Intuitively you know it has to be done ‘low and slow.’ But on the grill or in a pan, it’s going to char up and dry out before it ever gets done inside.
So, moist heat is the way to go and that’s called braising.
And that calls for a Dutch oven or the slow cooker, which it so popular today.
Here’s how:
1. Trim off any excess fat. Season the chop with salt and pepper or a favorite spice that compliments pork
(I used a Spice House spice called Milwaukee Iron, which is a Southwest flavored concoction.)
2. Brown the chop aggressively in a small pan.
3. Place the chop in a Dutch oven and pour in chicken broth to a level about half way up the chop (no higher)..
4. Bring the chop and broth to boil on the stove top and then cover and braise in a 325F oven for two hours, or set the slow cooker to 325F and two hours.
5. Meanwhile, prep and season with S/P a few whole shallots and a potato-skin on.
6. At the one hour mark, place the shallots and potato chunks into the pot.
7. At the two hour mark, fork test for doneness and tenderness (If the chop you bought is high quality, it should be tender now.)
8. Remove the chop and veggies to a warm place.
9. In the Dutch oven or in a heavy sauce pan, bring the braising liquid to boil and reduce to sauce thickness.
10. Serve all on a heated plate with the sauce over the veggies and a little on top of the chop.
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Using the same procedures as above, we have:
1. Trim off any excess fat. Season the chop liberally with salt and pepper
2. Brown the chop aggressively in a small pan.
3. Place the chop in a Dutch oven and pour in chicken broth to a level about half way up the chop (no higher).
4. Add two star anise–don’t crush, just drop them in
5. Bring the chop and broth to boil on the stove top and then cover and braise in a 325F oven for two hours, or set the slow cooker to 325F and two hours.
6. Meanwhile, dice up a fresh pineapple
7. At the one hour mark, remove the star anise and place pineapple chunks into the pot.
8. At the two hour mark, fork test for doneness and tenderness (If the chop you bought is high quality, it should be tender now.)
9. Remove the chop and pineapple to a warm place.
10. In the Dutch oven or in a heavy sauce pan, bring the braising liquid to boil and reduce to sauce thickness.
11. Serve all on a heated plate with the sauce over the pineapple and a little on top of the chop.
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And another:
Slit the chop to form an envelop and then stuff it with some Stove Top Dressing or leftover croutons from Thanksgiving. Season it, brown it and then slow cook it in the Vermicular at low heat for an hour.
And finally, if you’re tired of the big chops–down size ’em. Take the raw chop and carefully remove the bone with a sharp knife. You now have a huge boneless pork chop. Now lay it down flat and slice off 3/8th inch thick pork medallions, orienting the knife parallel to where the bone was–you’ll get ten or more! Three-eighth inch is pretty thin so they will saute in EVOO in a pan or wok in about a minute a side. Salt and pepper will do fine but I sometimes toss them in a bag and pour in a sauce and let them marinate in the fridge awhile (This time I used Lillie’s Q Barbeque ‘Gold’.)
BTW, I’ve been buying smoked bone-in pork chops from Bob Nueske for decades. They’re really quite good. However, if browned in a pan or on a grill, they dry out. Instead, I discovered that these smoked chops come out moist and tender when braised with a little chicken broth in a Dutch oven (I favor the Vermiculum) at 230F for about 30 minutes. You can toss in some frozen veggies from Trader Joe’s at the 20 minute mark. It makes a great week day dinner.
