Pork chops sauteed in butter
/My immediate response to the suggestion of "pork chops" is "mmMMMmmm". I love pork chops. Salty, tasty, and with a bone to gnaw on. And when I think of making pork chops, the first thing I think of is these pork chops cooked in butter.
We buy most of our pork from Heritage Farms. They're a local farm out of Bowden, GA, and we've been happily buying their natural, grass-fed, antibiotic- and hormone-free meat for several years now. They raise everything -- beef, pork, chicken, duck, turkeys, and rabbits. They do vegetables, too. Their chicken is the best I've ever had. Come to think of it, so is their turkey. But I'm here to talk about pork. Heritage Farm's pork is Berkshire: deliciously porky with creamy white fat.
This recipe comes from Jacques Pepin's Essential Pepin: More Than 700 All-Time Favorites from My Life in Food. This is a great cookbook from an amazing chef. I think it's safe to say that any Jacques recipe will turn out great, even that one where he shapes the cucumbers and then cooks them in Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home.
We tend to buy meat from the farm frozen so we have our favorite cuts at our fingertips. This means a little advance planning so meat will defrost in time for dinner. The subzero has superior temperature control which means if I pull it out too late, the meat is sometimes still frozen when I get home. Then it's time for a water drip. Always use cold water if doing a drip to defrost. I usually just put the frozen item in cold water, with something heavy on top to keep it submerged, and don't bother with the drip to save water.
When the chops are defrosted, I rinse them well. This goes for any meat that is cut through the bone. There are usually little bone bits left on the meat. And I always pull out the gristly bits in the crevice of the bone.
You really want anywhere from 1/4-1/2" of fat all around the chops. If there is extra fat, I'll trim it off. But these chops looked beautiful so no trimming needed. Then I lay them out to dry on some paper towels while I prep the rest of dinner.
Here are the chops all cleaned up and ready to cook. Salt and pepper generously. I like kosher salt. Then flip and season on the other side.
There are a lot of schools of thought on salting meat. When you salt your meat and let it sit, little beads of juice will form on the meat. This can be bad if it goes to waste. But if you give it time to reabsorb, 30-40 minutes, the meat reabsorbs the salty juices. Bonus! The thicker the cut, the earlier and more generously I salt it.
Anytime I'm cooking meat, I use a cast iron skillet. This is my newest piece, a square Wagner that I picked up at a flea market. You can tell from the less gleamy surface that it's not fully seasoned. Cast iron seasons as you use it, so it goes faster when you use it a lot. The best way to season your cast iron is to make and eat a lot of bacon. If you needed encouragement to eat more bacon, here it is. I like mine crispy so it crunches when you eat it. Mmm, bacon.
What was I talking about again? Oh right. Pork chops. Yum!
I put the skillet on medium high heat (which means that the flame circle is about 75% of the pan). Add a pat of unsalted butter (roughly 1 tbsp) and then add some olive oil (I do a 1-2 second pour). Using some olive oil means less butter.
If you want to add thyme, now is the time. Put it directly on the meat or in the fat. You'll still love these pork chops without the thyme though.
I swirl the melted butter and oil together and add the pork chops. That nice sizzle is a gorgeous sound.
If you're not using a cast iron, the first side that is seared will be prettier and is the side you should serve up on the plate.
Let it cook for about 3 minutes. Then flip! And 2-3 minutes on the other side. This is for one inch bone-in chops.
We prefer pork cooked to about 145 degrees. That means it's still pink! When I was growing up, everyone said pork had to be cooked to 160 so that it killed any bad things. Pork at 160 is sad and dry. But rest easy: the USDA said that we can eat pork at 145. If you are uncomfortable with pink pork, let it go a little longer, like 30-60 seconds a side. But no more, or you will be sad.
Take the chops off the heat so they can rest and rebalance out the juices. I put them straight onto the plates and go about finishing the vegetables.
That porky fat in a hot skillet is great. Don't waste it! Before the pan cools, saute greens -- Josh loves dinosaur kale or mixed greens -- or potatoes. Or use it in a vinaigrette over a salad.
It's ideal to care for your cast iron as soon as you are done cooking with it. Or if you are a little lazy, you can heat up the pan again later if necessary. But don't leave it overnight and don't soak it, especially not with soap.
If there are sticky bits in the skillet, I either use my little plastic pan scrubber or, if the pan is still hot, I use this chainmail thing. It works great. You can also use kosher salt (or any salt with a large grain) both to absorb the fat and to scrub the pan. Pour the salt in and use paper towels to scrub whatever is stubbornly clinging to the pan. I put the chainmail thing in the dishwasher to clean it up.
I wipe out as much of the fat with paper towels as I can -- always mindful of putting grease and fat down the drain. Rinse the skillet with water if it's salty, repeating any scrubbing as necessary. When you are happy with the surface, put the pan back on the stove. Turn on the heat. I put it on high because I'm impatient. When the water has evaporated, add about a tablespoon of oil (or slightly less depending on the size of the skillet) and rub it into the pan with a paper towel. Turn off the heat and let pan cool. Don't put in too much oil because it will leave a sticky film.
This last drying and oiling step is critical for your pan. I leave the pan on the stove overnight and put it away in the morning.
Pork chops sauteed in butter (and sometimes thyme)
Adapted from Essential Pepin: More Than 700 All-Time Favorites from My Life in Food.
Ingredients:
Bone-in pork chops, one inch thick, one per person
Fresh thyme sprigs, two per chop (optional)
Unsalted butter
Preparation:
1. Rinse defrosted chops in water, being sure to clean off any bony or gristly bits.
2. If necessary, trim off extra white fat. Ideally you want 1/4" of fat in the outside pieces of the chops. I like 1/2" though. :)
3. Pat chops dry with paper towels and lay chops out on more paper towels to absorb water.
4. If you have 30-40 minutes or more, season chops generously with salt and pepper. If you have less than 30 minutes, salt immediately before cooking.
5. Heat skillet, preferably cast iron, on medium high heat. When hot, add butter and olive oil.
6. When butter is melted, swirl to mix butter and oil in the pan. Put chops in the pan. Lay them down away from you in case any hot oil splashes.
7. Let cook three minutes. Do not move the chops around. You only get a great crust if you leave them alone.
8. Flip the chops. I use tongs because there's less oil splashing. Let cook another 2-3 minutes. Again, leave chops alone.
9. Put chops on plates or platter. Let rest five minutes while you finish the rest of dinner and before devouring.
10. Use porky fat to sauteed your greens or other vegetables. You'll like it.