tender pork chops

Keeping pork tender has gotten more complicated since breeders bred the fat out of pigs during the fat scare of the 80s caused pork sales to dwindle.  As a result, common cooking methods began to yield dry, tough meat that didn't taste of much.  I hate the lemming-like way people respond to public health scares.  There is nothing wrong with reducing the overall fat in your diet, but ruining the quality of a product is not the way to do it.  Nevertheless, I am stuck either figuring out ways to cook the rib chops that Jim loves, or spending a fortune on mail order heritage chops, and that is not going to happen any time soon.

When you don't have fat to help retain moisture in meat, then salt makes a pretty good substitute.  As does buying chops on the bone, which helps protect the meat from high temperatures.  With bone-in chops, I like to "dry brine", which consists of liberally salting the chops on both sides and letting them rest on the counter for about an hour.

osmosis first draws water out of the chops, then

draws it back in where the salt both flavors the meat and 

helps retain the moisture during cooking

After the chops have been brined for an hour, excess salt can just be dabbed away before cooking.  Earlier this year I tried a Cook's Illustrated technique that recommended cooking the chops low and slow, and searing them off at the end to get color.  I couldn't detect any difference, so I am back to browning first, then building a sauce right in the pan and simmering the chops over low heat until they are done.  Being careful not to overcook chops is the second trick for keeping the meat moist and tender.  Chops are done at 145 degrees, and perfectly safe to eat when there is still the barest hint of pink in the meat.

a light golden sear is all that is necessary when the chops

are going to be simmered in a dark sauce

For this preparation, I started with mushrooms, sliced shallots, minced garlic, Madeira, and a demiglace.  If you don't have demiglace, beef or chicken broth will work fine.  I love these little packets of demiglace because they add wonderful body to sauces, don't take up much room in the pantry, and once they are opened, they freeze wonderfully.  I use the veal, chicken, mushroom, and seafood.

yes, I was going to add broccoli to this dish, and no,

it didn't make it in--I found it the next morning in a bowl in

the microwave, where I was going to blanch it before I added it to the sauce

After searing the chops, I removed them from the pan, added a small knob of butter, and sauteed the mushrooms and shallots until they gave up some of their moisture and began to brown.  Then I added the minced garlic for about 30 seconds, just to release its fragrance.  Garlic is very easy to burn.  I then added about a half a teaspoon of thyme and deglazed the pan with about a half a cup of the Madeira, which adds a fantastic flavor to sauces.  I then added a cup or so of water, and a spoonful of the demiglace.

mushrooms take about 5 minutes over medium heat to 

release their moisture and begin to brown

once the sauce is built, the chops go back in and 

simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes

An instant-read thermometer is a great way to make sure the chops don't go above 145 degrees.  Since this is a heart dish, I thought it would pair nicely with whole wheat noodles, but mashed potatoes would be great, too.

the chops, garnished with some sliced green onion,

were tender and moist

Wish I had gotten the broccoli in there, but it was out of sight, and I was out of my mind to put it in the microwave before I was ready to cook it.