Recipe Dev: Beer-Braised Pork Chops

 

I think I end up putting a lot of dessert recipes on this blog because they're much more deliberate and precise. Savory recipes can be adjusted based on many things- primary ingredient, liquid amount, starch, cooking vessel, cooking method... the list goes on. Dessert recipes/formulae are more finicky but less fiddly- and more well-defined besides. You'll see that the recipe below has a lot of vagaries, but it's still coherent and readily workable.

Thick-cut pork chops are a quick easy blank canvas. Perfectly fine seasoned simply with salt and pepper, then thrown in an oiled pan or onto a grill, they also take beautifully to almost any spice or blend you can think of. Here, we have a vaguely Germanic version that takes about ten minutes of work and an hour and change of idle time.

Equipment:
Knife, cutting board, tongs, cooking vessel with lid- large enough for all the pork to lay in a single layer, wide saute pan (if the other vessel is not stovetop safe) spoon, oven.

Ingredients:
-However many pork chops you've got, ideally at least an inch thick.
-Beer, something fairly mild. My go to for this is Sapporo. ~One beer for every 2-3 chops, or enough to barely cover them in your pan of choice.
-1 Medium Yellow onion for about every 4 pork chops, peeled and sliced
-8oz mushrooms for every 4 pork chops, sliced 
-Brown Sugar (2Tbsp for every 12oz beer) 
-Mustard (~1 tsp per chop)
-Thyme, rosemary, or sage (1Tbsp fresh or 1 tsp dried for every 4 servings)
-Salt/Pepper/Neutral Oil
-2Tbsp Cornstarch (mixed with 1/4 cup cold water) for final thickening.

Oven- 325F (Stovetop is also possible)

Season the pork chops aggressively with salt and pepper.
Peel and slice the onion, then slice the mushrooms. Set aside.
Preheat the saute pan or other vessel and add 2-3Tbsp oil.
Sear the seasoned chops until aggressively browned on one side, removing from the pan afterward.
Add another 2-3Tbsp oil, then add the onions and mushrooms with a vigorous pinch of salt.
Stir rapidly to ensure they begin to release their liquid.
If the fond from the pork is still on the pan's bottom after ~90 seconds, add your herbs, stir for 30 seconds, then add your beer.
Scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the vessel. Stir in the brown sugar and mustard.
Taste for seasoning. Be mindful that this braising liquid will reduce, so it should be slightly undersalted at this stage.
Add the pork back in, browned side facing up.
Cover, and place in the oven to cook. If stovetop, lid the vessel and turn the burner as low as it'll go.
After 30 minutes, remove the lid, and let it cook for another 30-40 minutes.
Remove from the oven/heat source. Taste the cooking liquid.
Adjust it as needed with more salt, sugar, mustard, or herbs. (See? You can fiddle a lot!)
While still extremely hot, pour in half of the cornstarch/water mixture, stirring and watching over the course of a minute.
The sauce should thicken into a gravy-like consistency- enough to cling to the pork if spooned on top.
If it doesn't thicken enough to suit your needs, stir in more of the cornstarch mixture.
Serve with some sort of seasonal vegetable, and some rice, noodles, mashed potatoes, or other starch.