Heritage Berkshire Kurobuta Pork Chop, Garlic Compound Butter, Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onion Cider Gravy
Backstory:
There is an amazing Steakhouse & Grille know as Perry's. Every Friday, they run a Pork Chop Special. A 7 Finger Pork Chop... This pork chop is just outstanding! They have a lunch special of a half sized portion too. I have had it a few times and it is just so good! I finally got around to doing some research and decided to give it a go myself. I watched multiple videos and read various interviews and came up with a plan of action. The gist of the pork chop is this:
- 5 day dry salt cure
- 1 day wet brine
- Smoked over Pecan for 6-8 hours
- Broiled for crust at the end
The Journey:
I figured if I was going to attempt this, I would need a good starting point. And I am always looking for excuses to try new things so I ended up ordering a really nice Rack of Pork from The Wagyu Shop. It was an 8 bone rack, weighing in around 6 pounds. Most I found were already frenched and I wanted all the meat I could get and The Wagyu Shop delivered.
Absolutely pleased with the initial quality of this Pork! Well Marbled and looking good!
Split into half
First up was the Dry Cure. I made up a mix of;
- 3 Tbsp Salt
- 1 Tsp Pepper
- 1/2 Tsp Cayenne
I rinsed off the pork and made up a wet brine of the following:
- ¼ cup salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Cup Apple Juice
- 4 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp Dry Thyme
- Water to cover
I made up a quick pork rub of equal parts of (1 Tsp each):
- Paprika
- Sugar
- Brown sugar
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Ginger powder
- Onion powder
- Rosemary powder
- Ground Mustard
- Cayenne to preference
Since Perry's does their Chop for 6-8 hours over pecan, I knew I would have to go low and slow for this one. I set up the Glen Blue 26" Weber with a small 3 briquette snake with small pieces of pecan. I was aiming for 175°F-185°F pit temp to get me to 145°F internal temp. I set up the Vortex as a nice heat shield and got the smoke rolling!
Few Hours in and had to peek...
The kettle held great right about 185°F and after 5 hours I was at 145°F Internal so I pulled it to hold/rest. I put it into the Alto Shaam at 145°F while I was finishing the sides.
I made a pot of mashed potatoes (skin included) which consisted of:
- Russet Potatoes, small cubed, boiled til tender, then mashed
- 6 Tbsp Butter
- 1/2 Cup - 3/4 Cup Half and Half
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Gravy Time! I know Pork Chops and Applesauce go together, but I wanted to try something different... I started out with a good sized sweet onion, sliced up and into some butter!
I cooked these over medium heat until nice and caramelized, about 30 mins, then added in the flour
Next up I added:
- 1 Cup Apple Cider
- 1 Cup Chicken Broth
- Salt and Pepper to taste
#TeamGravy tx smoker Brokenhandle
And time to play with my food... One last step was to lightly coat the pork in some granulated sugar and then hit it with a torch for a really nice exterior crunch and sweetness! I had some leftover Garlic rub from a buddy, so I decided to make a compound butter from it for the topping as well.
Final Thoughts:
I had built this up in my head a lot over the last few days. The bar I was chasing was really high.
I'll start out by saying that it was really really good. The rub on the pork was complex, but cohesive. The torched sugar on the outside took it to another level. The Pecan Smoke was noticeable, but subtle. The meat was just flowing with juice. No dry grey pork here! The potatoes were creamy with a bit of texture and the gravy was just one of the best things. It made for a really great pairing.
The knock I have to give myself is the texture of the pork. The total curing process was too much in my book. It had just started to turn a bit "hammy" or "Canadian Bacon" in texture. Not a lot, but just enough that it made me stop and think.
If I do this again, which I will , I will reduce the cure time and brine time to the following:
- 24 hours Salt Cure in Fridge
- 12 Hours Brine
- Smoke at 225°F until 145°F internal for a slightly quicker cook
TL;DR
well... apple flavors included but this scene was in my head for days
Cheers Y'all!