, then into the oven for @ 15 miutes to finish cooking. Serve with a side of garlic mashed potatos. And stop drooling all over your keyboard.
Use 1 cup each chopped celery, Granny Smith apples, and onions browned in olive oil just until the onions start to carmelize. Add some brown sugar to taste. Chopped pecans are nice as well, but kind of an individual thing.
Make a pocket in each chop, and fill with the mixture. Brown both sides in a skillet, then bake covered in foil for 30 minutes, then remove the cover and bake another 30 minutes or so. For best flavor the final internal temperature should be about 145 deg F.
There are plenty of people who will tell you 160 deg F for pork, and, if you’re worried about parasites, they’re right. I like to let my immune system know who it’s working for. You be the judge, but I wouldn’t eat one of those 160 degree hockey pucks on a bet.
6-8 pork chops
1tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups fresh whole cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup honey
1 cup red wine
2 tsp lemon juice
Brown chops in oil and season with salt and pepper. Brush a 13x9x2 pan with drippings and add cranberries; distribute evenly. Combine sugar and starch and sprinkle over berries; drizzle honey over berries. Place browned chops on top. Combine red wine with lemon juice and pour over chops. Cover with foil and bake in 360 degree oven for 50 minutes til done.
This is my all time favorite porkchop recipe. Serve it with rice on the side.
A pork chop and eggs is the best breakfast short of steak and eggs. The best I’ve ever had had some kind of gravy with it (and I’m not a gravy person, even on mashed potatoes).
Pound out the chops to about 1/4" thickness. Take a can of chipotles in adobo, and put it in the blender until it’s a paste. Spread chipotle paste on pork chops, throw them on grill or cook in a skillet.
When they’re done, slice them into pieces. Serve with warm corn tortillas and whatever taco stuff you like (salsa, tomatoes, cheese, etc.)
Stuffed Pork Chops
Pound out pork chops to about 1/8" thickness. In a skillet, saute some chopped onion and garlic. Add a bag of spinach (fresh or frozen), saute until unfrozen or warm (depending on which you use).
Spread spinach on pork chops. Add some shredded cheese - I used swiss, but almost anything works. Roll up, secure with a toothpick. Or five toothpicks, if your rolling skills are like mine.
Brown each roll-up in a skillet, then put in a pan in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the pork is done.
A middle easterny sauce/ relish that goes quite well with a browned pork chop (although usually used for fish):
handful of walnuts
clove of garlic (finely chopped)
juice of half a lemon
virgin olive oil
half a bullet chilli (finely chopped)
small handful of coriander (cilantro) (chopped)
teaspoon of pommegranite molasses (widely available and cheap, a bottle will last you forever - it has a very powerful flavour)
salt
Heat walnuts in a dry pan for a little while. Rub skins off a bit. Chop into bits about rice grain size. Just before serving, combine with other stuff. Serve in a little bowl as a clump of nuts and stuff sitting in a puddle of oil and lemon juice.
