cornmeal crusted pork chops/brussels sprouts hash
This was an impromptu dinner thrown together with ingredients on hand and a couple supermarket pork chops. I usually steer clear of thick pork chops unless I’m dropping the cash for an heirloom hog- something with a little fat and flavor. The quick brine and cornmeal crust pack all the flavor one could ask for back into your chops and remember- even those prudes at the FDA gave a thumbs up to pork chops cooked medium.
ingredients (chops)
- 3-4 thick cut pork chops, 6-8 oz each
- instant cornmeal
- 1 egg
- flour for dredging- 1/2 cup or so
- seasoning salt- I like the one pictured
- 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
- vegetable oil for pan frying
- 1 tsp butter for frying
ingredients (hash)
- 12-18 whole Brussels sprouts
- 1 small onion
- few cloves garlic
- fresh herbs
- 1 tbsp butter/olive oil
- Crying Onion hot sauce
recipe
Sprinkle your chops with a little seasoning salt and honey/maple syrup. Recover and set aside to come up to room temperature 
while you work on your mise en place.
Rinse the sprouts, cut the stem off and slice them into discs. Don’t worry about the shape if your knife or knife skills are dull, we’re making a hash here. Dice the onion and mince the garlic and put everything in a bowl off to the side.
Set up a breading station for the chops- flour, egg wash (the egg mixed with a splash of milk or water) and corn meal. Season each stage with a bit of seasoning salt (and a few drops of hot sauce in the egg wash). I’ve had the best luck with the instant corn meal readily available pretty much everywhere. In the pictures it’s a mixture of the very last of my instant masa and some stone ground hominy I had one hand from making grits or polenta. The stone ground gives it an extra bite but maybe too much.
Bread the chops in the flour, then egg wash, then cornmeal.
Preheat two saute pans- one for pan frying the chops, the other for your hash. If you don’t like working two pans at once heat the oven to 300 and transfer the chops to a sheet pan as soon as they’re a little brown on both sides, dump your oil, wipe the pan and get started on hash.
Add enough vegetable oil to fully coat the bottom of the chops pan- more oil won’t necessarily hurt but will make things messier and harder to control the temperature. When it starts to shimmer add the bit of butter- the lower smoke point will aid in the browning. Sprinkle a little flour or corn meal into the pot. If nothing happens your pan is too cold, if they immediately fry hard and loud it’s too hot. Just right is gently bubbling and dancing on the surface.
Add your chops to the pan and fry on each side for about 3-5 minutes, until golden brown. Don’t mess with them too much- this will cool the pan and encourage the breading to come off. Instead make your hash.
Turn the hash pan up to high and add your oil/butter. Again the bit of butter is there to help everything brown. Add the sprouts, onions and garlic and toss, then let sit until the bottom begins to brown. Stir and repeat- what we’re going for here is the same as if you had a large flat top griddle to work on.
The chops should be ready when the hash is almost finish cooking. I’ve found them to be just over medium when the breading is dark brown and slightly crunchy on the outside- keep in mind this is after resting 5 minutes while I finish the hash and start plating. Going by internal temperature take them off at around 145 F.
The hash is ready when the vegetables are soft and lightly browned all over. 
Season with salt and pepper, add fresh herbs and hot sauce and plate. Put a hot pork chop on top and serve. I used the butternut squash soup mixed with hot sauce and maple syrup as the sauce.
butternut squash soup
A classic winter standby that couldn’t be easier to throw together provided you have an immersion blender- I can’t say enough great things about the basic Cuisinart model ($38 at amazon.com). Over six years mine has blended an Olympic swimming pool’s worth of sauces, soups, vinaigrettes and emulsions. A regular blender will also get the job done- in batches and with the risk of hot soup exploding everywhere.
I greatly recommend any of the fun options listed after the ingredients. This recipe is geared towards ease of shopping and preparation as well as being reasonably healthy- I use this recipe for our ready to heat meals. For catered events I’ll give it the superstar treatment- heavily reduced roasted poultry stock, copious half and half (or cream)…replacing the butter and olive with duck fat is just plain decadent.
Butternut squash soup takes well to freezing. The squash itself can be augmented or replaced by pretty much any root vegetables- stick to orange ones to keep the flavor on track. You’ll see this on menus in the fall as “golden soup”- it’s a great way to utilize any extra gourds that might be lying around as well as carrots that are no longer ‘salad crisp’.
ingredients
- 2 lbs total rough chopped butternut squash (with other vegetables optional)
- 1 large onion, julienned
- 3-8 cloves garlic
- 32 oz chicken stock
- half stick butter
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp dry herbs (thyme/Italian blend/oregano/etc)
- kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
optional add-ins- adobo sauce, curry powder, creamed corn, hot sauce, sour cream, grated cheese, pesto, braised shredded meat (duck, lamb, pork, beef)
variations- replace chicken stock with duck, lamb, beef or vegetable stock. Replace butter and olive oil with duck fat. Add 2 tbsp diced ginger to garlic and onions, add 1 tsp sesame oil before blending, replace 12 oz liquid with coconut milk.
recipe
Toss butternut squash (and/or other root vegetables) with a splash of olive oil and cook on grill pan or under broiler until lightly marked and slightly tender (they don’t need to be cooked until soft, this is for flavor). While the squash broils heat butter and olive oil in a heavy bottom pan. When shimmering add the garlic and onions and cook until soft. I usually add a pinch of kosher salt to help get them going. If you’re so inclined the onions and garlic can be taken down to a caramelized state to change things up.
When the onions and garlic have reached the desired level of softness turn the
heat up to high for 30 seconds and carefully add the stock, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to deglaze. Add the roasted squash and bring to a boil for 5-10 minutes, until the squash falls apart with a fork. Add another pinch of salt, several turns of cracked peppers, your dry herbs (fresh can discolor if blended in) and any other seasonings you might wish to add. Blend with immersion blender until smooth and return to heat for another 5-10 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. I like to blend it one more time for smoothness before serving or storing. When I’m feeling particularly French or get touched by 
madness I’ll strain the soup for bonus texture perfection but this is hardly necessary.
I added a little paprika for color + dried thyme
texture problems? If the soup is too thick add a little more stock/milk/cream/water and mix in. If it’s too thin harness the power of evaporation and reduce. I don’t have a standard thickness that I like- depending on the season or mood I might make it thick and hearty or smooth and silky.
serving. Garnishes: hot sauce, sour cream olive oil, pesto or herb oil, fresh grated cheese, fresh herb chiffonade. Serve with crusty bread to clean the bowl.
Heirloom tomato season is the most wonderful time of the year. Every Tuesday after the Lincoln Square Farmers Market I tend to overestimate the number of tomatoes one man can safely eat and then have the classic “Tomato Ticking Clock” conundrum on my hands. Pasta sauce would be nice but with the temperature wiltingly hot the last thing I want to do is stand over a simmering pot for a few hours. Salsa is the obvious answer- and this one works great as a dip with tortilla chips as well as a sauce for various kinds of Mexican or Tex-Mex.
Heirloom tomatoes have a much higher water content than your run of the mill supermarket tomato which leading scientists believe to be more closely related to Styrofoam packing peanuts. As a result they tend to produce a salsa that exudes a great deal of moisture, and thus requires a good deal of straining, particularly if you’re trying for a chunkier pico de gallo. This slightly charred salsa mellows out the bite of onion and garlic while still tasting fresh (not canned). 
Ingredients
- 2 quarts assorted heirloom tomatoes
- 2 medium onions (sweet, yellow or purple)
- 3-5 cloves garlic
- 3-5 limes
- large bunch cilantro (rough chopped)
- small can chipotles in adobo (choose your own level of heat)
- salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp organic tomato paste (optional, approximate)
Recipe
Start by preheating a heavy cast iron pan to white hot. It will take at least 10 minutes on high unless you have a commercial stove-top. Rinse your tomatoes and rough chop. Do the same with the onions and lightly mince the garlic. Since you’re going to be blending it there’s no need to spend a ton of time chopping things perfectly. Keep your onions and garlic separate or at least on top on the bowl- you want them to be the first to hit the pan.
When everything is ready to go pour the tomatoes, onions and garlic into the pan. If you don’t hear a lot of sizzle then pan wasn’t hot enough but you’ll still end up with a tasty salsa. I should emphasize that you are trying to burn a small portion of the ingredients, the same effect as if you’ve quickly marked large slices of tomatoes and onions on a very hot gas or charcoal grill and then made salsa with them.
Let the mixture cook without stirring for at least three minutes. By then there should be a little char on the bottom layer and the mixture should have started to simmer. Turn off the heat and stir until the mixture stops steaming. Transfer to a large bowl, add the cilantro and lime juice and a little bit of salt and pepper.
Using an immersion blender in small bursts slowly break down the larger pieces. Add chipotles and adobo sauce (the sauce has a much higher flavor to heat ratio than the peppers themselves) and be sure they’re blended thoroughly. If the sauce seem too loose or watery add the tomato paste and blend in. Do so with a little of the salsa in a separate bowl if you want a chunkier salsa. If you want a smooth salsa or only have a standard blender then by all means blend away at will.
Taste again for salt, cool and serve. With a cerveza or margarita or course.
T-Shirts
Crying Onion foodie t-shirts available: cryingonion.com/shirts
Categories
