Moroccan-Spiced Lamb Chops with Charmoula

For comments, please post below or email to cookingwithlarue@gmail.com

Moroccan-Spiced Lamb Chops with Charmoula

Serves: 8 appetizer, 4 as entrée

Difficulty: Easy

 

Moroccan-Spiced Lamb Chops with Charmoula

I was looking for an easy, quick lamb chop recipe to pass as an appetizer with an interesting sauce – something unique.  Charmoula is a classic Moroccan aromatic, paprika-spiced herb sauce used to marinate or as a dip for vegetables, fish or meat. It is also great with all sorts of other dishes, such as roasted cauliflower, roasted winter squash or chicken. An overnight dry rub on the lamb chops completely transforms this lamb chop to a new level of taste treat.

Fall Comfort Food: Sausage and Black Bean Stew

For comments, please post below or email to cookingwithlarue@gmail.com

Fall Comfort Food: Sausage and Black Bean Stew

Serves: 6

Difficulty: Easy

Sausage and Black Bean Stew 

This is a wonderful stew to serve as the weather cools. Mostly, this is a cozy meal, the perfect antidote to weeks of excess without feeling excessive. It is quite flexible, and you can try it with turkey sausage, chorizo or Italian sausage, sweet or hot. I used a combination of Italian sausages for this recipe. You can also vary the beans. We love black beans but one could also use garbanzo, pinto, white or a mix. Throw in some chilies for heat and rainbow chard and you are on your way to a wonderful crowd-pleasing mix of flavors. You can swap chard with kale, spinach or another green. (If you are unfamiliar with chard but like spinach, trust me, you’ll love chard.)

While onto to warming, healthy food, check out Curried Chickpea, Lentil and Swiss Chard Stew http://cookingwithlarue.blogspot.com/2012/10/curried-chickpea-lentil-and-swiss-chard.html

Lamb Loin Chops with Pan-roasted Grapes & Zinfandel

Lamb Loin Chops with Pan-roasted Grapes & Zinfandel

Sous Vide and Grill Methods

Serves: 4

Difficulty: Easy

Sous Vide Temp: 131- 134 degree F; Time: 2-4 hours

 

Lamb Loin Chops with Pan-roasted Grapes & Zinfandel

This is a simple recipe and a spectacular one. In the heart of the Paso Robles wine district, you will find wine and food paired in cooking as well as serving. This recipe includes actual grapes into the sauce adding an additional sweet note. One thing we know about California’s zinfandel: it is a far, far more food versatile wine than usually assumed.

But it wasn’t always like that. A couple of decades ago the country was still awash with pink colored “white zinfandel”; and focusing on the other two “fighting varietals,” chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, many of the mainstream California wineries went so far as to drop red zinfandel from their lineups. This may have been good thing, because all it did was dramatize the inevitable resurgence all the more; towards the end of the nineties, when artisanal producers began pushing their big red Zins, recalling some of mammoth Zins that came and went with the seventies. Like micro-minis, fondue, VW bugs and martinis, there are many things never really go away – they just come back with a vengeance.

OMG Dry-Aged Rib-eye Steak – Sous Vide

Dry-Aged Rib-eye Steak – Sous Vide

Serves: 3-4

Difficulty: Easy

Sous Vide Temp: 131 degree F; Time: 3 – 4 hours

OMG Dry-Aged Rib-eye Steak – Sous Vide

Dry aging is the process by which large cuts of beef (like half of a cow) are aged anywhere from several weeks to several months before being trimmed and cut into steaks. The method not only helps the steak develop flavor, but also makes it tenderer than it would be completely fresh. It involves considerable expense, as the beef must be stored near freezing temperatures. Subprimal cuts can be dry aged on racks either in specifically climate-controlled coolers or within a moisture-permeable dry bag.  Moreover, only the higher grades of meat can be dry aged, as the process requires meat with a large, evenly distributed fat content. The key effect of dry aging is the concentration and saturation of the natural flavor, as well as the tenderization of the meat texture. 

Dry aged ribeye....gotta have the marbling!

The process changes the beef by two means. Firstly, moisture is evaporated from the muscle. This creates a greater concentration of beef flavor and taste. Secondly, the beef’s natural enzymes break down the connective tissue in the muscle, leading to increased tenderness. Older isn’t necessarily better. Two or three weeks of aging is usually the minimum for any sort of tenderness to occur, while the funkier blue cheese characteristics start to pop up around 28 – 45 days.

Hoisin Pork Tenderloin with Soba Noodle Salad – Sous Vide

Hoisin Pork Tenderloin with Soba Noodle Salad – Sous Vide

Serves: 6

Difficulty: Moderate

Sous Vide Temp: 135 – 140 F; Time: 2 – 4 hrs.

Hoisin Pork Tenderloin with Soba Noodle Salad – Sous Vide 

Pork tenderloin is a perfect cut of pork for sous vide, as the window of proper “doneness” is vanishingly small when traditional methods are used. All too often the tenderloin is overcooked and dry. The sous vide tenderloin comes out incredibly moist without resorting to a prolonged brine before cooking. Today’s leaner pork can be enjoyed medium rare – 135 degree throughout will achieve that.  If you wish a little less pink…use 140 degree F. The tenderloin refers to the psoas major muscle along the central spine portion of the pic. It is the tender most part of the animal as the muscle is used for posture and not locomotion. As a result, it does not build up a lot of connective tissue and remains tender. By cooking the tenderloins sous vide-style, the marinade continues to work its magic, while the even heat of the water oven ensures perfectly cooked, moist pork. A few minutes on the barbeque or a quick stovetop sear, and you have a perfect meal.

Lamb Burger – Arugula, Feta, Olive and Sun-dried Tomato topping

                      Lamb Burger – Arugula, Feta, Olive and Sun-dried Tomato topping

Sous Vide and Grill methods

Serves: 4

Difficulty: Moderate

Sous Vide temp: 140 degree F; Time: 40-60 minutes

 

Lamb Burger – Arugula, Feta, Olive and Sun-dried Tomato topping

In Greece and in much of the Middle East and Asia, the meat of choice is lamb – either whole pieces or patties and sausages.  I have shared many lamb recipes on this blog but not a burger. What an oversight! Don't get me wrong, I love beef burgers but every once in a while you might want something different. This recipe will satisfy that craving. I cooked it sous vide which virtually eliminates any possibility of over-cooking, but also provide the traditional methods in this recipe. I love lamb burgers and the addition of the ground pork adds some moisture and umphhhh! A tangy topping of feta, arugula, olives and sun-dried or oven-dried tomatoes enhances these burgers. Parsley, mint, dill, cumin, oregano and garlic give these burgers a lively flavor reminiscent of lamb gyro.

Flat Iron Steak with Red Wine Sauce

Flat Iron Steak with Red Wine Sauce

Sous Vide and Grill methods

 

Flat Iron Steak with Red Wine Sauce

Serves: 6

Difficulty: Easy

Sous vide temp: 131 degree F; Time: 5-12 hours

Steak, cooked sous vide, is the most exciting advancement in carnivore cooking! Flat iron steak, my favorite cheap steak, is cut from the chuck blade roast – the shoulder of the cow. That’s right, this is a piece of a chuck roast. It grills well on its own, but after several hours tenderizing in the sous vide, it cuts like a filet mignon. Sous vide precision cooking offers unparalleled control over the results of your steak, letting you very precisely cook the steak to the level of doneness that you prefer. No guesswork or poking with a thermometer, no cutting and peeking, no jabbing with a finger – just perfect results each and every time. Finally, sous vide offers results that are not attainable by cooking with traditional methods. With standard high heat cooking, you develop a temperature gradient within the meat. The very center, where you shoved the thermometer, may be perfectly medium rare but the steak will be increasingly more well done as you approach the exterior. With sous vide, the steak is evenly cooked from edge to edge. I added a simple red wine sauce to accompany the steak. But, it truly can stand on its own. 

Lamb Ragu – Sous Vide Cooking

For comments, please post below or email to cookingwithlarue@gmail.com

Lamb Ragu – Sous Vide Cooking

Serves: 6

Difficulty: Gourmet & Wonderful!

Sous vide temp: 140 degree F; Time: 48 hours

 

Lamb Ragu served over polenta – Sous Vide Cooking

Some of the most impressive results of sous vide are created with tough cuts of meat. Lamb shanks would certainly fit that description! Sous vide allows you to cook these tough cuts to medium-rare and tender to the point of falling off the bone. This is accomplished because cooking tougher cuts with sous vide allows you to break down and tenderize the meat without overcooking and drying it out. The amount of flavor in meat is determined to a large extent upon the amount of work that muscle had to do, and so shanks are very flavorful. Unfortunately muscles that do a lot of work also become tough, so there is often a choice between tender meat with a light flavor (such as tenderloin) and tough meat with lots of flavor (such as shanks). 

With sous vide, you can have the best of both worlds: tough cuts can be cooked at a temperature that is just high enough to break down the toughness, but also low enough to allow the meat to stay succulent. The meat will be fork tender, succulent, and very flavorful. The only drawback of the low temperature is that it takes a long time, sometimes from 24 and 72 hours. It is not a big problem because sous vide cooking does not require any attention at all while it’s going on. So you can start up the cooking process on Sunday afternoon and serve outstanding meal on Tuesday night….easily as the shank is cooked with the sauce!

Braised Country-Style Pork Ribs with Mango & Lime

For comments, please post below or email to cookingwithlarue@gmail.com

Braised Country-Style Pork Ribs with Mango & Lime

Serves: 4

Difficulty: Moderate

Braised Country-Style Pork Ribs with Mango & Lime

Mangoes are the starting point for this wonderful recipe – add a bit of lime and a dash of rum and we are out of February gloom and into a sunny mood. The additional tropical flavors of lime, chilies, ginger and coconut milk only seem natural. Take yourself to the Caribbean with this entrée.  As the mango cooks, it gives itself up entirely to the sauce, thickening it and contributing to a wonderful pale orange color. Serve with some Jasmine rice cooked in broth, chopped onion and a bit of coconut milk, add parsley for a bit of color and you have the perfect addition to sop up the sauce.

Key ingredients

Country-style pork ribs are relative newcomers to the meat case, promote the shoulder-blade section of the pork loin, and are not as lean as the pricier rib chops. Because they have the tougher, fattier character of the pork shoulder, they are best cooked slowly in any sort of braise. Shopping for them can be confusing, since they appear in a variety of shapes arising from the top end of the loin or bottom end of the shoulder.  For this recipe my favorites are cuts from the shoulder with bone in. They are never symmetrical so look for an even mix. 

The perfect steak redux!

For comments, please post below or email to cookingwithlarue@gmail.com

The perfect steak redux!

Difficulty: Easy

The Perfect Steak

I posted this a couple years ago, but wanted to redo it with better pics. The recipe is about the same, but this time the pics will make your mouth water!!

There are many ways to cook a steak but I have found this particular method perfect every single time and with spectacular flavor.  Trust me on this one and you will not be disappointed.  I have over and under cooked too many steaks on the barbeque – it is simply impossible to control all the variables. You will not lose any of the spectacular beef flavor if you carefully follow these simple steps. The combination of an excellent sear followed by a brief visit to a hot oven and a rest before serving creates the most consistently GREAT steak…each and every time. I have used this method for New York strip steaks, rib-eyes, filet mignon, top sirloin and porterhouse…anywhere from a 1 ½ ” thickness to 2 ½” thick bone-in porterhouse steaks. 

• Steak - cut of your choosing - Rib-eye is featured
• Seasonings per your taste:
• Smoked Salt, 
• Penzey's Krakow nights
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 tsp canola or grapeseed oil
• 1/2 - 1 Tb butter/per steak

The first critical step to the perfect steak begins at the grocery store with the best product you can get.  Our favorite cut is the rib eye from Meyer Beef. (http://meyernaturalangus.com) It is hormone/antibiotic free, grass-fed vegetarian diet-fed Angus beef.  It is widely available at “natural” grocers as well as online.  However, any similar raised quality beef will work just as well.

To be honest, I have tried numerous rubs and seasonings and love many of them.  But when we splurge on a truly superior piece of meat – it really needs very little. The flavor is in the beef.  To get the perfect steak, begin cooking after it reaches room temperature. If the outside of the steak is room temp and inside cold – it will not cook evenly. Take them out of the refrigerator about 2 hours prior to cooking!

Pat the steak dry with paper towels – all over.  Our favorite seasoning is a bourbon smoked sea salt and Penzey’s Krakow nights blend*. Odds are good you don’t have these sitting around your pantry – but any coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper will work.  Or, leave me a note in the comment section and I’ll share some of our favorite steak rubs.  Generously salt and pepper both sides of each steak.

Ribeye with spices. This works with NY strip, filet, or top sirloin, too.

Heat oven to 400 degree F (450 degree F, if a single large steak). It MUST be at 400 F before the steaks are cooked so be certain to turn your oven on well in advance of beginning to sear on the stove top.

Added to a VERY HOT cast-iron pan

Heat a HEAVY cast-iron or stainless steel ovenproof pan over med-hi heat until a few drops of water sprinkled in the pan evaporate within 3 seconds. THEN, after the pan is sufficiently hot – coat the bottom of the pan with about 2 tsp grapeseed or canola oil.  This is important – follow the rule of “hot pan, cold oil = no stick”.  Why? The metal of the pan is full of pores that expand when heated and allows the oil to settle in those pores. If you add oil to cold pan the surface tension of the oil is so great that it will "pool" and rest on top of those pores, when you add meat, it’s weight will push the food product into the grain which is not lubricated and your food will stick.

The oil will heat quickly in the hot pan – look carefully, it should shimmer. Now add your rib-eye steaks to the pan. DO NOT MOVE THE STEAK!! Let it create the sear.  Regardless of thickness of your steak, it should sear for 2 minutes on each side, flipping only once with tongs.  (See, it did not stick!)

Seared steak

Transfer the steaks, STILL IN THE PAN, into the 400 degree F oven. Roast for 9 minutes; up to 14 minutes for a larger piece for medium-rare (insta-read thermometer of 120-130 degree F). Remove from the oven and place on a cutting board.  Immediately place about ½-1 Tb room temperature pat of butter on each steak and cover lightly with foil for 5 minutes. DON’T SKIP THIS IMPORTANT STEP!

OMG...don't forget the butter!

 This resting period is probably the most important part of making the perfect steak.  The meat continues to cook during this period – and the internal temperature will rise about 5-10 degrees. The “rest” also allows time for the juices equilibrate. While the steak cooked – the juices within the steak move to center – as it cools, it allows the same juices to move throughout the steak. If you cut into the steak prematurely, those same juices would just run out onto your cutting board. Don’t skip the butter either – you are eating a steak, a ½ Tb butter will not really increase the caloric intake but will add greatly to the flavor and “mouth-feel” of your finished product.

Once the “rest” has concluded – it is time to serve!  OMG – so, so very good.  It truly needs no adornments. Just serve with a wonderful California Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon, some french fries and a green salad (or maybe an iceberg lettuce/bleu cheese dressing/bacon salad).  It will be the best meal of the year for the hungry carnivore!

Bon Appetit!  Larue

* Penzey’s Krakow Nights:  a Polish style seasoning with salt, pepper, coriander, garlic, mustard, marjoram, savory, sugar and mace.

Persian Lamb Kebabs in Pomegranate-Walnut Marinade

Persian Lamb Kebabs in Pomegranate-Walnut Marinade

Serves: 6

Difficulty level: Moderate

Marinade overnight; Vegetarian option given

Persian Lamb Kebabs in Pomegranate-Walnut Marinade

Like many countries, the cuisine of Iran is largely influenced by climate and geography with strong neighboring influences from the Caspian Sea to Turkey in the northwest.  The common thread that connects the diverse regional styles is a shared emphasis on sweet-and-sour and fruity tastes. There is even a special word in the Persian language used, which describes this distinct vinegar-and-honey quality: malas. This sweet-and-sour kebab is from the northern coastal province, Gilan, which lies on the Caspian Sea. The people of this region like their food extra tart.

Cumin & Fennel Crusted Pork Chop with Chipotle Peach Salsa

Cumin & Fennel Crusted Pork Chop with Chipotle Peach Salsa

Serves: 6

Difficulty level: Moderate

Cumin & Fennel Crusted Pork Chop with Chipotle Peach Salsa 

Quick – get out there and make this before the peaches disappear.  I have made it twice in the last few weeks because I loved the sweet-spicy tang of the salsa with the juicy smoky grilled pork chop.  I was tempted to list this as difficulty: easy but the 24-brine and managing the BBQ likely added just a wee bit of complexity.  But, trust me, it is easy peasy.  If there is any left, these thick cut pork chops taste just as good cold. The peach salsa is also great the next day, and day after – with fish, chicken or chips. So give it try – I mean NOW – while the peaches are still spectacular.

Pork is the “other white meat” as well as relatively inexpensive, tender and flavorful.  It is quite a bit leaner than similar cuts of beef. The most common cuts of pork have 16% less total fat and 27% less saturated fat than 20 years ago. Today’s leaner pork can be enjoyed medium rare. The USDA recently announced that pork could be safely cooked to 145 degree F followed by a three-minute rest time, resulting in juicy and tender pork.

Lamb Stew with Golden Raisins

For comments, please post below or email to cookingwithlarue@gmail.com

Lamb Stew with Raisins

Ragout d’agneau aux Raisins

Serves: 4

Difficulty level: Easy

Lamb Stew with Golden Raisins

Ragout d’agneau aux Raisins, a dish served at a Benichon Feast (equivalent to Thanksgiving) in Fribourg, Switzerland, is a hearty and easy to make savory lamb stew that will have your guest swooning over the touch of sweetness from the scattering of golden raisins over tender lamb. The stew smells so good – wine aromas, fruity and meaty all at once – that it will make your mouth water.  After a single bite of tender lamb braised in red wine with garlic and golden raisins, you will be committed to add this to your weekend repertoire. Since it’s easy to make and serves a crowd, it is a favorite dinner-party dish.  I love serving it with mashed potatoes.

Chicken Arugula Meatballs

Chicken Arugula Meatballs

Serves 6-8

Difficulty level: Gourmet

Chicken Arugula Meatballs...on bed of tomato sauce

 

Chicken Arugula Meatballs with Capellini, arugula pesto & fresh Arugula

You may remember my last meatball post from November 2012. That was a MEAT meatball.  A knife and fork meatball…. This is not. This is equally amazing, just different.  And I believe it is even better the next day and the day after… as well as freezing and eating weeks after. A lighter version of classic meatball, these are flavored with pine nuts, raisins, cheese and arugula. Try this over angel-hair pasta with tomato sauce or arugula pesto sprinkled with chopped fresh arugula, or pass the meatballs as hot hors d’oeuvre on a bed of a zesty tomato sauce. Leftover meatballs are delicious as a filling for a hoagie-style sandwich: spread crusty Italian bread with tomato sauce, tomato chutney or Arugula Pesto, add the meatballs and top with fresh arugula. Once you have made these wonderful meatballs you will be making them regularly for all occasions or a weekend meal.

Amazing Glazed All-Beef Meat Loaf

For comments, please post below or email to cookingwithlarue@gmail.com

Amazing Glazed All-Beef Meat Loaf

Serves: 6-8
Difficulty Level: Easy

Amazing Glazed All-Beef Meat Loaf 

This is a surprisingly great all-beef meatloaf. Most meat loafs are a combination of beef, pork and veal – with each having an important role leading to the end result. Beef contributes the assertive beefiness, while pork adds flavor and extra fattiness. With the addition of veal, it is mostly about the gelatin – which has a viscous natural water-retaining quality that helps keep the meat loaf moist. Gelatin is formed when collagen, the protein in the cow connective tissue, breaks down during cooking. Collagen in calves (the source of veal) is more loosely structured, and therefore converts to gelatin more readily as compared to adult cows. In this all-beef meat loaf recipe, the gelatinous qualities of veal are replicated by the addition of powdered gelatin.

In meat loaf, gelatin, as a pure protein, has a stabilizing effect, making it harder for water and other liquids to be forced out by suspending the liquids in its mesh-like matrix. In meat loaf, then, gelatin helps by decreasing the amount of liquid leaking from the meat and improves the textural feel by making the liquids more viscous. This viscosity translates to a luxuriant texture in the mouth – mouth-feel – much like reduced stock or demi-glace – and greater richness.

Lastly, by forming a free-form “loaf pan”, one can avoid allowing the meat to stew in its own juices which makes for a greasy mess and a greasy loaf. Meat loaf baked in a traditional loaf pan exposes only one side of the meat loaf to the browning heat.  By opting for the free-form loaf, one achieves an all-over browned crust.

Meat Loaf:

• 4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, grated on SMALL holes of box grater (1 C) (see pic below)
• 1 Tb unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 C)
• 1 medium rib celery, chopped fine (about ½ C)
• 1 large clove garlic, minced or pressed thru a garlic press
• 2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp paprika
• ¼ C tomato juice
• ½ C chicken broth
• 2 large eggs
• ½ tsp unflavored gelatin (powdered)
• 1 Tb soy sauce
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2/3 C crushed saltine crackers
• 2 Tb minced fresh parsley leaves
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1-pound ground sirloin
• 1-pound ground chuck 

Glaze:

• ½ C ketchup
• 1 tsp hot pepper sauce
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ¼ C apple cider vinegar
• 3 Tb packed light brown sugar

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 375-degree F. Spread cheese on a plate and place in freezer until ready to use.

Finely grated cheese...use the SMALL holes in the grater!

Prepare your baking sheet by making a free-form loaf pan. Fold heavy-duty aluminum foil to form a 12 by 8-inch rectangle. Center the foil on a metal cooling rack and place the rack over a rimmed baking sheet.  Poke holes in the foil with skewer (about half an inch apart).  Spray the foil with a nonstick cooking spray.

Foil with holes punched in it

Heat butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until foaming; add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 6-8 minutes.  Add garlic, thyme and paprika and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and add tomato juice.  Cook, stirring to scrape up browned bits from the pan, until thickened, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a plate and set aside to cool.

Resting the fixins'....

Whisk broth and eggs in a large bowl until combined. Sprinkle gelatin over the liquid and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in soy sauce, mustard, saltines, parsley, salt, pepper and cooled onion mixture. Crumble frozen cheese into coarse powder and sprinkle over mixture. Add ground sirloin and chuck; mix gently with hands until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. 

Adding the fixins' to the meat

Transfer meat to foil rectangle and shape into a 10 by 6-inch oval about 2 inches high. Smooth top and edges of meat loaf with a moistened spatula.  Bake until an instant-read thermometer into center of loaf reads 135-140-degrees, 55-65 minutes. Remove meat loaf from oven and turn on broiler.

Shaped into a "loaf"

While meat loaf cooks, combine ingredients for glaze in a small saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes. 

The glaze for the meatloaf

Spread half of glaze evenly over cooked meat loaf with rubber spatula; place under broiler and cook until glaze bubbles and begins to brown at edges, about 5 minutes. 

Remove meat loaf from oven and spread evenly with remaining glaze; place back under broiler and cook until glaze is again bubbling and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes more. Let meat loaf cool about 20 minutes before slicing.

 

How it should look when it is ready!

If you cannot find chuck and/or sirloin, substitute any 85% lean ground beef. To avoid using a broiler, glaze the loaf in a 500-degree F oven and increase cooking time for each interval by 3 minutes.

Whatever you do, make this meat loaf.  You will be amazed.

Larue

Modified from Cooks Illustrated, Jan. 2006

Grilled Pork Chops with Fresh Plum Chutney

Grilled Pork Chops with Fresh Plum Chutney

Serves 4

Grilled Pork Chops with Fresh Plum Chutney 

Here is a fresh twist on a summer favorite…grilled pork chops. What a summer time treat when plums are ripe. Indian spices can play up the sour kick from the plum skins, and both are fantastic with pork’s natural sweetness. Pork is the “other white meat” as well as relatively inexpensive, tender and flavorful.  It is quite a bit leaner than similar cuts of beef. USDA recently announced that pork could be safely cooked to 145 degrees F followed by a three-minute rest time, resulting in juicy and tender pork. This recipe is a little more complex, but well worth the effort!

Last fall, I posted a blog titled “Brined Pork Chop with Fennel Pollen” (cookingwithlarue.blogspot.com/2012/09/brined-pork-chops-with-fennel-pollen.html). It is truly an amazing pork chop that follows a three-day brine. While I might not always brine for three days, I truly do always brine both pork and chicken for as long as time allows…at least overnight.  See the brine recipe that was posted – but if time is tight, a simple mix of sugar, salt and water with an overnight soak will make for a demonstrable improvement in flavor, texture and tenderness in the pork chop. Brining is a powerful tool as it cures meat and seasons it uniformly. Because of the osmotic effect of salt, the meat actually retains more moisture after cooking.

For Simple Pork Brine:

• ¾ C coarse Kosher salt *
• ¾ C granulated sugar
• 1 C boiling water
• 1 Gallon cold water
• 1 Tb black pepper

*All salts are not equal. 1 C table salt = 1½ C Morton Kosher salt = 2C Diamond Crystal Kosher salt

Grilled Pork Chops with Fresh Plum Chutney

• 1 lb. small firm-ripe red-purple plums, such as Santa Rosa, halved and pitted
• 1 Serrano chili, thinly sliced
• 1/3 C sliced green onions
• 2 Tb cider vinegar
• 3 Tb dark brown sugar
• 1 Tb finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1½ tsp yellow mustard seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1-2 dried bay leaves
• 1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
• About 2 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 2 tsp black pepper, divided
• 3 ½ Tb olive oil, divided
• 1 Tb ground coriander
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 4 pork loin rib chops
• 3 Tb coarsely chopped cilantro 

For the Brine, mix kosher salt, sugar, pepper and 1 C boiling water. Mix until sugar and salts are dissolved. Add 1 gallon cold water. Once completely cool, submerge the 4 pork loin chops and store in a refrigerator at least 12 hours, preferably overnight and up to 3 days.

Chop half to two-thirds of the quantity of plums. Put halved and chopped plums, the chile and green onions in a deep medium bowl; set aside. Microwave vinegar and 2 Tb sugar until steaming, about 30 seconds, then stir until sugar dissolves. 

Onions & chilies

Put ginger, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, bay leaves, crushed coriander and 1 tsp each salt and pepper in a small bowl.

 

Spices for the chutney

Heat 2 Tb oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add ginger mixture and cook, stirring, until mustard seeds start to pop, 15 – 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir until cumin seeds are a shade darker 1-2 minutes. Add vinegar-sugar mixture. 

Spices with vinegar-sugar mixture

Stir into plum mixture and let chutney stand for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Chutney can be made 1 day ahead. Cover, chill and rewarm before serving.

 

Final chutney product

Meanwhile, heat a grill to medium (350 to 450 degrees F) Combine ground coriander and lemon zest in a bowl. If pork has not been brined, add remaining 1 tsp salt and pepper to this mixture. Pull pork from brine, rinse and dry. About 20 minutes before serving, rub pork chops with remaining 1½ Tb oil, then with coriander mixture. Taste chutney and add more sugar if you like.

 

Prepping the meat

Grill meat covered, turning over once, until barely pink in center, 12-15 minutes.  Internal temperature should be 140-145 degrees. Transfer to a platter and let rest 5 minutes. Stir cilantro into chutney. Set pork chops on plates and spoon chutney and juices on top.

 

With manly grill marks!

The ideal chutney balances sweet, spicy, and savory, and that’s what we’ve done with this plum version. The mustard seed and plums play off each other for a condiment that’d dress up anything from grilled chicken to a grilled pork chop. Leftover chutney could also be used on a tuna fish sandwich, on top of grill duck breast, chicken or quail.

A California Pinot Noir is the quintessential wine with pork. Other choices would be a fruity Zinfandel, Syrah or Merlot. If white wines are your preference, serve with a California Chardonnay. However, recognize that with the vinegar-based chutney, if too heavy-handed with the vinegar, will make any wine pairing challenging. However, in this case, the sweetness of the plums and Indian spices render this unproblematic. So, open your favorite wine and enjoy a truly summer grilled special meal.

Larue