Fennel Braised Pork Chops: expect some nice caramelization from the brown sugar
A tweak of the recipe in Alison Roman’s Dining In. Fennel Braised Pork Chops are sweet/sour/crunchy on the outside and throw off a wonderful liquid which you can use to prepare some accompanying greens. Serves 2 with very large portions or 3-4 if you are prepared to partition the chops before serving.
Ingredients:
2 pork loin chops, cut at least 1-inch thick (about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ pound total)
1 T fennel seeds
1 T brown sugar
2 t Kosher salt
½ t freshly ground black pepper
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced
1 t lemon juice
4 c or so braising greens, ideally including half a fennel bulb
Method: toast fennel seeds in a skillet without burning for about 4 minutes, till they are very aromatic. Cool slightly then grind with a mortar and pestle; the toasted fennel should disintegrate into a coarse powder. Mix with brown sugar, salt and pepper and rub on all sides (including the edges) of two large pork chops. Brine for an hour or so until the chops give off a good amount of liquid.
Fennel Braised Pork Chops in their brine
Heat a cast iron pan till very hot; add the olive oil then the pork chops and sear both sides. They will be blackened quickly because of the sugar in the marinade but don’t let them burn. Lower the heat to medium and cook, turning frequently, till the center reaches 140 degrees F as measured on a meat thermometer. Reserve the chops and add garlic and fennel (thinly sliced in the long direction) to the delicious pan juices and cook until caramelized, 4 minutes or so. Add braising greens and cover; steam a couple of minutes then add lemon juice. Return pork chops to the pan and cover, heat to serving temperature and bring to table (with appropriate safety measures) in the sizzling cast iron pan.
I LOVE this recipe and have made it many times — rib or loin, thick cut. However, I now omit the sugar because it burns. I finish the chops in the oven after initial searing. I think her parsley/lemon rind/garlic topping is a superb flavor bomb. Slicing the meat I think is a fine way to serve — no one needs a whole chop’s worth of meat, I reckon.
Louise, I actually checked out the cookbook and tried the fennel pork chops because you had mentioned it in a previous comment about Alison Roman. Both you and I have tinkered with the recipe, it appears. The original does not include garlic and mentions parsley only as one of several possible herbs you could use to finish. I decided I needed a squirt of lemon juice, plus the garlic, plus some more flavorful oil than canola, plus more greens to take advantage of the delicious liquid the chops throw off. It’s all good.