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21 April 2010
Posted in
4) Spring Health, Naturally
Grilled Pork Chop, Barley Risotto & Whiskey Apple Sauce
Chef Graeme Ruppel, Brooklyn Warehouse
This dish goes nicely with fresh greens in the summer and roasted root vegetables in the winter. Please see “Important Sustainable Ideas From This Dish” following this recipe.
Ingredients:
- 2 Pork Chops, Bone-in
- 1L Water
- 1/4 cup Salt
- 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Pearl Barley
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 small Yellow Onion
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 tbsp Chopped Thyme Leaves
- 1 Tart Apple
- 1 cup Apple Juice
- 1 splash Whiskey
Step 1 – Pork Brine
- Place pork chops in a bowl or container just large enough to fit them snugly.
- Dissolve salt and brown sugar in water. This brine should taste rather salty.
- Pour brine over pork chops, making sure they are fully submerged.
- Cover container & allow to brine for 4 to 24 hours.
Step 2 – Whiskey Apple Sauce
- Roughly chop the apple and place in a small sauce pot with the apple juice.
- Bring apple juice up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Cook until the apple is very tender. Allow to cool a bit and then puree the apple (A hand blender works well, but whatever you've got handy should do).
- Finish sauce with the whiskey to your taste.
Step 3 – Barley Risotto
- Rinse the Barley thoroughly under cold running water.
- Heat a pot of water to a simmer, add the bay leaves and season the water ith salt and pepper. Keep water at a simmer.
- Cut onions into small dice and mince the garlic.
- Saute onions and garlic in the butter. Do this in a pot large enough to accomodate the barley.
- Add rinsed Barley to the onions and garlic. Toast the barley until aromatic.
- Add enough of the seasoned water to just cover the barley, and reduce to a medium heat.
- Continue adding water to the barley as needed, stirring every few minutes. It will take about 35-45 minutes to cook the barley.
- When the barley is nearly done, add the thyme.
- When finished, the barley should have a saucy consistency. If too wet, cook the barley over a high heat, stirring, until some of the moisture cooks out.
- Season with salt and pepper.
Final Preparation & Cooking – Pork Chops
- Remove the pork chops from the brine and pat dry.
- Preheat a frying pan over high heat, add a bit off your favourite cooking oil, and then add the pork chops.
- Turn heat down to medium and allow chops to brown thoroughly on the first side.
- Turn the chops over, and allow to cook until browned on that side.
- If you have particulary thick pork chops, you may need to finish them in the oven, but they should be ready after a few minutes resting at this point.
Important Sustainable Ideas From This Dish
- How Animals Were Raised: When purchasing pork, or any meat, be sure to find out about its raising: Pasture fed? Free Range? Antibiotics and Hormones?
- Heritage Breeds: When possible, also look for heritage breeds. These breeds where developed before modern factory farming techniques came around, and are better suited to the semi-wild life of pasture feeding. Also, they are quite interesting in there differences. Try comparing the bacon from a breed raised in Northern England, against one from Spain. The difference in meat/fat ratio is quite high.
- Barley, One of the Earliest Cultivated Grains: Grains offer an excellent return on investment in food energy gained from resources expended. And the hardy grains store well for long periods of time.
- Preservation Techniques: Reducing waste by preserving foods. While the apple sauce recipe here is only written for 2 people, it is very easy to expand. Purchase a couple cases of apples at harvest time, when they will be cheapest, make a big batch of sauce, and either freeze or can it to enjoy over the winter. The brining of the pork chops is the simplest introduction to charcuterie. After that, curing your own bacons or hams is the next step. Then all the other bits of the animal. After all: waste not, want not.
Have a good day,
Graeme Ruppel
Chef
Brooklyn Warehouse
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