Pan Roasted Pork Chop with Succotash
There are a lot of great cuts of pork, but perhaps the most common (other than bacon) is the pork chop. Over the past several years, the pork council as done a great job marketing the other white mean and I'm seeing chops served across the gambit from the most inexpensive restaurants, up to the Michelin Star places. And there’s a good reason…they are quite tasty, and work really well with a ton of other ingredients and flavors. In this video, I show you how to make a Pan Roasted Pork Chop with a Pea, Corn and Potato Succotash. Sound good? It's not...it's great! I’ll also show you how to do a quick pan sauce with figs, olives, and a little pinot noir, that seems complicated, but is actually quite simple. The pork, which has a fairly mild flavor, and lean meat, goes great with the flavors and textures of the vegetables, and the sauce, which provides a great salty, sweet accent. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Recipe Overview and Keys to Success
To make the best Pork Chops, make sure you do these few things:- Brine the pork chops. Brining imparts moisture and flavor and makes the meat more tender. If you have the time, you should definitely do it for 5 - 8 hrs
- Don’t overcook the pork. The days of 160 degree internal temperatures are over. Pork is cleaner now, and a medium, or med-well pork chop is perfectly fine – in addition to more tender and moist
- Don’t overcook the vegetables in the succotash. They need to be just cooked through to maintain their integrity, texture and flavor. Make sure you taste and season as you go. For more tips head over to the succotash page.
RECIPE FOR PORK CHOP WITH SUCCOTASH
Ingredients (for 2 - 3 servings)- 2 Pork chops
- 5 – 6 figs, cut into quarters
- 7 – 9 black olives, pitted and cut in half
- 1/4 cup of red wine
- 3 diced shallots
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 1 ear of corn, cut off the cob
- 1/3 cup of frozen peas
- 1 yukon gold potato diced into 1 inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons butter
- Blanch the Potatoes off until they are just tender. Shock them in cold water to stop the cooking process, and set them aside to wait for the succotash
- Allow the pork chops to come up to room temperature and season both sides with salt and pepper
- Heat a large sauté pan over high heat, and coat the bottom of the pan in olive oil
- Once just smoking, add the pork chops to sear; double cut chops can go for about 5 minutes on each side
- After starting the pork, start heating another sauté pan to use for the succotash
- After the pork has seared on one side, turn over and sear on the other side for 5 minutes
- In the pan for the succotash, add some olive oil to the pan, then 2/3 of the diced shallot & garlic and all the corn. Season with salt and pepper
- Look for the shallots to just soften (about 2 minutes) then add the cooked potatoes, peas, and thyme; turn the heat up to high. Season with salt and pepper
- Allow everything to come up to temperature, then add the chicken stock
- Let the chicken stock boil until reduced by about half
- Turn off the heat and add half the butter; stir to combine
- Taste the succotash and adjust the seasoning (salt and pepper) if needed - Once done the Succotash can hold on the lowest heat for 10 minutes while you finish everything else
- When the second side of the pork chop has seared, and about 5 minutes have gone by, it should be about medium. Remove from the pan and put into a 200 degree oven to rest, covered in foil
- In the pan you just cooked the pork in, add the rest of the shallots and garlic, and deglaze with the red wine
- Allow the wine to reduce by half, then add the chicken stock, figs, and olive
- Allow the liquid to reduce by half again, and taste. Adjust seasoning if needed
- Turn the heat off the sauce, and add the rest of the butter. Stir it into the sauce until glossy
Everything’s cooked, so lets serve it up. Lay the succotash on the plate with the pork chop directly on top. Spoon the sauce around and serve.
Wine Recommendation: I love a good bottle on Pinot Noir with this pork chop recipe. The meat and wine pair well naturally, and then the fruitiness of the fig, and earthy/salty olives help to set off the fruit and spice that in a pinot. I think you can go for pretty rich Pinot for this recipe, one of the Russian River Valley in Sonoma would be excellent.
Comments (4 )