Chile-Glazed Pork Chops with Fresh Tomatillo Sauce
- 4 bone-in pork chops, ideally 1 inch thick and 1/2 pound each
- 1 cup Red Chile Paste (page 100)
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- About 3 cups beer or water
- 1 cup Fresh Tomatillo Sauce (page 95)
- Slather both sides of the pork chops with the chile paste and place in a large resealable plastic bag.
- Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes (and up to a few hours).
- Leave a light coating of the chile paste on the pork chops and season with salt and pepper.
- Place a large, well-seasoned cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and add the olive oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the pork chops in a single layer and sear for 2 minutes on each side, or until the meat turns golden brown.
- Pour in enough beer to barely cover the chops.
- Cover the pan (top with a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the pan if yours does not have a lid) and decrease the heat to a simmer.
- Cook for 15 minutes.
- Turn the pork chops over and cook for another 15 minutes.
- Uncover the skillet and increase the heat to medium-high.
- Allow the liquid to reduce almost completely, flipping the pork chops over every few minutes to ensure that both sides become glazed with the reduced sauce.
- This should take about 10 minutes.
- Serve warm with tomatillo sauce.
- INGREDIENTS
- Pork Chops
- Because bone-in pork chops are more flavorful than boneless chops, I prefer them in this recipe.
- But feel free to use either one.
- I also like to use the thick cuts, but the thin ones also work well.
- Just make sure to decrease the braising time if you are using thin cuts because they will cook in less time.
- TECHNIQUES
- Braising the Pork Chop
- Braising is a technique used to tenderize tough cuts of meat.
- The meat is first seared to develop a nice golden crust, then simmered in a liquid to cook it through without drying it out.
- You will find variations of this technique throughout the meat recipes in this book, as Mexican cooking tends to use tougher (and tastier) cuts of meat.
- ADVANCE PREPARATION
- The red chile paste and tomatillo sauce can be made well in advance (up to 3 days before).
- Once the pork chops are braised, they can be held, covered, in a warm (250F) oven for about 1 hour before serving.
pork chops, red chile paste, salt, olive oil, water, fresh tomatillo sauce
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chile-glazed-pork-chops-with-fresh-tomatillo-sauce-380192 (may not work)