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Pork Chops with shallot and pepper agrodolce

Pork Chops with Shallot and Pepper Agrodolce

When multiple people live and eat together, over time there are dishes or ingredients that disappear from use because one or more people don’t like them. We have a rule here that you have to try new things but if you don’t like them, no worries, and each of us has something we avoid either for taste or texture. The list of avoided items isn’t terribly long in our house but the thing on it I miss the most is the humble pork chop.

Pork chops get a bad rap. They’re like that person at work that no one wants to sit with at the team outing because they are considered dry and boring. A little flat, uninteresting on their own. Which isn’t exactly true but, like people who take a little bit of understanding to shine, they do require some attention and careful handling. An interesting sidekick never hurts.

Agrodolce had long been one of those words on a menu that my eye skimmed over with a vague idea it must be a sauce without having any idea what it would taste like. See also: romesco and gremolata. Sometimes when I see words on a menu I don’t understand I’m too intimidated to ask for fear of looking unsophisticated. If I had asked what agrodolce was, I would have found out it is the Italian version of sweet and sour sauce. Hm. Well, that sounds good. Our interesting sidekick has arrived.

I had my chance to try something new when the pork chop avoider was away on a business trip. I’m so glad I did because agrodolce “is the bomb” as people used to say in the early nineties. Often sweet and sour sauce is more sweet than sour but this has balance and bite. It is the interesting sidekick that brings out the best in the more unassuming pork chop.

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2 for dinner with enough vegetables to go over toast the next morning
90 minutes realistically but a lot of it is hands off
Pork Chops with shallot and pepper agrodolce

Ingredients

2 thick cut pork chops
600g shallots
4 Tbsp olive oil
6 bay leaves
4 cloves garlic, sliced
4 Tbsp caster sugar
100ml cider vinegar
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tsp salt
4 Tbsp currants or raisins
OPTIONAL BUT GOOD: One Yellow Bell Pepper

Instructions

1
The shallots are going to cook whole so let’s start there. An easy way to get the skins off is to soak them in a bowl of just boiled water for about five minutes. Once they have soaked it will be easier to trim the root end and peel the skin off. So, try that.
2
While you’re waiting for them to soak chop the garlic and the bell pepper, if you are using it.
3
You’re going to need a saucepan with a lid. Put that on a medium heat with the OLIVE OIL. Let the oil warm up and then add the BAY LEAVES. Add the SHALLOTS and brown them a bit on all sides. Do the same with the bell pepper, if using.
4
Once the shallots are browned, add in the GARLIC, SUGAR, CIDER VINEGAR, THYME and SALT. Stir this all together and let it simmer for about five minutes.
5
Now add in the CURRANTS or RAISINS with 150ml water and bring back up to a boil. You need everything to be hot so you have some momentum, heat wise, when you turn it down to simmer. Once you have gotten it to boil, put the lid on the pan and turn the heat down to low. They are just going to sit there now until they’re cooked which will take about 35-40 minutes.
6
With that simmering away, take the pork chops out of the fridge and let them come up to room temp. You’ve got time now to walk away and watch an episode of your favorite 30 minute show. Check on the shallots once about halfway through and turn them over to be even.
7
Ok. We’re back. Take the lid off the shallots and check that they’re done, meaning they are soft all the way through. What you have now, sauce wise, is probably ok but we want it to be more intense so turn the heat back up to medium to reduce it down to something more like syrup.
8
While that is reducing, let’s cook the chops. Salt and pepper them on both sides first. Get another medium sized pan and put it on (the high end of) medium high heat. Pork chops are lean so they are very easy to overcook. This is where they get their reputation because people are afraid of trichinosis so they blast them. No surprise they end up dry. We’re going to be a little more careful.
9
First of all, stand the chops up on the fat edge and let that fat render out and the edge to brown. You’ll have to hold them up. Once you have a brown edge, sear each flat side. From here you’re going to have to be hands on at the heat, turning them a couple of times so they darken evenly. Depending on the thickness of your chops, it should take about 4 minutes on each side.
10
You’ll know it’s done when you press down on it and it is firm but not hard. If it is hard you’ve gone into well done land and it is dry as a desert out there. It’s better to pull it off the heat sooner rather than too late. You can always cut into it and put it back on the heat.
11
When you think your chops are done, take them off the heat and set them aside to rest for about 5 minutes. During this time, give the shallots a good stir and give the sauce a taste to see if it is where you’d like it. The longer you leave it on the heat the more intense it will get.
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