Cider-Cured Pork Chops

I'm getting a little nervous..... I cooked the last two packets of pork chops from my pig to make this recipe, and for Easter had the next to the last of the hams. I have a few more packages of smoked hocks and some of the sausages I've been making (and inhaling since I went on the Atkins diet) left, but it's looking a bit grim. Looks like it's time to sign up for another pig from my rancher friend, Mary Pettis Sarley (barngoddess@dishmail.net)

This recipe, from the now defunct 42 Degrees Restaurant in San Francisco, is a super fine way to cook a pork chop. Brining, which brings flavor deep inside the cells of the meat, also keeps the meat very moist during cooking. This cooking technique became very popular in the 1990's, as farmers bred pigs to be very lean in an effort to continue to keep pork popular as the anti-animal fat diet movement ramped up. Brining ensured that this super lean meat didn't turn into a piece of cardboard in the frying pan. Mind you, moistness and fat are not an issue in the super-delicious Duroc breed of pigs I buy from Mary. However, this recipe delivers such deep, rich flavor, a caramelized surface, and of course, guaranteed moistness, that it's worth using it even when you have top quality meat. Oh, baby. A fine way to honor the last offerings of a delicious pig!

42 DEGREES CIDER-CURED PORK CHOPS

Ingredients:
4 Center cut pork loin chops, 1 1/4-1/1/2 inches thick (bone in or not)
Olive Oil

Brine:
4 cups water
2 cups hard cider
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
10 whole peppercorns
4 bay leaves
1/2 bunch fresh thyme
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 apple, peeled and chopped

To make the brine: Combine all the brine ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a full boil over high heat, then remove from heat and let cool. When cool, refrigerate until cold. (If you put meat in warm brine, they will absorb too much of the salt.)

In a large glass or stainless steel container with a lid, add the pork chops to the cold brine. Weigh down the meat with a plate if necessary to keep the chops completely submerged. Refrigerate for at least one, up to two days.

To cook: Remove the chops from the brine and pat them dry, and allow them to come to room temperature. Discard the brine. Heat 2 heavy skillets (preferably cast iron) over moderately high heat. Add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the skillets. When the skillets are hot, add the chops and reduce heat to moderately low. Cook for about 10 minutes (meat should show caramelization), then turn and cook until the chops are no longer very pink at the bone, about 10 more minutes. Turn again as needed. If you have a digital meat thermometer, test the meat in several spots, especially near the bone. An internal temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal. Remove from heat, and enjoy!

To drink: delicious with the rest of the hard cider, a bottle of Prosecco, or a nice Riesling.

Side dishes: oven baked sweet potato fries would be mighty fine!

Lard. Yes, that's right, LARD.

If you read my earlier post called "The Whole Hog, Around the Pig in 80 Ways" you know how much healthier pig fat (from a sustainably, humanely raised pig, of course) is for you than most of us have been led to believe. Lard is a wonderful ingredient which has been much maligned. If the animal has been raised on a healthy diet, and the fat has not been hydrogenated, it actually has a much healthier profile than you might expect.

Somehow, we all got sold a bill of goods a few decades back; that lard was unhealthy and "it was so much healthier for us to use vegetable shortening." Vegetable shortening, where liquid vegetable oil has hydrogen added to it to make it solid at room temperature, is what we now call TRANS FAT - a truly evil substance, which seeks out good fat in the body, bonds it with its rogue hydrogen atoms, and turns good fat bad. I am sorry to report that the blocks of pure white lard (aka manteca) you find on the shelves of grocery stores have also been hydrogenated to make them shelf-stable. This is NOT the lard I'm talking about today.

Sausage king Bruce Aidells wrote eloquently on the subject in his Complete Book of Pork; "The saturated fat in lard contains about one third of stearic acid,, which may have a beneficial effect on cholesterol, and it helps to relax blood vessels. Lard, which is 40% unsaturated, belongs in the high oleic group, which has a similar lipid profile to olive oil..."

Now, as you know, I bought not one, but TWO whole pigs this year. (From Mary Pettis Sarley of Napa; wingedspan@earthlink.net) After they cut, smoked, ground, cured and wrapped the meat for us at Bud's in Penngrove, I was left with many packages of frozen fat. I have given a few of them away, but I still have many more left. For some unknown reason, I have never been given any of the "leaf fat" the pure white substance that cushions the kidneys and has little or no connective tissue binding it together. What I have are squares of fat from under the skin, bound together with a web of connective tissue. To get the fat into a more useful state, you must "render" it. Rendering consists of cutting the fat into smaller pieces, then cooking it a low temperature in the oven until the fat and connective tissue separate, and the water evaporates. It takes very little effort, and when you are done, you have a wonderful fat to use in pie crusts, biscuits, frying, and the like - anywhere you would use shortening. You also get "cracklings;" little, crispy bacon-bit kind of things that perk up your corn bread in a very tasty way, or are yummy garnishing a salad.

Let's get right to it, shall we? We'll render some lard, and then later on, I'll give you some good pie crust recipes.


Rendering Lard

6 pounds pork back fat, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Makes about 3 quarts

1. Preheat oven to 300 F
2. Put the cubed fat in a large pot or Dutch oven, making sure it's no more than 1/2 full. Slip it into the oven and bake until the fat begins to melt. Stir the mixture and continue to stir every 45 minutes until the cracklings brown and float to the top. It may take up to 4 hours to render the lard. Strain the lard through clean cheese cloth into a clean container, squeezing the liquid out of the solids, and ladle it into canning jars. When the jars have cooled, cover them and refrigerate. Lard will keep in the refrigerator for 6 months. If you wish to keep it longer (I do) cool it well, then put it into a container which can be frozen. It will keep for a long time in the freezer.
3. You can season the cracklings with salt with cayenne, five spice powder, paprika, black pepper, or the spice mix of your choice. I did not the first time, but I sure will next time!