Let’s Cook–Brined Pork Chops

I have written of a few of my kitchen mishaps, and now I have one to share that comes from Barb Kahl of Greenfield, Illinois. She tells of one experience with making her own jelly. “Having a variety of berries in my freezer, I decided to throw them all together and make Very Berry Jelly. I sent my husband out to the garage to get the berries. He told me he found a package of blueberries in the freezer and did I want them in the jelly. We decided to leave them in the freezer. My berries were frozen with no liquid so we put them in a big pan and put a little water on them. When I stirred them I thought I had too much water, so I told Ed to go out to get the blueberries and we threw them in. Next time I stirred it, I found out it wasn’t blueberries, it was red cabbage! I went on and made 6 batches of jelly and it was the best jelly I ever made! My family, friends and neighbors  all loved it.”

     Barb, I am so glad your jelly turned out so well in spite of the cabbage! I wonder if you told people there was cabbage in the jelly before or after they tried it….Thank you so much for sharing this story.

     I recently tried a new recipe for Brined pork chops that turned out pretty good. When I made this, I halved the recipe as I was only fixing two pork chops, and it was plenty of brine. This recipe calls for bone in pork chops.

1 gallon water

1 cup kosher salt

1 cup brown sugar

1 c. garlic cloves, smashed

1/4 cup whole peppercorns

4 bay leaves

4 sprigs fresh thyme

butter, at room temperature

     In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients except the butter .Bring to a boil, cook for 10 minutes uncovered. Let cool to room temperature. Place pork chops in a large plastic bag or bowl. Add the brine. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours up to 24 hours.

     Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place a cast iron skillet (or oven proof skillet) in the oven to get very hot. Place skillet on stove over medium heat, sear pork chops both sides until a medium to crust forms. Place in the oven for 8 to 0 minutes until the meat thermometer reaches 145 degrees. Place butter on hot chops, spread evenly. Let rest for 8 to 10 minutes.

     The above recipe does call for a lot of garlic. I did not have enough garlic on hand, so I used about half of what it called for. Because I did that, I mixed some garlic powder into the butter before basting the chops. The pork chops had a nice flavor with a touch of sweetness. This won’t be my favorite way to fix chops, but it is nice for a change from my usual recipes.

     If you have a recipe or funny story to share, please send it to letscook!@heraldpubs.com or mail to Mascoutah Herald, PO Box C, Mascoutah IL 62258. Thanks and as always, Happy Cooking!