A DOUBLE-CUT PORK CHOP SERVED WITH A CHUNKY RED WINE AND FRESH CHERRY PAN SAUCE.
- Servings: 2-3
- Prep time: 20 minutes, plus optional overnight brining
- Cook time: 30 minutes
- Total time: 50 minutes, plus optional brining
Ingredients
Optional brine
- 1 L cold water
- 60 g fine sea salt
- 30 g brown sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
Pork chop
- 1 large double-cut bone-in pork chop, approximately 900 g-1.2 kg
- Fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Cherry pan sauce
- 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 450 g fresh cherries, pitted and halved
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 150 ml dry red wine
- 250 ml pork or chicken stock
- 45 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Small flat-leaf parsley leaves, for serving
Method
1. Brine the pork, optionally
- The day before cooking, combine the cold water, salt, brown sugar, garlic, rosemary and peppercorns. Stir until the salt and sugar have dissolved.
- Submerge the pork chop in the brine, cover and refrigerate for 8-12 hours. Remove it from the brine and pat it completely dry. Refrigerate it uncovered for a few hours or overnight to dry the surface.
- If you brine the pork, use very little additional salt before cooking.
2. Temper and season the pork
- Remove the pork chop from the refrigerator approximately 45 minutes before cooking to bring it closer to room temperature.
- Pat it completely dry, then season generously with salt and black pepper. Coat it evenly with the olive oil.
3. Cook the pork chop
- Preheat a gas pizza oven until very hot. Place the pork in a heavy ovenproof pan and cook, turning it regularly, until deeply browned on every surface.
- Once the pork is fully coloured, loosely cover it with aluminum foil to prevent it from darkening too much. Continue cooking until a probe inserted into the thickest part registers 58-60°C (136-140°F). The temperature should rise to approximately 63°C (145°F) while resting.
- If you don’t have a pizza oven, brown the pork on all sides in a heavy pan. Finish it, loosely covered with foil, in a 190°C (375°F) conventional oven.
- Transfer the pork to a rack set over a tray and rest for 15-20 minutes. Reserve all the resting juices.
4. Prepare the cherry pan sauce
- Place the same pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the cherries and rosemary. Season lightly, then sauté for 2-3 minutes, until the cherries begin to soften.
- Deglaze the pan with the red wine, scraping up everything stuck to the bottom. Reduce the wine by approximately half.
- Add the pork or chicken stock and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a glossy sauce. Gently crush some of the cherries with a fork while keeping the sauce chunky.
5. Finish the sauce
- Remove and discard the rosemary. Add the reserved pork resting juices.
- Remove the pan from the heat and gradually swirl in the cold butter until the sauce is glossy and emulsified. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and black pepper.
6. Plate
- Remove the bone from the rested pork chop and cut the meat into four thick pieces.
- Spoon some of the cherry sauce onto the bottom of a serving plate. Arrange the sliced pork over the sauce, then spoon more cherries and sauce on top.
- Finish with small flat-leaf parsley leaves and serve immediately.
By Laurent Dagenais