Pork Chop

Serve with broccoli or cauliflower, steamed and tossed in garlic butter.

Oregon on a plate: From Willamette Valley Pinot Noir to cranberry bogs and filbert trees, this menu celebrates one great state!

Chinese influence in India is ancient—the two nations have been trading since the BCs. The older Chinese restaurants in the major cities serve an Indianized version of Chinese food, and Indians at home think nothing of adding a bit of soy sauce to this and that. Here is one such modern dish. Ideally, the pork should be marinated overnight. Plain Jasmine Rice and any vegetable dish would be perfect.

One trick that I learned a long time ago about cooking pork is that you have to brine it. The brine for this recipe is a sugar-salt solution mixed with apple juice concentrate (you will need 2 cans of frozen juice) for the brine and spiced apples. With its sweet apple flavor, this is an intense marinade that works miracles on pork chops. Trust me—once you taste a thick pork chop that’s been flavored in a brine, you will never go back. Cozy up to your butcher to get the pork chops cut to your liking. Thin pork chops—no way! Serve this with Corn Pudding (page 236).

This is a simple and tasty way to grill boneless pork chops, and you can roast vegetables at the same time by placing them in a pan on the rack beneath the meat.

Juicy pork chops, smothered with slowly cooked onions and topped with melted cheese, are certain to make mouths water. You can prepare these in advance—browning the chops and cooking the onions—then complete the skillet cooking and baking as your guests are seated. Thick chops from the pork loin are my favorite, and the ones used in the recipe. Leaner rib chops will work as well but should be cooked a few minutes less.

Here is another gem from the treasure of pork dishes I found in Umbria, especially around Norcia. Like the preceding recipe for sausages and grapes, this calls for a leisurely approach to cooking, slowly caramelizing the pork and building a fantastic glaze for the chops, with the mingled flavors of lemon, peperoncini, capers, and wine. I always prefer chops on the bone, but you can make this recipe with boneless pork-loin cutlets as well. Since they are usually thinner, they’ll need less cooking time, though gentle and slow browning is still called for. I like to accompany these with an intensely flavored vegetable such as braised broccoli di rape or mashed parsnips (or both!).

Pound the pork into superthin cutlets to get the best crust-to-meat ratio. Make extra for a next-day sandwich.

An easy one-hour marinade guarantees tender chops. Mix chopped fresh herbs into the breadcrumbs for extra flavor.

The yellow pepper mole may have lots of ingredients, but the result is a delightfully complex sauce. Golden raisins and white chocolate preserve the golden color of the roasted peppers, and while those may sound sweet, onion, garlic, and tomatillos keep the sauce savory, fresh, and never cloying. At the restaurant we give this a hint of smoked red pepper sauce and cilantro oil and garnish it with cilantro.

The inspiration for this recipe comes from poc chuc, a grilled pork dish from Mexico's Yucatán region. Brining the pork chops prevents the meat from drying out on the grill.

Smothering—that is, braising—both tenderizes the pork shoulder chops and concentrates the flavor of the sauce.

We had lots of apple trees of many varieties in our orchards, and the supply would last for the whole winter. Mostly I had them for a snack or in a dessert, but here's one use in a main course that's a winner. It's incredibly easy yet nutritionally complete. I rather love mixing the sweet carb with the fat and protein in delicious defiance of current diet ideology.

Prepared mustard is about as underappreciated as a staple could be. After all, it’s fat-free, low in calories, and high in flavor. Despite these assets, its main role in most households is as a condiment for meat and, perhaps, as an occasional ingredient in vinaigrette. In this chicken dish, however—essentially broiled chicken smeared with a spicy mustard paste—it plays a leading role. You can make this dish with chicken breasts if you prefer, but I recommend starting with bone-in breasts and following the same procedure. If you want to use skinless, boneless breasts (forget about crispness), smear the meat all over with the mustard mixture, then broil for just about six minutes, turning two or three times to prevent burning.

Based on depth rather than tanginess or sweetness, Lee's signature black barbecue sauce is a cultural interaction that includes the thin, Worcestershire sauce—like "dip" for mutton ribs found in and around Owensboro, Kentucky; red-eye gravy; an earthy mole; and brothy, robust kalbi, the braised short ribs of Korea. The melting pot, as they say, simmers on.

Any excuse to cook a pork chop is a good excuse, and here is one of Italian origin: You get to stuff it with prosciutto, not to mention buttery Fontina and aromatic sage.

Chiles rellenos are just as good grilled as they are battered and fried. They're easier to make that way, too.

If you use commercial pork in this recipe, you might want to rub the chops with the salt mixture and let them sit for a full day in the fridge. The long rest will make the meat extra-juicy. Bone-in heirloom rib chops have ample marbling, so the meat will be naturally moist. They don’t need to rest as long with the salt rub—an hour or two should be sufficient. These are some big chops, so you might be able to share.