Chilean Pork Soak

So this is a two-parter, to include my own delicious take on a Chilean-style pork soak (read: marinade) and then my twice cooked oven potatoes...which are a recent mistake gone right in my kitchen!

Often if you look up a Chilean rub or marinade, be it for chicken, pork or what have you, there are about 45 ingredients listed. I tried making one of these two weeks ago and wound up pouring it all out before the meat ever touched it as I found it nauseating. So, I sort of chose the key ingredients, added something on my own and came up with this delightful 'soak' as I call it. I think it would work for chicken, but for me, the flavors lend themselves to pork like it was meant to be...so I opted for thick, bone-in pork chops.

The morning you plan to make your chops, place them in a sealed container with the following: 3 cloves crushed garlic, few splashes of tabasco (more or less depends on you), two pinches of salt (I used freshly ground pink Himalayan), 1/3 cup lime juice, 1/3 cup OJ and then 1 tsp cumin. As usual, my idiot savant-ness in the kitchen means that I am estimating these measurements since I don't believe in them....but this my best guess. Now you pop this in the fridge and forget about it until it is time to slap the chops on the grill. When you first place them on the heated grill, sear both sides (about a minute or two each side) and then let them cook on a lower flame for another 5 minutes or less each side...you want the thermometer to read 150 - no higher!  Then, as always, remove and let them sit under foil for 5 minutes. The pork should have great flavor and be moist...no need for sauces to dress this up.

I have since perfected the potato cooking time and they
are coming out crispier! (10 minutes is better than 5.)

As for the potatoes, you want to dice them up (shown size is above) and then put them in a pyrex dish with olive oil, salt, pepper, a little thyme and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Cook these for close to 45-60 minutes at 350. Once the liquid starts to really bubble and the potatoes are softening with just a little browning, pull them out and set them aside. Get a cast iron skillet (or a frying pan) and turn the heat to high, coating the pan with just a little PAM. Next you want to dump the potatoes and the remaining liquid (probably very little at this point anyway) into the skillet/pan. Now you stir these around for 7-10 minutes and watch as they develop a heavenly, crisp exterior. You want the insides to remain soft though, so be careful of how hot they get and make sure to keep flipping them every which way while they cook. 

Served with a salad and dijon vinaigrette. 

- Melissa

Grapefruit & Garlic Brined Pork Chops

Admittedly, I sort of stole this concept from an episode of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" but I figured I could explain how it worked out in real life...which was best described as good, but a lesson learned in the process.

So, for the brine: just 1 part olive oil, 1 part ruby red grapefruit juice (bottled works, though fresh squeezed is better) and about 2 minced cloves of garlic. You need enough to cover the entire piece of meat you are brining, so be sure to increase incrementally to accomplish this, and then let it sit in a covered container or ziploc bag for at least 8 hours in the fridge. When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to bake at 375 and then place the chops on either a cookie sheet or a grilling pan - both of which you'll need to spray with a little Pam to prevent sticking. Next, brush some of the brine liquid over the tops and add a little freshly ground pepper. Now I was working with bone-in pork chops, about 1/2" thick, so the cooking time was 30 minutes, give or take how your oven runs.

The finished product was moist and garlicky, though not as fruity as I'd anticipated, which was ok, but if you are looking for more sweetness, feel free to add more juice to the original brine. The thing that I realized as I ate though was the potential the brine mix could have....if paired with a pork tenderloin, which is meatier than a chop and often has a bit less fat, plus then it could be topped with some fresh apple chutney. MMMMM. However, this is not what I made for dinner....this time.

So we ate the chops, which were good but lacking a little due to the cut, and served it with some simple cut wax & green beans and stuffing. So the take away from this is a good brine mix that can offer up some new flavor for pork.

- Melissa