Accounting for Taste

It’s likely you’ll have the ingredients for the wet spice rub already in your pantry. Among them would be paprika, which lends a fiery red-orange color, not to mention a sweet and slightly fruity taste with very mild heat.

While this approach uses one thick pork chop, you could use two thinner chops (I wouldn’t go less than one-inch thick); just be sure to keep a close eyeball on the temperature because they will get done much sooner.

Well, as luck would have it, tornadoes were in the area with two actually touching down only miles from our house. Just as The Hubs took the chop off the grill pan to let it rest, we were instructed to take cover immediately, so we spent about 15 minutes down the basement before getting the all clear—but at least the meat got to rest!

We served our pork with a side of Avocado Cucumber Salad and a few Truffled Pasta Purses.

As you can decipher from the stormy weather, we were not able to use our outside grill, so we took the next best option and that would be “Grilliam” our cast-iron grill pan. It works basically on the same principal as a gas grill, with grate marks and all!

Grilled Pork Chop for Two

Servings: 2
Time: 1 hr
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 1⁄2 tsp. onion powder
1 1⁄2 tsp. garlic powder
1⁄2 tsp. each oregano, salt, and pepper
1 1-3⁄4″ to 2″ (about 1.5 lbs.) boneless pork chops

Directions

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper until a thick paste forms.
Coat both sides of the pork chop in the paste and set it aside on a plate, or in a ziploc bag, to marinate while you warm up the grill—or for up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.
Preheat your grill to medium-high.
Grill your pork chop for 10-12 minutes per side with lid down, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees (test with an instant-read thermometer). After removing from the grill, let rest on a moated cutting board for 5 minutes tented with foil.
Slice against the grain in 1⁄2-inch slices, arrange on a platter and pour over any accumulated juices.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Here’s turning a conventional cooking method upside down. Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, the salted pork chops are first cooked in a low oven, then seared in a smoking pan. Slowly cooking the meat allowed enzymes to break down protein, tenderizing the chops. The salted surface gently dried out in the oven and became beautifully caramelized in the pan.

I know this recipe calls for bone-in loin pork chops, but we happened to have four, thick boneless loin chops in our freezer and went ahead and used them. It’s essential to keep an acute eye on the temperature when using boneless chops since they tend to take a bit longer to come to temperature, however, this method didn’t tend to make a difference.

TIP: Buy chops of similar thickness so that they cook at the same rate.

Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Chive-Thyme Pan Sauce

Servings: 4
Time: 1 hr, 30 min
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

4 bone-in rib loin pork chops, 1 1/2 inches thick (about 12 ounces each)
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 – 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Garlic and Thyme Pan Sauce

1 large shallot, minced (about 4 Tbsp.)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 tsp.)
¾ cup chicken broth
½ cup dry white wine
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves
¼ tsp. white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 3 pieces
Table salt and ground black pepper

Directions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275°F. Pat chops dry with paper towels.
Using sharp knife, cut 2 slits, about 2 inches apart, through outer layer of fat and silver skin. Sprinkle entire surface of each chop with 1 teaspoon salt. Place chops on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and let stand at room temperature 45 minutes.
Season chops liberally with pepper; transfer baking sheet to oven. Cook until instant-read thermometer inserted into centers of chops and away from bones registers 120° to 125°F, 30 to 45 minutes.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat until smoking. Place 2 chops in skillet and sear until well browned and crusty, 1½ to 3 minutes, lifting once halfway through to redistribute fat underneath each chop. (Reduce heat if browned bits in pan bottom start to burn.) Using tongs, turn chops and cook until well browned on second side, 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer chops to plate and repeat with remaining 2 chops, adding extra tablespoon oil if pan is dry.
Reduce heat to medium. Use tongs to stand 2 pork chops on their sides. Holding chops together with tongs, return to skillet and sear sides of chops (with exception of bone side) until browned and instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chop and away from bone registers 140 to 145 degrees, about 1½ minutes.
Repeat with remaining 2 chops. Let chops rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10 minutes while preparing sauce.
Pour off all but 1 teaspoon oil from the pan and return pan to medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until softened, about 1 minute.
Add the broth and wine, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce measures 1/2 cup, 6 to 7 minutes. Off heat, stir in the thyme and vinegar; whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the pork chops.