OK, so I did the chops again, only this time I wanted to try to get them fork tender. So I bought the same 1" thick chops.
Next step I put them in Pops brine & some of my pork rub for 24 hours, in a vacuum marinating container.
Then 24 hours later, I rinsed them off & coated them with my rub.
Into the Smoke Vault for 3 hours of cold smoke, no heat, just Todd's tube with hickory pellets.
Then into the vac bag.
And then into the SV set at 131.
This time I left them in there for 8 hours.
After 8 hours I took them out & poured the juice out of the bag for Au Jus.
And since I'm going to all this extra trouble, I seared all sides with a propane torch. This time I was smart enough to do it outside in a CI pan. The last time I did this I burned the crap out of one of our cutting boards.
And here is the finished pork chop served with the AuJus, and some garlic shells.
Well the verdict is: Although the chop had tremendous flavor, and was quite tender. It wasn't tender enough to be cut with a fork, so back to the drawing board. I'm not sure what I will try next, but with pork being so cheap, I can afford to experiment a lot. Judy & I both thought the flavor was spot on, so nothing to change there. Just have to work on the texture. Maybe 16-20 hours in the SV might do it. I'm thinking a quick sear on both sides then a long bath in the SV, and another sear with the torch. Don't know for sure, but maybe next week I'll take another run at it!
Thanks for looking!
Al