Grilled Pork Chops with Tomatillo Sauce

Pork is one meat that has not faired well in the movement to make everything low fat. In breeding and in butchering, the fat has been nearly completely removed from all grocery store pork products. Sadly this has also left the consumer with a low fat but really tasteless and dry product.

When was the last time you had a really GREAT pork chop?

I had one not too long ago when I purchased some Berkshire pork from a local producer. Berkshire pigs are a black coloured English heritage breed that has been raised for centuries. They fell out of favour when commercial growers entered the scene, since they favour the leaner, white coloured, hog breeds. The Japanese love Berkshire’s though and it is considered by some to be the Kobe beef of pork. It is renowned for its texture, marbling, juiciness, and overall depth of flavour.

I had been searching for a producer that serviced my area and came up with Irvings Farm in Edmonton. Their little piggies live outdoors year round and are butchered in house. That means they get access to sunlight and fresh air as well as all of the natural stuff that they might forage if given the chance. It also means they taste good.

For my first order I chose a pork shoulder roast, which I will do in the slow cooker, a few tenderloins, two packages of ribs and some fatty, bone in, shoulder chops. The tenderloins and ribs were good, with a slight upgrade in the taste of the meat, but the chops – they were fabulous. Yes, of course it’s because they are a fatty cut, but that, my dears, is where the flavour comes from. Pair your pig with a bunch of veggies and moderate your portions if you are worried about it, but don’t buy those dull flavourless supermarket chops. Just don’t do it! They do not compare.

One trick to great, flavourful chops is to soak them for a few hours in a simple brine solution before cooking them. They are generally a thinner cut so the brine gets a chance to soak into the meat and it helps to keep them moist and delicious. Not overcooking is also important. The temperature guidelines have changed for many meats and pork is safe to eat at only 145°. While my mother was taught that pork needed to be cooked dry, we are now advised that slightly pink is perfectly safe.

This week I found some tomatillos in my supermarket and picked them up thinking that I would make some sort of salsa with them. I have a pot of cilantro on my front porch that needs to be trimmed so I figured that would be a good way to use up some of the cilantro as well.

In the end I decided to make a sort of cooked green salsa. Tomatillos, roasted poblano peppers, onions and garlic stewed for around 30-40 minutes to create a tasty pan sauce to go over the chops. English pork with a Mexican twist! 

I brined my chops in the morning so they could sit in their bath in the refrigerator all day. The tomatillo sauce can be started about an hour before you are ready to cook your chops or it could easily be made ahead and then reheated just before serving.

This dish paired well with a Mexican inspired coleslaw salad, to be posted later this week. This pan sauce could also be mixed into rice to create Arroz Verde (Mexican green rice).

Grilled Pork Chops with Tomatillo Sauce

Servings: 2

Author: www.miasdailydish.com

Grilled pork is given a latin twist with the addition of a tasty tomatillo pan sauce.

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Ingredients

For the chops

• 2 - 4 pork shoulder chops preferably grass fed and pastured.
• 3 Tbsp kosher salt
• 1/2 C boiling water
• 2 1/2 cups cold water
• 12 black peppercorns
• 2 small bay leaves
• 2 or 3 garlic cloves smashed

For the Sauce

• 1 Tbsp lard or other high heat cooking oil
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 C chicken broth
• 2 poblano peppers
• 1 - 12 oz package of tomatillos about 6
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 3 Tbsp chopped cilantro plus a bit more for garnish if desired
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

For the chops

1. Dissolve the kosher salt in the 1/2 C boiling water. Pour into a pyrex dish, or other marinating vessel big enough to hold your pork chops.
2. Add the other 2 1/2 cups of cold water to cool the mixture
3. Add peppercorns, bay leaves and garlic
4. Once cooled, submerge pork chops in seasoned liquid. Refrigerate at least 4 hours but preferably all day or overnight.
5. At least 30 minutes before you are ready to cook them, remove the chops from the brine and discard the brine. Pat the chops dry
6. Season lightly with salt and pepper before grilling. Go easy as the brine will have already salted them.
7. Grill over med-high heat for 6-8 minutes, flipping once.
8. Let rest, covered with foil for another 8-10 minutes
9. Serve with pan sauce and additional cilantro if desired

For the Tomatillo Sauce

1. Roast poblano peppers over a hot grill or gas burner until blackened on all sides.
2. Place peppers into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for about 10 minutes.
3. Peel skin from peppers, then halve and remove the seeds. Chop coarsely and set aside
4. Quarter tomatillos, then halve again so you end up with 8 pieces for each tomatillo
5. Heat oil over med-high heat in a frying pan
6. Add chopped onion and fry until soft and translucent
7. Add peppers, tomatillos and garlic and stir briefly
8. Add broth, cumin and lime. Stir and season with salt and pepper
9. Bring to a boil and then simmer until excess liquid is reduced off, about 30 minutes
10. Check and adjust seasoning
11. Serve over grilled pork chops

Recipe Notes

Note - shoulder chops may be labeled as shoulder steaks.
You can make your tomatillo sauce ahead of time and reheat on the stovetop just before serving the chops.