Earlier this week, the Vegetarian and I stopped by the new Whole Foods located in Friendship Heights and were pretty blown away. While there are several other WFs near by, this place is huge and has a prepared foods section the size of the entire other WFs. Anyway, one of my purchases was a bone-in pork chop, which were on sale. At first my plan was to stuff the chop with some sort of sage stuffing, but I decided to crust the outside and then keep it marinating over night to allow the flavors, specifically the salt, to soak into the chop. Definitely ended up being a good call. The chop was tender and delicious.
Initially I was going to have some fresh fava beans, that the vegetarian had bought, but there wasn’t enough, so I quickly threw together a can of black beans, onions, spices and chicken stock to make a side dish. It ended up being pretty good for last second decisions. This is what I did:
Ingredients:
Serves 2
2 bone-in pork chops, ~1/2 pound each
2-3 large sage leaves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon parsley, or 3 tablespoons fresh
2 tablespoons olive oil
At least 12 hours before (up to 24 hours before) serving, combine all pork spices, except olive oil, and rub over pork chops. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to cook, heat a medium size skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. When olive oil is hot, add chops and cook on one side for about 3-4. Flip and cook an additional 3-4 minutes, depending on thickness. For 1/2 inch chops, 3-4 minutes per side should give you a medium rare. Let chops rest and serve with black beans (recipe follows).
For Black beans:
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 red onion, diced
small pinch of salt, pepper, parsley, fennel seeds and sage
Add all ingredients to a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 5 minutes, or until chicken stock is reduced. Serve with pork chop.
Good to see you back on the internets! That pork looks perfectly cooked (and delicious). I feel like my pork chops always come out a little on the dry side unless I full on wet-brine them, but these look perfect.
Thanks. Yea, I usually overcook pork chops, the few other times ive cooked it. I think the key was searing them well on one side and then flipping them for only a few more minutes. I should have finished it in the oven
don't tell aunt marcia; herb 1419
Really great photos, dude.
Thanks. I think the tripod really helps.