This dish highlights the perfect balance of savoury and tangy, with the fond (the bits of protein left in a pan after browning meat) becoming the base of a delicious and bright pan sauce.
Pork Chops with Sauce Charcutière
Serves four
Ingredients:
4 pork rib chops (or center cut or boneless chops)
to taste salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter, divided
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp dry mustard powder (or prepared Dijon mustard)
2 shallots, finely diced
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup white wine
4 cups beef or chicken stock
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs fresh thyme
¼ cup cornichons, chopped finely
Method:
1. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towel. Season liberally with salt and pepper and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 hours) on a plate in your fridge.
2. In a pan over medium-high heat, our the oil and heat until it shimmers. Add the pork chops and cook until golden brown on both sides and just cooked through. This should take between 12 and 16 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chops. Lower the heat during the cooking if the meat is scorching before being cooked. At the 8 minute mark, add 2 tbsp of butter and continue cooking, spooning the hot frothy butter over the chops and basting every minute or so until done. Remove the chops form the pan and place on a plate to rest. Pour the butter over the chops, then return the pan to a medium heat.
3. While the pork chops are cooking, whisk the sugar, lemon juice, and mustard together and reserve.
4. Add the other 2 tbsp of butter to the pan and melt. Add the chopped shallots and sweat until translucent. Add the flour and stir well, creating a roux. The roux should be cooked for at least 4 minutes and will be golden brown when finished.
5. While the roux is cooking, bring the white wine to a simmer in a separate pot over a medium heat. Once the roux is cooked, add the hot white wine to the pan a ladle at a time (this will help incorporate the wine smoothly into the sauce). Stir the roux and wine mixture well to emulsify and simmer until reduced by half.
6. While the wine is reducing, ad the stock to the pot you had the wine in and bring that to a simmer over a medium heat. Once the wine and roux mixture has reduced, add the hot stock to the pan, stirring well to incorporate. Use a whisk to remove any lumps. Add the bay leaf and thyme and reduce until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon – about 15 minutes.
Strain the sauce into a clean saucepan and whisk in the sugar/lemon juice/mustard mixture. Add the pork chops back to the strained sauce and simmer to reheat. Once the chops are hot, remove them from the sauce and place on a platter (or individual plates). Add the cornichons to the sauce, stir well, and serve either on the side of the chops or poured over. Enjoy!