Have you seen those TV commercials that declared pork as “the other white meat” It’s true because pork production has improved a lot and we no longer have to cook it to “flavor-death” for safety’s sake. Whenever I’m grilling chops over a direct flame, a tiny hue of pink in the middle is my goal.
We love pork because it is so versatile and hard to screw up -- as long as you don’t dry it out. And I’m a huge fan of stewed sauerkraut, as in our iconic Hunter’s Stew recipe (Bigos, Page 49). It has a natural tang which pairs beautifully with almost any meat, and it just sings when you add layers of additional flavorings such as mushrooms, tomato or apple. Whether sweet or savory, sauerkraut is one of my favorite foods.
So yesterday I stopped by our grocery store’s meat case and picked up a couple of bone-in loin chops (tip: bone-in has more flavor) about one inch thick and a small, one-pound bag of sauerkraut.
• About 2 hours before I was ready to eat, I stopped working on our new book (Polish Classic Desserts) and grabbed a handful of Eastern European dried forest mushrooms (bought in bulk on EBay) from our stash in the pantry, and put them in a big mug of hot water (12 ounces) to soak. Don’t throw away the mushroom water – it has great flavor;
• Next, I put a tablespoon of oil into a deep skillet, browned the chops, set them aside, and lightly golden-browned a small chopped onion - making sure the heat didn’t get too high to burn the brown stuff in the bottom of the pan;
• With a hard spatula I scraped and loosened the bottom of the pan, leaving the brown stuff IN the pan for flavoring;
• Then I rinsed the sauerkraut really well to help mellow out the flavor;
• The sauerkraut and mushrooms went back in the pan with some additional flavoring. For a sweeter style you could add half an apple which has been cut into wedges. Personally, I prefer a more savory taste and added a bay leaf and one teaspoon of caraway seeds;
• Tossed in some salt and pepper, stirred lightly to blend all the flavorings, and the chops went back in the skille, kind of pushed down into the sauerkraut;
• Finally, the mushroom water was poured over the top, covered the skillet tightly with a lid, and cooked on a very low simmer for an hour or so;
• Once or twice I checked the skillet to make sure the liquid hadn’t evaporated. The easy test for doneness is to stick a fork in the chop -- after an hour the pork should be almost falling off the bone and the fork should twist easily;
• Mashed potatoes are a favorite with this dish, but any green vegetable is healthier. In Poland they’d be serving this with shots of ice-cold vodka, but I don’t care to drink alone, so a glass of hearty red wine did the trick.
So I spent less than six bucks on the pork and sauerkraut, less than 20 minutes prepping, and I got two meals out of it. It was full of big bold flavors, the pork was moist, and the whole dish was pretty healthy, so that goes down as a big win. Polish Pork and Sauerkraut – yum! Smacznego!
(Photo from Food.com)
