Could This Be the Perfect Pork Chop Recipe for Restaurant Chefs?
Menus and nightly special selections have a tendency to become stale over time. Chefs, no matter how famous, creative, talented or adventurous, frequently travel the same road to work each day. That's why when I owned Chez Foley, David Wetzel and later Scott Davis changed the menu weekly.
When Andrew Zimmern traded celery root for celebrity and left Cafe Un Deux Trois I asked owner Michael Morse who he would be replacing his star chef with. He brought me into his office, pointed to a stack of recently purchased cookbooks, and said Barnes & Noble would be moving into Zimmern's position.
But today recipes for tasty diversification abound on the Internet. Blogs boast of wild boar chops. Epicureans delight with the sharing of tasty 3 tbls of this and a pinch of that. And, then there are always those chefs on T.V., America's Test Kitchen, and the back of the Campbell's Soup can.
Diversification of tastes and shortcuts to entree preparation are things topics every chef should be on the lookout for.
Think about it, restaurant menus are made up of pasta dishes; chicken, fish, and steak offerings; periodically a roasted something or other is put on for a special; short ribs and mashed potatoes show up a lot; and a vegetarian's selection is always available. However, the pork chop seldom finds a regular place on most menus.
Ironically, one of the most profitable items on a menu, aside from pasta, and the one offered the least are those delightful chops that come in a variety of sizes and thickness. Many restaurants have tried to perfect the preparation of the elusive chop. But it is with much disappointment for both the customer and the chef that perfection isn't always possible. Although a perfectly prepared pork chop is difficult to equal, a dried, tough pork chop that shreds when cut is more often than not the outcome of a slow roast, a quick pan fry, or a long simmer.
I am a regular fan of Sarah Simms' blog, La Femme Epicure. Simms comes from a long line of culinarians and restaurateurs and is currently perfecting her skills at Le Cordon Bleu. Yesterday's Le Femme post highlighted a perfect pork chop recipe for any chef to feature as a nightly special. With a few raves, it might be a worthwhile menu item.
According to Simms it takes only minutes to prepare after a quick marinade/brine plays host to the chop for a few hours. This could be the secret to quick preparation pork. And, La Femme Epicure not only lists the recipe, but explains how to cook the dish.
Take a look at the blog. It could give new life to that dreary, dry, thick piece of white meat on a bone that every customer anticipates to be juicy and flavorful. Finally, a chef can meet pork chop expectations.
Internet recipes are a very interesting way to expand your kitchen's culinary flavor horizons. It's a way to be creative, adventurous, and inventive without having to go to Barnes and Noble.
