Cooking help needed - very thick pork chops, also want apple glaze recipe

Cafe Society
#1

Hi all, I need some help with some gorgeous boneless pork chops I bought this weekend. They are huge, easily 2 inches thick. I am worried about cooking them correctly (they were on sale, but still spendy!). Any suggestions for oven temperature/cooking time are appreciated (no grill).

I am also looking for some sort of apple glaze/compote/puree to serve with the porkchops. I had a fabulous sweet potato/apple puree at Salt Creek Grille last month, would love to recreate that!

As far as recipe suggestions, I like pretty much everything but green peppers, passionfruit and fennel. My husband isn’t crazy about raisins, wilted green vegetables, peppers or mushrooms.

Thanks in advance!

#2

An easy serving suggestion is to sear the chops in a pan with a little oil, the stick in a 350° oven for 15 minutes or so (until the internal temperature hits 145°). Remove from oven, cover with foil and keep warm. Add a bit of oil to the pan (if needed) and cook a clove or two of crushed garlic. When translucent, deglaze the pan with a cup and a half of apple cider. Stir over low heat, adding a dollop of Worchestershire sauce, a bit of thyme or sage, and a quarter cup dry sherry. Cook down until desired thickness and pour over the chops before serving. One pan, killer chops, divine pan sauce.

#3

Silenus is on point with the sear in a hot pan, then bake in the oven (gentler heat) until done method.

I don’t have anything to add about the apple glaze though, other than his sounds pretty awesome!

#4

For the future, I suggest that you invest in a meat thermometer, and take the meat out of the oven to rest for a few minutes when it gets to 5-10 degrees before the recommended temp. Meat thermometer=absolutely no more worries about under- or overdone meat. Well worth it.

#5

If they actually are two inches think, I suggest you butterfly them or cut them all the way through to make them about one inch.

Marinate them for about an hour in Italian salad dressing and a few drops of Worcestershire sauce along with some sage and thyme.

Take them out of the marinade and wipe them off. Season them with coarse salt and fresh pepper. Add a tablespoon of Olive oil to a non-stick skillet and heat to medium high. Add one tablespoon of unsalted butter, stir and melt the butter. Add the chops. Place them in the pan away from you so you don’t burn yourself with hot oil. Cook them for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. When you turn them over, add another tablespoon of butter. Remove them from the pan, cover them loosely with foil and let them rest for no less than 5 minutes. They will be cooked to medium with a little pink remaining in the center.

For the absolute best sweet potato on the planet, simply heat the oven to 325 degrees. Poke a couple holes in the potatoes, wrap them in foil and cook them for an hour and a half to two hours. The key is to wait until the natural sugars caramelize. You can eat the potato plain and it is delicious.

#6

It’s delicious-er with butter and brown sugar. :slight_smile:

#7

If they are indeed two inches thick, how about slicing a “pocket” through the middle and making a stuffing to put inside? My mom used to make it when I was a kid and I loved it.

#8

This is the best pork chop recipe I’ve had.

Just cook it a couple of minutes longer per side. I sear it for two minutes per side at the beginning and add another minute to each side later for thicker chops.

#9

I made this - it was great. I used sherry to saute sliced apples, then roasted them. I added them to my sweet potato puree and served each chop on top of the puree with a few reserved sliced apples on top. Divine!

#10

Glad you liked it. It’s a very versatile recipe, as you can tell. Add some ginger and daikon and serve over rice sometime.

#11

Here’s a technique inspired by Heston Blumenthal.

Contrary to popular opinion, searing the meat doesn’t “seal in” anything - it just provides the umami flavor incurred by Maillard reaction.

In other words, if you’re going to do some roasting, it doesn’t matter in which order you cook the chops, nor that you provide the center heat with the pan.

The easiest way is first to cook the pork right the way through in an oven, and then sear them just before serving.

Next, according to Heston, the protein molecules in meat tend to coil and make the meat tough above 70C (158F).

So for perfect thick pork chops with a glaze, roast them gently in an oven for 45 mins to an hour at 158F, and then throw them into a griddle with the glaze, and brown each side on high for a couple minutes, then serve. I’ve done steak and lamb like this, and it’s amazing.

#12

Cook it until it’s tough? :confused:

#13

No, you don’t exceed the temperature that would make it tough - above 70C makes it tough; you limit the oven to 70C.

#14

Yep. This is exactly the way I do my steaks and even sausages. Low heat first, bring up to your desired internal temp, sear on stovetop. Makes for much more even doneness and juiciness. I personally use a 250-275F oven.