Roast Pork Chops With Bell Pepper And Vinegar Sauce
Serves 4
You will not believe how delicious this combination of roasted pork chops and sautéed peppers is (tasting panel LOVED the peppers). And what you really won’t believe is the surprising wine match of the month, don’t worry about the vinegar – but isn’t that why you’re At WGWW in the first place!
You’ll Need:
4 (12-oz., 1 ½ inch thick) bone-in rib loin pork chops.
Woody’s note – Be sure to buy the correct cut of chops and get a uniform thickness so they will all cook evenly. I’d even be so bold as to try these on the grill. Set up an indirect fire so you can brown them off a bit and then move them to the cool side of the grill to roast. Use your remote thermometer.
1 ½ cups each Kosher salt (or 3/4 cup table salt) and sugar
2 Tlbs olive oil
½ tsp ground black pepper
Peppers and Vinegar
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 anchovy fillets, minced or 2 tsp of anchovy paste
1 medium red and yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into ½ inch dice
1 sprig fresh rosemary or ½ tsp of dried
½ cup white wine vinegar
Here’s What To Do:
Dissolve salt and sugar in 3 quarts water. Submerge the chops in the brine and refrigerate until fully seasoned – 1 hour. Remove chops from brine, rinse and thoroughly dry with paper towels.
Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position, place a shallow roasting pan or rimmed baking pan on the rack, and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Heat the oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over high heat until shimmering, but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Swirl the skillet to coat evenly with oil. Sprinkle the both sides of the chops with pepper and place them in skillet. Cook until well browned and a nice crust has formed on surface, about 3 minutes. Turn the chops over with tongs and cook until well browned and a nice crust formed on second side, about 3 minutes longer.
Transfer chops to the preheated pan in oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chop registers 125 to 127 degrees, 8-10 minutes, turning chops over halfway through the cooking time. Set chops aside and cover with foil, while you finish the peppers.
As soon as you place the chops in oven, return the skillet to medium-high heat, add the garlic, anchovies, peppers, and rosemary and cook until peppers begin to soften, about 4-5 minutes. Add a ½ cup of water and the vinegar and bring to boil, stirring and scraping any browned bits from the pan bottom. Cook until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 6 minutes. Add another ½ cup of water and cook until the mixture is syrupy, 3- 4 minutes. Remove and discard the rosemary sprig.
Check the temperature of the chops and make sure they haven’t yet reached the 145 degree range, if not add them to the pan and simmer, turning the chops once, until heated through to the desired 145 degrees, about 2 minutes, do not over cook. To serve, spoon some of the peppers onto the plate and then place the chop on top.
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What Goes With What Wines Selections
Gabbiano Pinot Grigio ’06 Tuscany (Pinot_Gris)
A fairly straight ahead Pinot Grigio with a floral note and flavors of pear and honeydew melon. R87 $8.99
http://www.gabbiano.com
Marco Felluga Bianco ’06 Collio, IT. (Pinot_Gris)
On the other hand this is the surprise wine of the month match and it’s a blend of three grapes that you’ve never heard of and shouldn’t worry about. Your mind will be telling you that you want a red wine with this dish until you taste the Bianco.
The wine has a lively, lush mouth feel, with crisp fresh fruit and is well balanced.
You really will not believe how well this wine compliments the pork, peppers and vinegar flavors. R91 $19.99
http://www.marcofelluga.it