Grilled Pork Chops with Sautéed Apples, Onion Rings and Mustard Greens

I watched Elizabeth Falkner on "The Best Thing I Ever Made - Grilled". Her recipe was Grilled Pork Chops with Sautéed Apples, Onion Rings and Mustard Greens. I have to admit that I am not a big pork chops fan because  unless you brine the chops they always seem to be tough. So when I watched her recipe and she swore you could get the same effect as a brined chop with a nice dry rub I had to try her method. A bone in chop with applesauce is wonderfully delicious if done right.

The verdict - Love this dish. However be warned knowing how to make onion rings that taste like this is dangerous to your waistline ....omg who knew you could make these at home !  I will be making this recipe again very soon.

These chops would also be delicious with the apples Tyler Florence makes with his double thick pork chops.

Ingredients
Chops:
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon pimenton
4 whole cloves
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
3 bone-in center-cut pork chops (10 to 12 ounces each)
Sauteed Apples:
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 whole star anise
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons brandy
Salt
Onion Rings:
2 cups canola oil, for frying
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
A few grinds of black pepper
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large yellow onion, sliced into 1/2-inch rings and separated
Mustard greens, for serving
To cook the pork chops: Grind all the spices together with the sugar and rub all over the pork chops. Set aside for 30 minutes to an hour at room temperature.

Preheat the grill on high or heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat on the stovetop and preheat the oven to 375 degrees (Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan if cooking in cast iron).

Cook the pork on one side for 4 to 5 minutes on the grill or in cast iron. Flip over and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes on the grill; if cooking in cast iron, flip the chop and transfer to the oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

To cook the sauteed apples: In a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar, 1 tablespoon water and a drop of lemon juice. Cook until sugar caramelizes to golden brown. Turn off the heat and add the apple slices and star anise. Return the pan to medium-high heat, stir in the butter and remaining lemon juice. Sauté, stirring, for 2 minutes, adding the brandy in the last minute of cooking with a pinch of salt. Simmer briefly to burn off the alcohol and thicken the caramel. Set aside.

To cook the onion rings: Bring the canola oil to 360 degrees F in a large pot. Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour the buttermilk into a shallow dish or bowl. Dip the onion rings in the flour mixture to dredge, shaking off any excess. Dip in the buttermilk to coat, and then back into the flour mixture. Shake off any excess flour. Working in batches, fry the rings until light golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

Serve the pork chops with the sauteed apples, onion rings and mustard greens.

Top It, Wrap It, Grill It

Cooking in parchment paper is known as cooking “en papellote”. The paper seals the food so it cooks in its own juices. Cooking en papellote most commonly involves fish and vegetables but can be used for almost any food; meat, fish and even pasta.

Cooking fish on cedar planks adds a subtle aromatic flavor to the fish.

Combine these two techniques and you have “Gourmet Cedar Wraps”. Brilliant!

I bought some “Gourmet Cedar Wraps” at Whole Foods. A package of 8 wraps cost $7.99. Not cheap but definitely worth it for an occasional delicious healthy salmon dinner. They also sell these everywhere now; Wal-Mart, CVS, Amazon so shop around.

The smoke from the cedar adds flavor while the moisture from the pre-soaked paper helps the salmon stay moist and tender. I cooked these on the gill but you can cook them in the oven with great results.

Serves 2 (easy to double or even triple)

2 sheets cedar paper

2 center-cut salmon filets (pin bones removed)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon water * see note below

Lightly sautéed vegetables (zucchini and yellow summer squash…optional)

Fresh rosemary (optional)

Pre-heat a gas grill with all burners set to high for about 15 minutes. You are looking for a temperature of  400 degrees if you have a thermostat. If you are cooking in an oven preheat on bake to 400 degrees.

Soak the sheets of cedar paper and the string in water for about 20 minutes.

While the paper is soaking prepare a glaze for the salmon. Cook’s illustrated suggests a spicy mustard glaze for grilled salmon. The glaze is made by combining 1 part dry mustard with an equal amount of sugar and a little water to form a thick paste. I varied this a little by using brown sugar and a little honey in place of the white sugar but Cooks illustrated is pretty fail proof.

Place the salmon on the wet paper, brush with a little olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the mustard glaze. I then added some zucchini and yellow summer squash that I  lightly sautéed in olive oil and  I topped it with a sprig of fresh rosemary. Use what you have, what you like, or nothing more at all. It’s that flexible. Fresh lemons perhaps, green onions ….. It’s up to you.

Tie the cedar paper and place on the grill or in the oven. Close the cover of the grill and let cook for about 15 minutes. Do not place directly over a flame.

Husband’s reaction: “You could serve these to anyone!” 

Grilled Lamb Chops with Garlic and Rosemary

You can cook these  lamb chops with or without the bone.   Trim the excess fat from the chop and then cut around the bone to remove it. Once the bone is removed pull the chop into a round shape and use a rosemary sprig  as a skewer. Remove the leaves from most of the rosemary sprig leaving some leaves on the end. I used my instant read meat thermometer to make a hole in the chop and then inserted the sprig through the hole.

8 sprigs of rosemary
8 loin lamb chops
2 teaspoons pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balamic vinegar

Bone and skewer chops as described above.

Combine the salt, pepper, oil, vinegar and garlic and apply to both sides of the chops. Grill 3-5 minutes a side.

Perfect Barbecue Chicken

Cooking with Indirect Heat

The best way to make great barbecue chicken on the grill is to use indirect heat. Learning to use indirect heat is really just learning to control the temperature of your grill. Think of your grill as an oven. I cook on a gas grill but you can easily adapt this to charcoal. Once you learn to cook with indirect heat you’ll love it!

To cook over indirect heat, you heat one side of the grill and use the other side of the grill for the food. You place the chicken on the flameless side,  close the cover and you let the heat and smoke cook the food. While direct heat is great for grilling steaks, hamburgers and hot dogs, when it comes to barbecue chicken, indirect heat is the solution to perfectly cooked, moist and delicious chicken.

Let’s get started!

You need two things to cook using the indirect heat method on a gas grill: (1) more than one burner and (2) a cover for the grill.( ....and chicken, of course).

Turn all the burners of the grill on high, close the cover and let the grill get very hot.

Oil the grill so the chicken won’t stick.

Turn the burner(s) on one side of the grill completely off. Set the burner(s) on the other side to medium high.
(You are looking for a grill temperature of about 300-325 degrees.)

Place the seasoned chicken skin side up on the cooler side of the grill, close the cover and let cook for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes turn the chicken over and continue to cook for another 20 minutes. (Do this for as long as it takes, you might need another 20 minutes depending upon the size of your chicken and the temperature of the grill)

You should have a beautiful crisped skin on your chicken at this point.

With the chicken still on the cooler side of the grill raise the temperature a little and liberally apply sauce to both sides of the chicken basting a few times  and let cook until your sauce develops a beautiful caramelization ( 15 minutes or so) Remove from the heat and let the chicken rest for ten minutes. Serve with additional sauce on the side.


Your chicken is perfectly cooked. Moist, delicious, sticky beautiful barbecued chicken!

 Finger lickin good.

adapted from everyday food

Vegetable oil, for grates
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Chicken (about 3 pounds)
Simple Barbecue Sauce




Directions

Prepare the grill as described above. In a small bowl, combine chili powder, 1 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; sprinkle over chicken. Reserve  at least 1 cup barbecue sauce in a bowl for serving.( I had leftovers) Keep remaining sauce in another bowl for basting.

Grill chicken, as descibed above and serve with  additional sauce on the side.



Sauce

Makes 3 1/2 Cups


1 bottle (24 ounces) ketchup (about 3 cups)

1 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 cup water

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon mustard powder

1 tablespoon  garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4  teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and simmer until sauce is thickened and reduced by a third, about 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before using. (To store, refrigerate, up to 2 weeks.)