I just realised that I haven't put up a single pork recipe yet. While pork isn't my meat of choice, it does make some really grand dishes. In the catholic community, pork is a celebratory meat, one that is cooked for Christmas or Easter or during extended family Sunday get-togthers.
I'm not much into pork (except bacon), but I can wolf down pork chops any day. In my opinion, it is the perfect cut. You have the lean bone for flavour, a nice thick cushion of fat to keep the meat moist, and then you have succulent meat that is almost falling of the bone.Yum! Since I don't have much experience with pork, all credits for this recipe goes to Shrey Kamerkar. This is his dish through and through.
Before I detail out his recipe, here are my two cents on common mistakes people make while cooking pork chops.
Boneless is better: No its not! The bone gives the meat a richer flavour, plus its easier to handle.
From fridge to frying pan: Let your chops sit for atleast 30mins once out of the fridge. If the meat is too cold, the outside will overcook while the inside wont cook at all.
Trim fat: Instead of cutting off the fat, stand the chop on its side with your tongs and get that fat rendered, brown and crispy.
Serves 5
10pc Pork chops (I counted two pieces per person)
For the marinade:
3 thai or bird eye chilies (use regular red chillies if you dont find it)
2 tbsp garlic paste
5-7 Kaffir lime leaves
2 Lemongrass stems
1 medium sized root of Galangal (you can use ginger if you don't find this)
Basil (preferably thai basil)
2 tbsp Honey
2 tbsp Fish sauce
2 cups Pineapple juice
1 cup Soy sauce (preferably dark)
2 tbsp Sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste
*The first five ingredients are easily available in supermarkets (and Nature's basket) and is part of the ready made thai mix in the veggie section
In a mortar and pestle, mash the dry ingredients (galangal, chilli, garlic paste, lemmon grass, kaffir lime and bail leaves) to a coarse paste. Place pork in a large dish and gently spread and massage the marinade on the meat. Now add the rest of the ingredients, and make sure that all pieces of pork are evenly coated.
Refrigerate overnight preferably, but even 4-5 hours will suffice.
Remove from refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 30 mins. Heat oil in a sauce pan to sear the meat. Mind you, pork is a fatty meat, so please use a thin coating of oil. For chops I like the pan screaming hot, and then take it down to medium. That first blast of heat helps get a good golden crust. Searing meat might seem time consuming, but its well worth the effort in flavour.
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Once you've seared both sides of the meat i.e. both sides have changed to a brown colour, transfer the meat to your baking dish. Pour all the marinade over the meat and bake in the oven for the first 10mins at 180 and then turn down the heat to 120 degrees. Cook for approx 2hours or till meat is fully cooked.
After the meat is cooked, don't touch it for 10mins. If you cut into it right away. all its juices will run into the pan instead of getting redistributed into the meat. Trust me, you don't wanna lose all that delicious liquid.
Serve with toasted bread, steamed beans and carrots, mashed potatoes....
...and a leafy salad. Shrey recommends a salad of rocket leaves, pea shoots, basil, chilly, honey and lemon juice.
Look how pretty Shrey's plating is! It looked so good, I almost didn't wanna eat it.
