Good Pork recipe...?!

[Avishar]

While this was originally supposed to be in response to ultimakf7's thread I figured I might as well just share the recipe with all and see what you all think.

 

Here's my recipe that I thought of one day when I was hungry, had friends over, and pork chops were on sale in the market (I apologize in advance if it is unorganized or unprofessional, this is just from a poor college student who was hungry)

 

Danny's Special Pork Chops (w/variations):

 

Ingredients:

 

1.5-2.5 lbs Pork Chops, preferably bone in and if posible thin cut (if you can't get your butcher to do this or find them available this way, cover the chops in saran wrap, get your pan and whack them until they are scallopini-like)

 

 

2 Tbsp Regular Soy Sauce (make sure its naturally brewed, and not the salty synthetic crap)

 

2 Tbsp Mirin (Dry Sherry or Sake with equal amount of sugar added works as well here)

 

3-5 Cloves Garlic

 

1 tsp minced ginger

 

1 tbsp seasame oil

 

1.5 tsp cornstarch

 

Fresh Ground Pepper

Salt

 

5-7 Dried or Fresh Shiitake mushrooms (if dried, reserve the soaking water for saucemaking)

 

1 chopped onion

 

AP Flour

 

1 egg

 

Panko Bread Crumbs

 

Oil, for shallow frying

 

1 bottle of your favorite beer

 

1/4 cup Chili Garlic Sauce (you may know a popular brand as Sriracha/Rooster Sauce/ Cock Sauce)

 

1/4 cup Balsamic reduction (reduce balsamic vinegar until it is a glazelike consistancy), or 1/4 cup Sweet & Sour Sauce or 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce

 

Thinly chopped Scallions or Cilantro or Parsley for Garnish

 

1 tbsp butter

 

Prep Work:

If using dried mushrooms, soak in warm water for at least 15 minutes, Chop onions and mushrooms (remove stems from shiitakes), Combine Chili Garlic and Balsamic/S & S/ Sweet Chili (whichever you are using) in a small bowl, stir well and taste a drop, it should taste sweet with heat creeping up; if not, adjust until it does taste like this using the two sauces, season the sauce as you see fit with a little salt and plenty of pepper, if you have some other of your favorite seasonings feel free to add them here. Commence beer drinking, but save a little bit for the sauce (up to a quarter cup, 2 tbsp minimum)

 

Procedural Stepage:

1) Combine Soy Sauce, Mirin, Garlic, Ginger, Seasame Oil, and cornstarch in a bowl, mix well

2) Add chops to marinade, combine well, transfer mixture to ziplock bag and marinate for at least 15 minutes, if your soy sauce isn't too salty you may leave it up to overnight (The marinade is here to flavor, not to tenderize, pork chops are tender enough if not overcooked)

3) Meanwhile get three plates or disposable foil pans, add flour to one, egg and a splash of water to another and beat the egg, and finally panko bread crumbs to the third

4) Remove chops from marinade, pat dry, Salt and pepper the chops (lightly, the soy has plenty of salt in it, this is for texture and to draw some moisture), dredge in flour, shake off excess, dredge in egg wash, then coat in Panko, place each chop on a wire rack (a baker's cooling rack works fine too, or even your oven grates can function similarly) to rest while you do the rest.

Tip: use one hand for flouring and breading, one for putting it in the egg to prevent club hand, or use tongs or a fork to do this process

5) Prepare a wok or heavy bottomed skillet for shallow frying by adding enough oil (do not use extra virgin olive, go with something with a higher smoke point such as canola, vegetable, or peanut) to come up half the side of your pork chops, get the oil to about 350 degrees, if you are using a thinner pan shoot for 375 to compensate for the temperature loss when you drop the meat it

6) Shallow fry chops, turn when you see moisture seeping through the surface of the breadcrumbs and bottom is beautifully browned and crisp, fry on the other side and pull them when they are two shades darker than they were before you put them in the oil or GB & D (golden brown and delicious), drain on cooling rack on top of paper towels in a sheet pan and put in a warm oven to maintain crisp crunchy crust.

7) after the chops are all down pour off all but 1 tbsp of oil, make sure not to pour off any of the delicious bits that remain in pan

8) turn the heat up to highest and when you see wisps of smoke add the onions and the mushrooms, season with S & P or if you wish soy sauce, once it smells great and is softened pour in reserved beer and stir up all the little bits and pieces at the bottom of the pan (aka: deglaze w/beer or any other alcoholic substance present)

9) After the alcohol reduces a little bit add the sauce of Chile garlic and sweet chile, and taste, adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

10) Pull the sauce off the heat, add the butter and stir vigorously until completely melted

10) Now plate the chops and pour the veggies with sauce on top of them, top with whatever you have for garnish then eat immediately. Goes well on top of rice or noodles which can absorb the delicious sauce and juices from the meat and veggies!

 

 

Variations:

Instead of marinating pork chops, brine them in a solution of a gallon water to a cup of kosher salt to a cup of brown sugar or honey for 2-4 hours, be sure to rinse the chops thoroughly to remove excess salt before prefry procedure

 

If dried mushrooms were used add 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch to the reserved liquid, stir then add to the sauce, or if you have chicken stock add that to the sauce in a similiar fashion, stir rapidly until sauce thickens.

 

If shallow frying isn't your thing, deep fry, or use a 450 degree oven to roast them for similiar results, or skip the breading process and go from marinade to hot pan or even grill or broil to medium doneness, then remove, and while resting do the veggies in the same manner, won't taste as good without the carmelized bits stuck to the pan however if you go to the grill.

 

Smoke the chops before frying them, you can use any heavy lidded pot in the house, just line with foil and put in whatever you got (no chips? use sawdust, no sawdust? use rice, tea leaves, and/or herbs like rosemary and thyme)

 

Use ketchup or any other of your favorite sweet sauces with the chile garlic sauce as long as it tastes good

 

Replace the Chile garlic sauce with Sambal Oelek (Indonesian chile sauce)

 

Add any of your favorite veggies in addition to or instead of onions and mushrooms, celery and carrots work well and will remind you of a better version of sweet and sour pork!

 

Sub chicken breasts, turkey cutlets, tofu, fish, cubed steak, veal cutlets, anything thin and flat that you like

 

After pulling the sauce off the heat mount it (add one cube of cold butter at a time and whisk it in until it all but disappears, then continue to do this until you get a glossy sheen)

 

Season the flour and the breadcrumbs with your favorite dried spices or rubs before breading for consistant jam packed flavor bite after bite, just make sure you don't add any blends with too much salt in them.

 

Add the reserved marinade to the sauteed/stir fried veggies with and correct the seasoning as necessary, if doing this ensure sauce comes to rolling boil to avoid any chance of food disease

 

For a spicier note, add a couple minced chiles while you are preparing the vegetation

 

For a more aromatic note, before you throw the vegetables, add a minced clove of garlic, the white part of the scallions, a little minced ginger, and some chiles and saute until fragrant, then continue as above.

 

For an upscale/flashy touch to impress rich friends and family, instead of using beer use cognac or brandy, get a stick lighter or match and step back, light it up and listen to the oohs and ahhs, after the flame dies down proceed as above but finish with cream instead of butter and let reduce until it coats the back of a spoon (Be careful, this is an easy way to lose an eyebrow or arm hair) then drop some citrus zest and chopped parsley on top.

 

* I recommend shallow frying for several reasons; if done properly with good oil temp maintained, the dish will not be greasy or oily, you get the loose browned bits which translate to amazing sauce, and an awesome crunchy crust with a delightfully moist and tender interior, though pork today is lean and thus easy to overcook, the breading ensures the moisture is preserved, the brine can be applied instead of the marinade as it literally plumps the pork and gives more sympathy in off cooking times.

 

Feel free to give me any feedback and to change the ingredients around until you find a combination that you love, I hope you all try/like it!

[Guest heightsgtltd]

Sounds good.

 

I am going to merge this with the need pork recipe thread unless you have a compelling reason for me not to