Smoky Pork Chops With Maque Choux Style Vegetables Food

SMOKY PORK CHOPS WITH CABBAGE AND APPLE

Steps:

• In a large skillet cook the bacon over medium heat until browned and crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels. Pour out all but 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings and add olive oil to skillet. Set pan aside.
• Season the pork chops with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt; dredge pork chops in flour. Heat skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops and cook on both sides until browned. About 8 minutes. Remove chops from the skillet and set aside.
• Slice the onion thinly. Mince the garlic. Add onion and garlic to skillet. Cook, stirring until onions soften, about 3 minutes.
• Slice the carrots thinly on the diagonal. Cut the cabbage lengthwise in half, cored, and sliced into shreds. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples.
• Add carrots, cabbage, bay leaves, hard cider, apples, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir well to combine, cover and bring mixture to a boil. Uncover pan and place chops on top of cabbage mixture. Recover and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until chops are tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.
• Chop reserved bacon coursely and sprinkle over pork and cabbage. Before serving, remove the bay leaves.

SMOKY GRILLED PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate.
• In a bowl, mix together the seasoned salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, and smoke flavoring until thoroughly combined. Rinse pork chops, and sprinkle the wet chops on both sides with the spice mixture. With your hands, massage the spice rub into the meat; allow to stand for 10 minutes.
• Grill the chops over indirect heat until no longer pink inside, about 12 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). Allow chops to stand for 10 more minutes before serving.

MAQUE CHOUX AND SKILLET PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• For the Chops: In a small bowl, combine paprika, oregano, onion powder, pinch sugar, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Sprinkle pork with spice mixture. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high, tilting skillet to coat bottom lightly and cook pork for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until slightly pink in center. Transfer pork to a serving platter; cover to keep warm.
• For the Maque Choux: To keep the mess down, wipe the skillet clean that the chops were cooked in or you can use different skillet. Melt the butter in a large skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the corn, onions, bell peppers, jalapeno, Cajun seasoning and salt; cook, stirring, until soft, for 10 minutes. Add the cream and cook for 2 minutes.
• Dish the cooked chops with a serving of maque choux on the side.

MAQUE CHOUX

Steps:

• Working with 1 corn cob at a time, set the ear of corn upright in a medium bowl. Shave the corn from the cob by slicing down the sides using the tip of a sharp chef's knife, holding the knife almost vertical. (This gives you neat tablets of corn that land squarely in the bowl and keeps the kernels from scattering all over the counter.) Using the back of the knife, scrape each cob to release all the nibs and the "milk" of the kernels into the bowl. Repeat with remaining ears of corn, then snap the cobs in half, and add them to the bowl.
• In a large, deep sauté pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat until foaming. Add onion and celery, and season with 1 or 2 pinches of kosher salt. Stir constantly until softened and translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add 2 tablespoons butter and the bell pepper, poblano and serrano, and stir constantly, adding another pinch of kosher salt, letting the butter melt and the peppers soften and become translucent, about 2 or 3 minutes. You will smell the peppers' sweetness and their mild capsaicin releasing.
• Add the final 3 tablespoons butter and the corn mixture from the bowl, cobs included, and another pinch of kosher salt. Stir constantly to coat with the butter and combine thoroughly.
• When everything starts to hiss and sound hot, but isn't cooking so hard as to take color, add 1/2 cup water and a healthy few grinds of black pepper, and cover the pan for a couple of minutes to steam/shallow braise the mixture.
• Remove the lid, and stir well, noticing the corn releasing its liquid and the kernels softening, and the cobs turning somewhat translucent, if however vague. You will notice a general softening and melding together. Return the lid, and let cook a few more minutes, noticing the water evaporating and the remaining liquid reducing and gaining some "body" and gloss. Discard the corn cobs, but do suck them before tossing - those buttery juices make a nice cook's treat.
• Taste for salt, and serve. It should be sweet, spicy, a bit wet and surprisingly complex, given the few ingredients and their ordinariness. If you want a smoky taste, add a good pinch of smoked paprika.