Monday, August 23, 2010

Tandoori-Orange Spiced Pork Chops

Ingridients:
4 pork chops
1/2 cup kosher salt (for brine)
1/2 cup brown sugar (for brine)



1 tablespoon Tandoori spice
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 orange, sectioned , reserving the 2 ends & the middle membrane for juice
1 medium onion, sliced
1 pint sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Brine the Pork Chop
This step is purely optional, but I’ve found that when I brine chicken or pork chop, it never dries out even if I accidentally overcook the chops. But I understand if you don’t have time, no big deal, just skip this step. Or, if your chops are really thin, don’t bother. Grab a big pot. Take the salt and brown sugar, dissolve in 2 cups of hot water. Add cold water and ice cubes to make total of gallon total of brine. Place pork chops in the cooled brine, refrigerate between 1 hour-2 hours. Rinse and pat dry. Season with Tandoori spice and ground pepper (no salt! its salty enough from brine) Note: If you want the chops to be brined for a longer period of time, just use less salt/sugar. Sometimes I put the meat in brine in the morning, go to work and come home to cook. I’ll just use half the amount of salt/sugar.
Fry the Pork Chop
In a pan large enough to hold all chops without touching each other, heat over high. Add 1 tablespoon of canola oil. When hot and shimmering, add pork chops to pan. Fry 2 minutes without moving, touching or peeking.
Ok, now look – a nice brown crust! Flip the chops, turn the heat to medium-low and let it finish cooking through (internal temp 125.) Timing really depends on how thick your chops are. Really thin chops – just a couple of minutes. Thicker chops – cover the pan after flipping to get more heat in the pan. Really thick chops – best to stick it in the oven after flipping, 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Check the internal temp. Remove chops from pan, let rest on plate while you make sauce.
Make the Sauce
Pour out all but 1 tablespoon of the pan drippings (most of it is fat). Place back on stovetop on medium heat. Add onions and cook until golden, soft and totally fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, cook another 2 minutes.
Turn up heat to high and add wine. Stir and scrape up the bottom of pan. Cook 1 minute. Add chicken broth and the orange sections. Take the orange ends and membranes, squeeze whatever remaining juice remains into the pan and discard. Cook 1 minute.
Swirl in the 1 tablespoon of butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the sauce until it becomes thick, coating the back of a spoon. Pour on top of the chops.

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