I've been super busy as of late...today will be my only available day to grill until at least Saturday. Now that Lent is over, I wanted to get back to the basics and try one of the simple burger recipes for rookies at the beginning of the book. The catch is that I recently imposed a new diet on myself and can only have red meat once a week. When I informed The Bride of my decision to have burgers, she frowned and asked that I move that to Saturday. She is in North Carolina right now, home of BBQ pork, and deep fried everything else. Today on the phone she even told me about a fast food chain called Fatz.
So I had to try something else instead. I really didn't want fish again, and so I settled on pork chops. Last night before bed I perused The Guide, and decided that I would try my hand at the All American Pork Chops With Homemade Applesauce on page 187. The ingredients I needed are here:
I also wanted a side, so I went with the Ham and Swiss on a Toothpick on page 89. The bonus for this was that I got to use up some of the leftover ham from Easter that I have been working on for four days straight now. For this, I needed:
The first step was to make the applesauce, as that, I figured, could wait once made until the meal was ready to be served. I feel moderately confident around a sautee pan, so this was easy. I also got to use my new blender (I went with this as it is easier to clean than the food processor) once the apples had softened.
Overall, I was really excited about the applesauce. I was a little apprehensive about using Granny Smith apples - which by the way I really like on their own - as they are a little tart. However, with the mustard seed, ginger, and chili powder, it was nice and lively. This is not your grandmother's applesauce!
From there, I decided that the Ham and Swiss on a Toothpick should be next. According to the book, they needed to be grilled over direct medium heat, and the pork chops needed to be over direct high heat. My rationale was that I would cook the appetizer right after I dumped the coals from the chimney starter. That way, I could cook over medium heat while the rest of the coals (I added about pound and a half to bring me up to 5.5 pounds for this session) caught up and gave me solid, high heat. The directions for the pork chops were to sear them on direct high heat, and then move to medium indirect heat, so I only placed coals on half of The Forge.
Here are the Ham and Swiss on a Toothpick after prep, on the grill, and then done:
These things are FANTASTIC! Hooray Weber! There is a crazy layering of flavors here. The sweet from the pineapple, the salty and smokiness from the ham (The Bride let me smoke the Easter hams), the gooey melted Gruyer and mushrooms sing, and the salt and chili powder (homemade, of course) round it all off. It took a monumental effort to not eat them all before taking pictures. I would have liked better grill marks on the mushrooms, but if that is my only complaint then I should just shut the heck up.
Okay, on to the main event...The pork chops have been rubbed and rested at room temperature, and The Forge is at the ready. The following two pictures are, respectively, after the first flip while searing them over direct high heat, and then after being moved to the indirect heat side.
It's not as burned as the picture would imply, but there was a minor flare-up that I caught just in time. After 7 minutes of indirect medium heat, I was done! Here we go!
May I just take a moment to explain how much I LOVE this rub? I've been pretty good as of late at the typical BBQ rub, but savory rubs elude me. This was quite different, reminding me of Provencal cooking with the mustard seed and thyme. The cayenne kicked it up the perfect amount so that it stayed savory, but appeased my liking for spicy food. The celery seed sealed the deal as it was not overdone.
Also, the applesause was PERFECT with the pork chops. I don't often like to mix my food while eating, but I gave it the old college try by putting some of the applesauce on a bit of pork chop. It sung. The sweet tartness of the applesauce gift-wrapped the flavor package. It behaved much more like a true sauce than a side.
For some of the finer details: I had this meal with some of the leftover applejuice and some glasses of ice water. Were I not on a diet and in the need to pair a wine with this, I would stick to southern France in order to match the herbs. Domaine Pellehaute from Gasgogne for about seven bucks would be an excellent choice. Otherwise, a nice Spanish Albarino would pair nicely. This is a recipe that is a keeper, and from reading the other recipes for pork chops follows the same grilling technique as the others, so I am confident that they should work out well when their times come. The pork chops were completely cooked, but still rather juicy. Another two recipes completed, and another two successes. I like this book.
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