Sous Vide - Brined pork chop
One of the tastiest meals I’ve ever had was a raspberry vinegar brined pork chop, at a small pub somewhere in North Moravia with my friend Tomás Karhan. This is my attempt to replicate that. Will fall short without your presence, Tomás.
Pork may harbor ascarid worms (risking trichinosis; RFK Jr.’s infamous “brain worm”), & a safe cooking temperature of 145°F (historically 165°F) is recommended for conventional cooking, a temperature that results in actin cross-linking and rendering of fat, resulting in the dryness & toughness sadly conmmon in pork chops. Essentially unheard of in U.S pork these days, but one brain worm could ruin your whole day. With the longer cooking times (1-4 hours) of Sous Vide, pork may safely be cooked at temperatures as low as 130-140°F; 140°F is commonly recommended for medium-rare.
The Sous Vide recipes I’ve found suggest that brining has little benefit for Sous Vide meats, but I’ve not had the best success with store-bought pork chops; back in Oregon I had access to some amazing pork from pastured heritage Red Wattle porkers, but the pork chops I find now tend to toughen up even at 140°F, so this experiment.
Brine:
1 c cold water
1/8 c pomegranate vinegar (I was looking for raspberry vinegar, and may make some for future projects, but bought this in error when looking for pomegranate molasses & thought this might make good use of it)
1/8 c brown sugar, packed
1/8 c koshering salt
1/2 Tblsp pomegranate juice powder
1/2 Tblsp blackberry juice powder
(I had the powders on hand for use in breakfast smoothies, & used these rather than fresh or frozen fruit as a shortcut) - note - 1/2 this quantity of brine would be plenty for 1-2 pork chops.
Pour into ziplock bag with pork chop(s) (mine was a boneless loin center cut chop, 1” thick), brine refrigerated x 4 hours (The recipe I found for brined pork chops suggested brining for 2-3 episodes of Buffy; I can attest that Firefly, Farscape, Battlestar Galactica, or Call the Midwife work fine as well)
Remove from brine, pat dry, & seal in sous vide bag.
Cook in water bath @ 135°F, 2-1/2 (1-4) hours
Remove from bag, pat dry; allow to cool slightly so’s not to overcook when searing
Sear in hot oil (I used avocado oil), 30 seconds on each side for color
This was simply amazing - very tender & juicy, though not quite the same without Tomás.