Pork Chop Heaven

OK I think I found out the perfect cut of meat to make chops from. It isn't that dry bony white meat they sell at the store. I buy a pork tri tip and cut it into chops and I'll be damned if this isn't the best pork chop I've ever had. I'm sure the correct cut from the shoulder would be nice also. If you want a chop do it right and the white meat pork chops just plain old are lousy. I finally discover dark meat pork chop and they are 2x as good as the dry white things.

Here is how I cook um:

Take solid chunk of meat and cut it into chops with fillet knife, I use a very sharp fish fillet knife.

coat the chop with all your favorite seasonings :salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, parsley, etc, anything you like.

coat in flour then soak in milk

coat in panko/bread crumbs then fry in a hot oiled skillet.

Hopefully this helps someone get away from those dry white hockeypucks they call chops.

That sounds good, I'll have to try the recipe and the cut of meat.
Here's what I do with my chops. Get a thick cut, 1.25" or so for me, some might want a thicker cut. Make a narrow slit in the side and open up the inside of the chop. Then I stuff it with bacon and smoke gouda cheese and grill it. OH man is that good.

Sounds good.

Those white hockey pucks can be pretty damn good too though, long as they're not overcooked. We find they are much tastier when we pick them up from the butcher shop or farmers market than the ones we get from the grocery store.

+1 on a big thick chop

I think this should be linked to this thread.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/can-we-please-stop-posting-delicious-recipes/47247/page1/

You never had the "white hockey pucks" my grandmomma used to cook. She cooked them in a frying pan with BBQ sauce and made a red gravy to go on rice. She died in the mid 60s, both parents are dead and no one left knows how she did it. Did I tell you Nana was a saint?

I also had an aunt (who was my godmother) that had a hushpuppy recipe that was the bomb. She took the recipe to the grave too.

Well, all of the (tasty) fat hadn't been bred out of pork in the mid-60's. Pork is super-lean now. Thus, it has less flavor/texture.

Your grandmother probably let them simmer in that sauce/gravy for an hour or so so they were nice and tender/ready to fall apart.

I love me some pork.

It is safe to cook pork to a nice 130 these days, no need for 165.

gamby wrote: Your grandmother probably let them simmer in that sauce/gravy for an hour or so so they were nice and tender/ready to fall apart.

That she did my friend. I can close my eyes and taste them right now.

You also bring up a good point. It seems to me that steak and chicken tasted better back in the 60-70s. I attribute it to the additives, hormones, anitbiotics and breeding programs. An that dang frankenfood.

gamby wrote: Well, all of the (tasty) fat hadn't been bred out of pork in the mid-60's. Pork is super-lean now. Thus, it has less flavor/texture.

This.

On the plus side, trichinosis is no longer the very real threat it was back in those days when you not only COULD cook pork until it was very well done, you actually had to. These days you need to manage it a little more delicately, being careful not to overcook into that chalky dryness.

I have a go-to chop recipe that I believe came from a magazine years ago; works great for "today's" pork. Goes like this...

Season 4 medium-thick chops (3/4 inch) with salt, pepper, garlic and whatever herb rub you favor (I like fines herbes with this one). Now, here comes the weird part:

Plop 'em down in a non-stick pan coated with spray, fill pan to about 1/3 of the way up the chops with water (no E36 M3) and bring to a big simmer. Simmer, partially covered, until the water is evaporated, mebbe 20-25 minutes. Chops will start to brown/sizzle in the little bit of fat you managed to render with the water; turn up the heat and let 'em go for a couple minutes, then deglaze the pan with a quick few glugs of wine, sherry or vermouth (especially good), finish browning chops in that until it's reduced to a glaze on them. Serve and enjoy.

It's unconventional, but it works.

Margie

I just drop by the local franchise grocery store (Save-On-Foods), buy a three pack of chops, and always seem to be able to pan cook them (teenie bit of sauce I forget about off the top of my head) and they turn out delectable and moist everytime...

Having said all that, next time I actually eat a meal at home, I'm doing Margie's recipe. Even I CAN handle it

I have been slowly finding out that all of my friends don't like pork, more specifically pork chops. The main reason is because it's too dry when cooked.

All I can say to them is: "Do you guys not know how to cook pork?"

Growing up in a house of 9, poke chops browned and then have a can of Cream of Celery soup dumped on was a staple. Do not remove the grease! Do not add water to the condensed soup.

Pork Chop Heaven? Let me in.