Brined Pork Chops with Grilled Veggie Salad

I am not sure where I first heard about brining pork, but I have never tried it. So, I figured I should give it a shot, since the only person that would be disappointed was me. I like to play it safe, sometimes.

This grilled veggie salad can be found over on Cookstr. I modified it quite a bit, mostly because I abhor green bell peppers, and would much rather have an avocado. I also decided that since I was going with avocados, I should use cilantro instead of parsley. All in all, it turned out really well, and served warm or cold, it was delicious. Something about a grilled salad makes summer-time almost tolerable.

This meal was made for lunch, and was pretty easily put together. The pork chops were brined for about 24 hours. I used a mixture of tarragon vinegar, mustard, olive oil, tap water and a dash of some spices. I was unsure what flavor I was actually looking for, so I decided to just play it safe. Nothing too bold. It turned out well enough; the chops were tossed on the grill, and when cooked, were possibly the juiciest chops I have ever had. It was impressive.

I am not sure if I would do it again, however. It was easy enough, but I do believe I would rather have a pork chop slathered in honey-mustard, then tossed on the grill over the herby seasoning I chose. The brining really did help make the chop very juicy, but I think if you have a thick enough cut, you do not really have to worry about that.

Brined Pork Chops with Grilled Veggie Salad (serves 2, or 1 on a lonely weekend with leftovers)

Chops (Brine):
2 pork chops
1 tablespoon peppercorns (I used pink)
2 tablespoons good quality mustard
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 cups water (maybe more, depending)
1 tablespoons kosher salt

Chops:
2 brined pork chops
6 sage leaves
salt and pepper
olive oil

Veggie Salad:
1 small eggplant, trimmed and sliced crosswise
1 red bell pepper
2 avocados

1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into wedges, and skewered
2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise 
Olive oil

2 lemons
2 tbsp cilantro
1 tbsp fresh thyme 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Start off by tossing the pork chops into a large resealable bag. Add all the other ingredients, and toss around. Squeeze off all the air, and set into fridge. The chops should be covered completely with the brine. Let brine for 6-24 hours. 

After you are ready for the chops, remove from fridge and remove from the brine. Dry off thoroughly. I used paper towels to dry them off. Place the sage leaves into the chop, stem first, if you can. Season the chops with salt and pepper, and set aside while you make the salad.

Start the grill, and get nice and hot. Roast the bell pepper, getting a very heavy char on it. Once the pepper is charred on all sides, set aside and let cool. Add the chops, and turn the heat down to medium. Next, season the chopped veggies with generous amounts of salt, pepper and olive oil. Set everything on the grill, as best you can. Everything with take the heat nicely, and you just need to watch anything that is over direct fire. The onions do a good job on hot spots on my grill. You are looking to just get a nice char on everything. The eggplant will drink the most oil, so keep them soaked.

Juice the lemons into a large bowl, and mix with cilantro and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle in a bit of good quality olive oil. Whisk with a fork. Slice open the avocado, remove the seed and slice into bite-sized pieces. Toss into the lemon mixture, and mix around a bit to coat.

Turn everything on the grill over after about 5-7 minutes, depending on how everything looks. Reseason the veggies with salt, pepper and oil.

The chops will take about 20 minutes, and everything else should be ready in about 15. Keep on eye on everything as it cooks. With so much oil, fires can happen, and Smokey says only you can prevent grill fires.


Once the veggies are moderately charred, take them off and toss into the bowl. Take the bell pepper, and split it down the middle, stem and seed, then scrape off the heavy char. Cut into bite-sized pieces, and toss into the salad, and mix around thoroughly.


The chops should be done at this point. Remove and let rest for a few moments.


Serve with a decent Merlot or Double Bastard.

Fish & Chips: The Tavern

This weekend, my wife was out of town, visiting her mother and grandmother, like the good daughter and granddaughter she is. So, that left me home with the pooch. Since my lovely assistant does not care for mustard, and disdains hot dogs, I thought it would be a good time to catch up with both.

Some friends of mine decided they wanted in on this wild and crazy adventure, and suggested The Tavern for their bacon-wrapped hot dog. Ever since I first drove up Lamar, this place had always piqued my interest. It is a very pub-looking place, and the neon sign outside proclaims "Air Conditioning." It is important to have A/C in Austin, to be sure. I was very excited that my friends recommended it, and was eager to have a hot dog.

Well, things rarely go according to plan. No, nothing horrific happened to derail the plans. I just had a change of mind after seeing that there was fish and chips on the menu. If a place has fish and chips, I am on it, for you, dear reader.

I beat my friends to The Tavern by about 5 minutes; enough time to get a beer and take a gander at the menu. After my eyes crossed the fish and chips, nothing else sounded as good, not even a bacon-wrapped hot dog. For shame, I know. Anyway, my friends showed and we were seated in a very friendly waitresses section (there was a sign on the door saying that The Tavern would be closing at 9, so that may be why the place was pretty empty). We had excellent service, and at one point I was discussing muscles (I have been working out a lot) and the waitress stopped by and asked "did you ask me to show you my muscles?" Then proceeded to flex. It was pretty damn hilarious.

The beer selection at The Tavern is not nearly as extensive as Opel Divine's, but all of the options are solid. A good mix of local and national beers are all on tap, and there is quite a large selection of bottled beers. Since I am on a ESB kick, I decided to have a Phoenixx Double ESB from Real Ale. It was delicious, and I am going to look for a six pack of it. The fish and chips arrived shortly, and I was very impressed by the sheer amount of food I got for $10.99. I have pretty much given up on finding fish and chips for under $10, so $10.99 was an awesome price. Upon a mound of fries, there were 6 pieces of fried fish. Each piece was a manageable size, something that I had not encountered so far. Larger than fish sticks, to be sure, but each piece was about 6 large bites. The smaller size lends itself to both sharing, as well as pacing. I was able to eat one piece, eat some fries, have a drink of beer and socialize, whereas with the huge pieces you find at Dog & Duck, you take a bit and the whole thing kind of comes apart, and you get grease all over your arm.

The fish was very tasty cod. The batter was a quite thick for the fish, but it was consistent, and really helped seal in the flavors. The chips were thin cut with skins(!), and perfectly seasoned. Now, something that I have yet to find is a great tartar sauce. The Tavern has the best tartar sauce of anyplace yet in my quest. It is some kind of spicy and pickle-y sauce. Man, that was great. I did not even use any lemon of the fish and chips. I did trade one of my fish pieces for a bit of hot dog. The hot dog was awesome, but not nearly as good as the fish and chips.

The Taverns fish and chips are excellent. I could nit pick the batter, but it was good enough. I will have to say, however, that the Alamo has the best fish and chips thus far, with regard to sheer flavor. That being said, The Tavern is the most economical place to get fish and chips. The price, the quality, the beers on draft, the service and the spicy tartar sauce make The Tavern a serious runner up.

Pour Me: Ska Brewings ESB Special Ale

Ska Brewery does some interesting beers. Pinstripe Red is one of the best red ales I have ever had. Served with fish tacos from Wahoo's, it was an excellent compliment. Since I have a sub-quest to find an actual decent canned beer, I figured I would give this ESB a try.

Extra Special Bitter is a style of beer that I do not have a lot of expereiance with. I have had some, but none have been that remarkable. Redhook ESB is one that I did enjoy, but there are just so many other beers to try, that I had left it long ago. However, Ska Brewing's ESB turned me on to Bitter.


Served in a very frosty pilsner glass, I took 2 ESB's and poured. The color is pretty impressive, and the foamy head settled nicely. This ESB is very good, and there is no perceptible can-taste. Even out of the can, there is no discernable funk. I do like it, and it was excellent with my lamb sandwich. This Bitter is very smooth, and, despite the name, it is only marginally bitter. It is an excellent sipping beer. The hops and malts are exceptionally well blended, and are not overpowering. This ESB is just a tad watery, but that makes for easy drinking. I highly recommend the Ska Brewing ESB Special Ale.

Steaks! Prime Time!

Prime. I never paid it much though. There simply cannot be that much difference between choice and prime. Right? Right? Well, it turns out, that prime is good. No, not good. What is the adjective I am looking for... Yeah, that will work. Fucking good.

I am not a huge proponent of the NY Strip. It has always seemed to me that if you are going to pay as much for a rib eye, why not get more meat? I mean, "where's the beef?" Well, sometimes, I am dumb. Also, sometimes I am stupid. I am, however, awesome at cooking. That is why you read this little slice of the interwebs. Anyway, NY Strip's can be awesome. Totally awesome. They just need to be handed to you by a butcher as enthusiastic as all get out.

I was sitting idly at the butcher counter, looking over my options. One of the butchers came over, and asked if I was looking for anything special. Why yes, I am.

I would like a New York Strip please. 

"Alright. Choice, or PRIME?" he asked in a thick, toothless New York accent.

You know what? Lets do PRIME!

"Well alright."

We walked over to the awesome steak section, and he asked me "how bout this one?"

Shit. It was the best looking one in the counter

I said, yeah, that looks great.

While he was weighing it, and packing it up, I told him that my wife was out of town, and I had to make the most out of it. Luckily my wife will never know the amount I paid for the PRIME NY Strip. (19.37USD)

I decided not to muck up the awesomeness of the steak, so I proceeded with caution. I seasoned the steak with this awesome salt I bought from The Cheese Mongers. That salt was allowed to soak in for over an hour, and when I reopened, it was ready to go. The salt kinda soaks into the beef after that long, and boy, it sure makes it pop quite awesomely. I seasoned the steak with pepper, a pinch of cayenne and paprika on both sides. After an hour, I applied this coffee/ancho powder I found. It is quite a good seasoning, and if you can find some, it will make your steaks all the better for it.

I also decided to make a sweet potato on the grill to complement the steak. Foil is your friend when grilling a potato. Or should that be foil is your foil when it comes to grilling? Anyhow, foil down, I drizzled some oil on the potato, then seasoned with salt and pepper, and a dash of cayenne. Then I wrapped it up like a Christmas present (I cannot wrap presents to save my life).

The grill was cranked. After about 10 minutes, I turned it down to low, and scrubbed it clean. I set the sweet potato on the top rack, and let it cook for about 15 minutes, then flipped. after another 10, I tossed on the well prepared steak. My gas grill is not that great, and has very hot zones, and very cold zones. I set the steak on the hot zone, and flipped it after about 7 minutes. After another 7, I flipped again. Surprisingly, without paying much attention, I had achived a great sear. The steak still felt a bit loose for me, so I turned it over again for another minute. After I decided that it was fit to be eaten, I set the steak and sweet potato on a cutting board, and let them both rest for 10 or so minutes.

Letting steaks rest is probably the most important thing you can do. Steaks like to take a break after being heated so drastically. Resting them just lets the flavor....settle. Its great for steaks. It is kind of like running for 4.5 miles, and flopping on the couch after you shower.

Let me tell you, this steak was awesome. That marbilization you see on the first photo worked wonders. That fat melted into the fibers, and made for one tasty steak. The outside fat that I normally find to be super-fatty? Yeah, with prime, that melted into the steak. Emma just got a little hunk of this steak because it was so damn tasty.

Oh, the sweet potato was fine. I mean, when you have a show stopper, you barely look at the supporting cast. The sweet potato should have seen more attention, and should have been flipped way more often, but the insides were cooked through. Topped with a bit of Greek yogurt and bacon, it was actually quite a good side dish.

A Ceaser salad would have been great with this, but I am not a greedy man. Steak and potatoes. That is the way to live.

Lastly, I just wanted to point out that I took these photos with my Nikon D60. I think they turned out much much much better than the photos I usually take on my Palm Pre. Let me know what you think. The rest of the pics are below, SUPER-SIZED.