Sunday, September 8, 2013

Oktoberfest Pork Chops

I've posted these before, but hey, it's the season for it. Oktoberfest. An awesome time full of beer and food and dancing and silly music. Speaking of beer and food....Marshall's Oktoberfest is one of my favorites and it has a natural affinity for pork. So, lets brine some tasty chops with it!


Ingredients:
4 bone-in pork rib chops (1 to 1 1/4 inches thick)
2 cups of warm water
2 cups of cold oktoberfest/marzen beer (plus 1/4 cup for later use)
1/4 cup of kosher salt
1/4 cup of brown sugar
Fresh sage leaves
Fontina cheese (thin sliced)
2-4tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup of oktoberfest/marzen for deglazing
2tbs of butter
Juice of half a lemon
kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Yield: 4

As simple as it sounds….Put the rib chops in a large plastic bag. Mix the salt, sugar, and warm water in a bowl and mix well until the sugar and salt dissolved. Then add in the cold beer. The cold beer will obviously drop the temp and prevent it from cooking or raising the temp of the pork. Pour all over the pork. Seal and toss in the fridge for 4 hours. May need to flip the bag one time. Simple as that.

When done, take the chops out of the fridge. Rinse them off and pat them dry. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place a large cast iron skillet, or other oven proof skillet, on a burner on med-high.

Cut a small pocket in the chops and stuff them with the cheese and 1-2 leaves of fresh sage. Add olive oil into the pan. Sprinkle chops with a tad bit of salt and pepper on both sides. Pan sear one side for 2 minutes. Flip the chops over in the pan and place in oven. Continue cooking for another 5-6minutes.

When done, take out of the oven. Place chops on a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Put skillet back on stove. Deglaze with the beer and scrape bottom of the pan. Add in the butter and lemon juice. Let reduce a bit and pour over the pork chops. Serve with some wilted greens to be simple. Or maybe a big hunk of mashed taters to sop up those juices. 

Pair this dish with your favorite Oktoberfest brew.

2 comments:

  1. I tried this tonight. Pretty good.

    In aus we can really only get pork cutlets, not sure if exactly the same? If I had my time again,less salt in the brine, maybe a less rich cheese, and more sage in the pockets!

    Yummo either way!

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    Replies
    1. Hey Kevin! Glad you liked. As for chops and cutlets difference....cutlets are very thin and usually boneless here. Chops are generally large and thick like a steak. If you used cutlets with this brine, then I'd definitely do less salt and less time in the brine next time and see how that goes. If you try again, then definitely let me know the changes you've made! Cheers!

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