Apple Cider Brined Pork Chops
These juicy bone-in Kurobatu pork chops are infused with sweet, herb-y deliciousness. They can be serves with a variety of sides. In order to play on the natural sweetness of the meat and brine, I chose creamed spinach and roasted beets. Pairs well with an off-dry Riesling.
No Kurobatu on hand? This recipe works great with any pork chop, preferably the thick cut bone-in variety.
First off, I’m a big believer in knowing where your food comes from. If that food is meat, it’s important to honor the fact that it came from a living, breathing animal. It didn’t just magically appear shrink-wrapped on the grocery store shelf, after all.
Kurobatu literally translates to “black hog” in Japanese. This heritage pig is highly prized for its decadently marbled and richly flavored meaty bits. It is a subtype of the “Berkshire” breed of porkers. All Kurobatu pigs are Berkshire, but not all Berkshire qualify as Kurobatu.
The Berkshire pig can be traced back ~200 years ago to England. The English realized how tasty these creatures were, and they went pretty hog-wild over it. In the 19th century they even sent some pigs to the Japanese emperor as a gift!
The meat you get at the grocery store comes from “commodity” pigs. They are not one single breed, but instead “mutts” that are raised in high-stress situations, given standard diets and have limited freedom to move. They are much less expensive to raise.
So what makes a breed heritage? Heritage breeds refer to animals that live their best lives! They are raised on small farms and given space to frolic. Their diets are supplemented with high quality feed and they are allowed to grow slowly and naturally without the use of antibiotics or hormones. It’s this difference that you can both see and taste in the meat. Pork is typically seen as “the other white meat”, but not Kurobatu, whose meat has a deep rose-y color. Even the pH of the meat differs from commodity pigs! Amazing what impact lifestyle has, huh?
Are you ready to try the best pork of your life? Check out Snake River Farms. I’ve personally ordered from them, and I find their quality, shipping methods, and customer care top-notch.
Makes 2-4 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes
Inactive prep time: ~6-8 hours
Cook time: ~20 minutes minutes, + 15 minute rest time
Tools
Large stock pot
for making brine
Large plastic container or heavy-duty zip-lock bag
Big enough to hold the brine + chops
Large, heavy, and oven-safe pan
Large spoon for basting
measuring spoons and cups
Cooling rack
To rest meat
Aluminum foil
To cover resting meat
Meat thermometer
Ingredients
2-4 pork chops, preferably bone in and at least 1 inch thick
for the brine:
2 oranges, halved
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon honey
8 juniper berries
2 tablespoons whole peppercorn
1 head of garlic, halves through the equator
1/2 cup kosher salt (no iodine please!)
4 cups water
4 cups apple cider or juice
For the butter basting:
3 tablespoons butter
Small bunch of thyme
2 cloves garlic
Directions
Mix all of the brine ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, remove from heat and let cool completely. Squeeze the juice out of the oranges then discard the oranges.
Pour into a large container or heavy-duty zip lock bag that is large enough to hold both the brine and the pork chops. Place in refrigerator.
I recommend doing this step the night before, then placing pork in brine early in the morning the following day.
Brine the pork chops for 6-12 hours.
Do not brine for more than 12 hours or the pork will become too salty.
About 1 hour prior to cooking, remove pork from refrigerator.
Blot dry and allow to come to room temperature.
Pre-heat oven to 450°F
Heat oven-safe pan on stovetop on medium-high heat using a high heat oil.
Do not use olive oil! Use a high heat oil, such as canola or avocado oil.
Once oil is hot and shimmering, begin to sear room temperature pork.
~ 3-4 minutes on both sides, and ~1-2 minutes on the fat cap.
Once both sides seared, flip back to original side.
Place pan with pork in hot oven. Cook for ~6-12 minutes.
Pull out of oven every 2 minutes and flip pork.
Cook until internal pork temperature is 135°F.
Butter Baste!
Remove pan from oven. Place pork on a plate and drain fat from pan.
Place pan back on stovetop on medium heat and add the pork, butter, garlic, and thyme.
Hold pan at ~ 45 degree angle, so that pork is at the top of the dish, and melted butter and spices are pooled at the lowest part.
Spoon the melted butter over the pork for several minutes, flipping half way through.
Remove pork from heat, place on a clean cooling rack, and cover with foil for ~ 15 minutes.
Flip pork half way through to evenly distribute juices.
Sprinkle with sea salt and enjoy!
