Bone-In Grilled Pork Chops with Bacon Poached Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in pork chops (about 10 oz each)
- Salt
Bacon-Poached Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed
- 5 1/2 cups melted bacon fat and/or olive oil
- 2/3 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup heavy cream or half & half
- 2/3 cup chopped cooked bacon
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
- 2/3 cup bacon fat, warm
- Salt and ground black pepper
Sage Brown Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons chopped dried figs
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 cup marsala wine
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped sage
Directions
- Make the cider brine (below). Put the pork chops in a large resealable bag or a deep pan or baking dish. Pour the brine over (the pork chops should be submerged), seal the bag or cover the pan and refrigerate to brine for 4 to 6 hours.
- For the potatoes, preheat the oven to 375 F. Put the potatoes in a deep baking dish or pan and add the melted bacon fat and/or olive oil so the potatoes are just barely submerged. Bake until tender when pierced with a fork, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Drain the oil/fat from the potatoes, put the potatoes in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and mix at low speed to begin mashing them. Add the cream cheese, cream, bacon, and chives and mix to blend, then slowly pour in the bacon fat to emulsify. Season the potatoes to taste with salt and pepper. Be careful not to overmix the potatoes so they are not gummy. Transfer to a baking dish and keep warm in a low oven while cooking the pork chops.
- Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat.
- While the grill is heating, make the brown butter sauce. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the raisins, figs, shallot, and garlic, and continue cooking until the butter turns a light brown and smells nutty, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Take the skillet from the heat, add the marsala and very carefully flambé, lighting it with a long match. Return to medium heat and cook until the flames subside and it reduces a bit, about 1 minute. Take the skillet from the heat, add the sage and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl or stir to gently melt it into the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside and reheat very gently for serving.
- Remove the pork chops from the brine, rinse the brine off, and dry the chops with paper towels. Lightly season them with salt. Grill the chops until they are nicely browned on the surface and reach an internal temperature of 145 F, about 6 to 10 minutes per side, depending on the thickness.
- To serve, spoon the warm potatoes into the center of each plate, top with the pork chops, and spoon the sage brown butter sauce over.
Cider Brine
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 few sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 bay leaves
- 12 peppercorns
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 stick cinnamon
- 2 cups apple juice, warmed
- 2 cups ice water
Directions
- Combine the honey, sugar, salt, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, cloves, mustard seeds, and cinnamon stick in a large bowl. Stir in the warm apple juice and let sit for 5 minutes, stirring to help the sugar and salt dissolve. Add the ice water and use for brining the pork chops as noted above.
