One night during our stay at Martha's Vineyard
we had dinner at the restaurant at the
infamous
"Resort"
Both the Boss and the SIL ordered the pork chop with blueberry glaze....
and they raved about it....
they both said it was the most moist pork chop they had ever eaten...
I am not a fan of pork chops....I find them dry and tasteless....
Butt is more my cup of tea....pork butt that is...
so I was intrigued....
So I did what all good cooks do.....I went right to the horse's mouth.....I put a call in to the head chef at the resort....
Hey......this works Folks.
he got right on the phone.....calling at an off time between lunch and dinner seem to
be the key....
and he was kind enough to go step by step with me on achieving moist pork chops....
and he even told me his secret in making the blueberry sauce....
I went to the butcher and got one very thick pork chop....about 2 inches thick....the butcher said to cook it until it was well done....
The chef's advise.......medium.
This is what the chef told me to do.....
Soak the pork chop in a brine made with ofcourse water and kosher salt.....add some sugar
fresh thyme and fresh garlic....he did not give me the amounts...so I winged it...
I did use a bit too much salt in the brine...I have a heavy hand with
Kosher salt....I love the stuff...
Soak for atleast 8 hours or better yet overnight....
Start cooking the chop on the grill but just until nice grill marks appear....
then transfer to the oven set on 350 degrees
until the meat thermometer registers 160 degrees.....about 15 minutes..
Chef said he feels the meat and knows when it's done....I did the same....
I lost my instant read thermometer in my junk drawer years ago...
As for the blueberry glaze....
he just takes veal stock and fresh or frozen blueberries and reduces that down to a sauce...
He told me I would not be able to achieve this as most home cooks can't make
a veal demi glace.....okay I trusted he was correct...
I did go to Williams Sonoma and they had said "demi glace"
$29.00 for a small jar....
the Boss would have to do without this....
and if you saw the recipe to make it your head would spin
Making the $29. price tag not so out of line....
So......
I simply added a bit of water and a little sugar to fresh blueberries... and cooked them off until they burst....
Making a lovely thick sauce...
He liked mine more then the chefs...saying it had more of a blueberry taste....
as you can see he asked for it on the asparagus also.....
A successful dinner and who says Chefs won't give up their secrets.....
Next time you have a great meal and you wonder how it was made try giving them
a call......
you might be as surprised as I was....
Bon Apetit!!
Bon Apetit!!
10 comments:
This looks delish. I made a similar dish with cranberries. I love that you called the chef. What did you have to eat at the restaurant?
Your Friend,
Deborah
Can I hire you?
You tell the boss - he is a VERY lucky man.
All the work you go through for your love of cooking.
This looked DELISH!
sandie with love.
Wow that looks fabulous! The Boss is a very lucky man! I love a good moist pork chop!
What a great idea. I have never tried brining my pork chops but now I have to try it. How much salt did you you use?
Now I am definately hungary and I love blueberries......really enjoy pork chops when they are tender. I make them with baked beans.....I cook them in the oven submerged in the baked beans and sauce.....they come out so tender and juicy.
Oh Sandra you are really thinking outside the box on this one. Lucky Boss.
Joyce
you were determined to get this down pat. calling the head chef.sounds like he was a good person to take time talking with you. the chops look good.
I'm terrible with pork chops - they always taste dry to me. I always figured I just didn't know how to cook them. I'll try this. You are right - I had too much time on my hands when I was messing with the cloche. I'll guarantee the kids weren't here that day! They have been here 3 days this week. Bob went to see his mother today, so I'm home alone to catch up. Yea! Have a great weekend. Sally
Thank you! I'll give it a try. (You know me--buying, of course, pork chops from a humanely-raised pig that had her own mudhole until the day she was taken out.)
It really does sound good and I do love your guts, Lady!
BTW, in one of our neighborhoods, years ago, the retired psychiatrist on the corner put a statue of a sea goddess on his front lawn. He painted on cherry red nipples and pubic hair. (And people went to HIM for therapy?!)
Post a Comment