Julia Child's Cotes De Porc Poelees

 

 

Pork Chops. Plain and simple but they sound soooo decadent in french. This is one of the many incredible recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking (found on pg. 386)

Did I mention that these pork chops are anything but plain? Simple yes. A few steps....of course. Great results...for sure.

It all starts with a simple marinade. It's even titled "Marinade Simple" a.k.a. Lemon Juice and Herb Marinade. Julie states that it can be used on chops, steaks and small boned roasts.

Per 1 pound of pork:

1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper (I think I doubled that...I like me some pepper)
3 TB lemon juice (I didn't have any lemons so I used limes instead)
3 TB olive oil
3 parsley sprigs (didn't have any so I used a couple teaspoons of dry parsley)
1/4 tsp thyme or sage (I used sage...not a big fan of thyme)
1 bay leaf
1 clove mashed garlic

Combine all ingredients and pour over meat in a zip lock baggy. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours....6 to 12 hours would be better. Turn baggy over every so often.

Cotes De Porc Poelees (a.k.a. Casserole-sauteed Pork Chops)
Printable Version

6 pork chops, 1" thick and marinaded
3 - 4 tablespoons pork fat, lard, or cooking oil (Yes....I put my lard to use)
2 TB butter
2 cloves garlic, halved
1/2 cup dry white wine, dry white vermouth, brown stock, beef bouillon or marinade liquid (I used vermouth)

Preheat the oven to 325' F

Dry the pork chops on a paper towel.

Heat the fat in a heavy large oven safe skillet or fireproof casserole dish over medium heat. Brown the chops on each side for 3 - 4 minutes. As they brown transfer them to a dish. You will probably have to work in batches of 2 to 3 at a time. You don't want to crowd them when you brown them....this will cause them to steam instead of brown.

Pour the fat out of the pan and discard (when it is cool and save). Add the butter and garlic to the pan. Return the chops to the pan. It's ok to overlap them. Baste them with the melted butter garlic. Cover and heat until the meat sizzles. Place the pan in the lower 3rd section of your preheated oven for 25 - 30 minutes. Once or twice during the cooking time, turn the chops over and baste with the butter and juices.

They are done when the meat juices run clear yellow with no traces of red.

Remove the chops to a hot platter.

Remove all but 2 TB of the remaining juice in the pan. Pour in the liquid (in my case, vermouth) and boil rapidly....scraping up all the good yummy crunchies off the bottom. Boil for just a few minutes until the juice has reduced down to 1/2 cup.....this is your concentrated sauce. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

Pour over chops and server

 As you might notice...my little chops were not 1 inch. I reduced the cooking time to accommodate.

They were delicious! And tender and juicy. And full of all sorts of wonderful flavor.

If you haven't noticed, I don't cook pork chops very often. I think the last time I did....I did the shake and bake thing. Complete with a side of apple sauce. (and when I do that I can't help but think of Peter from the Brady Bunch saying..."Pork Chops and Apple Sauce). I'm not use to these little beauties being so versatile. If they weren't so expensive in the market, I'd probably cook them more often. (wonder if the pig farmers and big markets can hear me?). Anyway, I'd guess that besides bacon, I cook pork once a month or less. How often do you cook pork? (just curious)