Garlic-brined Heritage Pork Chop with Red Onion-Apple Salsa (special diet)
Kristina from GirlGoneGrits.com recently reached out to local food bloggers for help in coming up with recipes for the wife of a California gentleman who has been placed on an extremely restrictive diet.
Working from a very short list of allowed ingredients (i.e., chicken or pork but not halibut or tuna, only 45 grams of carbs/day and no dairy whatsoever), the challenge was to come up with something both highly flavorful and densely nutritional. Additionally, I wanted the recipe to be both easily sourced and fairly simple to follow..
Garlic-brined Heritage Pork Chop with Red Onion-Apple Salsa
For the Brine
1 oz (by weight) coarse sea salt
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 teaspoon dried oregano (Mexican if available)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin (freshly toasted and ground if practical)
1/4 teaspoon mesquite liquid smoke (optional)
2 cups filtered water
Place water into a saucepan and heat to a rapid boil. Remove from heat, add salt and stir until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients and allow to stand until completely cooled. Refrigerate until chilled.
For the Chops (allow 1 per person)
8 oz bone-in lean, center cut pork chop (I’m using my favorite Red Wattle chops from Farmhouse Delivery)
chilled brine
Trim chops of most cover fat (diet restriction) and place in a dish or zipper bag along with chilled brine. If chops are thin, refrigerate 2-3 hours. If thick, refrigerate 3-4 hours. In either case, turn chops over about halfway through the brining period. In addition to adding flavor, the brining process will cause the chops to take on as much as 15% water weight, helping to ensure a tender, moist product.
For the Salsa
2/3 cup cored (and optionally peeled) fresh apple, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1/3 cup red onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1/4 cup fresh tomato, cut into 1/2 inch dice (yellow heirlooms are especially nice)
1/2 small jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, torn
1-1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1 teaspoon raw cider vinegar
a pinch of sea salt and black pepper to taste
a pinch of unrefined sugar if needed (optional)
Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl, cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
To Prepare
Remove the chops from the brine and pat dry on all surfaces (don’t squeeze). Allow to stand while you prepare the heat source (outdoor grill or indoor grill pan [easiest]).
Sear meat over medium-high heat until well-marked, about 2-3 minutes per side. Stand chops on end and place in a 400 degree oven until just done (about 10 minutes for thick-cut chops). If using outdoor grill, stand chops on end away from flames, cover and finish until just done (the goal is to allow most of the remaining fat to render and drip away [diet restriction]).
Remove chops from heat and allow to stand a full 5 minutes before serving with the crisp and cool apple salsa.
Brendy said,
October 15, 2010 at 8:56 am
Ren, that is an awesome rendition of a diet restriction entree so appealing that I may attempt to prepare this meal for my husband!
Ren said,
October 15, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Thanks! I had this for dinner – it was pretty tasty!
Mike said,
November 14, 2010 at 10:34 pm
Hey Ren, thanks for this recipe. I would like to develop a couple flavor-infusing brines for chicken. Would you prepare brine for chicken the same way as in this pork recipe?
Could you throw out a couple ideas for a flavoring brine for chicken with South-American and/or Southwestern flavoring characteristics?
So far all I have been able to accomplish with my chicken brines is to makes the chicken too salty and sort of mushy and puffed up.
Maybe you can straighten me out
Ren said,
November 14, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Hi, Mike,
The single most important thing about a brine is the concentration, which should generally not exceed 5%.
Basic Brine (Ruhlman)
20 oz. water (2-1/2 cups)
1 oz kosher salt (about 2 tablespoons of Morton’s or equivalent; use a scale if you have one)
Combine the ingredients in a pan over high heat, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Remove from heat, allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.
Latin American Brine for Chicken (adapted from a recipe by M Ruhlman)
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
20 oz. water
1 oz kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lime, halved
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon aji mirasol or other favorite chili powder (home-ground is best)
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper, toasted
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, torn
Saute onion, garlic and salt in the oil over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add water, lime (squeezed into the pan), aji mirasol, sugar, bay, cumin and pepper and bring to a simmer, stirring until salt and sugar have dissolved. Remove from heat, add cilantro and allow to steep for 20 minutes.
Refrigerate until chilled, then pour into a clean container with a 3-4 pound whole chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry inside and out before grilling or roasting.