Rosemary Brined Bone-In Pork Chops

 

While many are kicking and screaming at the thought of summer coming to an end, I am doing the happy dance. The anticipation of the end of hot, humid days, the return of cool, crisp mornings, and the arrival of fall's bounty has me feeling slightly delirious. If I could live endlessly in one season it would be the fall. What is not to love about a landscape painted in rich jewel tones, apple picking season, bowls filled with gourds, pumpkins and flint (Indian) corn, urns filled with ornamental cabbages and mums, the aroma of spiced cider candles, endless bowls of warm homemade soup, the fall antique season, or warming up by the fireplace on a chilly night? If that isn't enough to sway you into becoming another one of the fall's fans, maybe a dinner of these Rosemary Brined Bone-In Pork Chops and some homemade applesauce will convince you.

Having grown up eating thin, dry, overcooked, maybe even a little rubbery pork chops, it was a memorable day when I tasted my first thick, savory, moist, tender pork chop. Up until that point I never knew how incredibly flavorful pork chops could be. But discovering the secrets in how to achieve pork chop perfection was an even better day. 

The first secret is brining, a process particularly beneficial for lean proteins like mass-farmed pork which have a tendency to dry out when exposed to high heat. There are two kinds of brining techniques: dry and wet. Both involve the use of Kosher salt and resting time in the refrigerator (at least 12 hours but up to three days). But there are two schools of thought on which technique results in the moistest, most flavorful outcome. As are a rule, I like dry brining for beef and pork roasts but wet brining for pork chops. However, rather than debate the merits of each one and give you a quiz at the end,  I will simply tell you I love wet brining thick cut, bone-in pork chops as much as I love the fall.

When buying pork chops from your butcher or at the grocery store ask for 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" thick cut bone-in pork chops. If you find a great sale on pork chops, get enough for dinner now and buy enough for freezing for use later. 

The more flavorful the brine, the more flavorful the pork chop. This one is made with water, Kosher salt, sugar, juniper berries, whole peppercorns, bay leaves and sprigs of fresh rosemary. The brine needs to cool completely before the pork chops are submerged in the pot. The covered pot goes into the refrigerator where the marinated pork chops will remain for 24-36 hours to let the magic happen.

The second secret to these scrumptious pork chops is the use of a cast-iron pan. Not only does it help to put a beautiful sear on the pork chops, a cast iron pan can withstand high temperatures. If you are lucky enough to have inherited a well-seasoned cast iron (or two or three), you are well on your way to making these Rosemary Brined Bone-In Pork Chops. If not, there are some really good cast iron pans (at very reasonable prices) at your favorite cooking store. Don't rule out looking for cast iron pans at antique shows, flea markets, tag sales, or even a Goodwill store.

Once the pork chops are seared on both sides, they will finish cooking in a preheated 425 degree (F) oven. Total cooking time ranges from 4 to 14 minutes, not including a 5 minute rest period. 

Important Tip: Key to getting a great sear on the pork chops is drying completely. The drier you get them the better the sear and the less splash on the stove top. 

These moist, juicy, tender, savory Rosemary Brined Bone-In Pork Chops are prefect for a weeknight dinner, weekend dinner, or even a dinner party with friends. I wouldn't be surprise if they become one of your most requested meals! Especially if you serve them with a simple charcuterie board, a gorgeous salad (maybe like this Autumnal Harvest Salad or this Blue Cheese Romaine Salad), some homemade applesauce or your favorite mashed potatoes, and a rich chocolate dessert or even some pumpkin bars (like these Pumpkin Spice Bars with Cream Cheese Icing). 

Recipe

Rosemary Brined Bone-In Pork Chops

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 cups water

1/4 cup Kosher salt

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup juniper berries

2 Tablespoons rainbow or black peppercorns

4 bay leaves 

4-5 springs of fresh rosemary

4 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" thick bone-in pork chops

Olive oil

Directions

1. To make the brine, bring the water, Kosher salt, sugar, juniper berries, peppercorns, bay leaves and fresh rosemary to a boil. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.

2. Submerge the pork chops in the room temperature brine. Cover and refrigerate for 24-36 hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (F).

4. Remove the pork chops from the brine and dry completely!

5. Heat 2 large cast iron pans with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil shimmers, carefully add the pork chops to the pan. Sear until golden (about 2 minutes per side). 

6. Transfer the pans to the oven. Roast the pork until it reaches an internal temperature of 140 degree (F) to 145 degrees (F) on a meat thermometer. 

7. Remove the pork chops from the pan, transfer to a serving platter, and let rest for approximately 5 minutes before serving.

Notes: (1) The recipe for these Rosemary Brined Bone-In Pork Chops was inspired by one from Erin French's cookbook "The Lost Kitchen". (2) If you don't have two cast iron pans, cook the pork chops in batches. Place the seared pork chops on a heavy baking sheet (one that you placed in the oven while it was preheating).

Prairie Homestead, South Dakota (August 2022)

Zucchini Muffins

'Tis the season. 'Tis the zucchini season that is. Farmer's Markets and grocery stores seem to have an abundance of them now. Which means it's the perfect time to make some delicious, moist, crunchy topped, lightly spiced Zucchini Muffins! And, if by chance you are someone who happens to love zucchini, has a bit of a sweet tooth, and have convinced yourself that a muffin made with zucchini it's healthier, today is your lucky day. While on an epic, road trip adventure out west this summer, my friend Karen brought some of her homemade zucchini muffins to sustain us on our hikes. In just one bite, I knew I needed to have her recipe. Years back she had the brilliant idea of turning her mother's zucchini bread recipe into muffins. What is not to love about being able to freeze a batch of zucchini muffins to enjoy whenever your crave one? Or to throw a few in a bag and bring them along on hike? Or to start your day with one? 

As much as I love a good thick slice of zucchini bread or any quick bread for that matter, I am beginning to think I need to start turning every one of my 'bread' recipes into muffins!

On a flavor continuum, these Zucchini Muffins are a 9+! On the beauty pageant scale, they fall somewhere between a 6 and 8. I made this muffin recipe twice to try and get them to have the kind of swoonworthy eye candy look that would compel you to make them. But after the second attempt, I decided there are times when flavor trumps everything. And in all seriousness, you need these insanely scrumptious, amazingly flavorful Zucchini Muffins in your life. 

The recipe makes somewhere between 18-20 muffins. Which makes their freezability factor a big plus! Especially if you happen to live alone or in a very small household. Filling the muffin cups closer to the 2/3's full versus the 3/4's full amount will help prevent your muffins of 'overspilling' during the baking process (trust me I learned this lesson). In a preheated 350 degree (F) oven, baking time for the zucchini muffins ranges somewhere between 28-32 minutes. 

The baked, slightly cooled muffins have the perfect muffin texture. A slightly crunchy top and a soft, moist, perfect crumbed center. The cinnamon in the batter is one of the factors sending the flavor of these muffins over the top! The only changes I made to Karen's recipe were to add some Kosher salt and squeeze out some of the liquid of the shredded zucchini. Other than those minor changes, I stayed true to her recipe. But in all likelihood, eliminating some of the moisture from the zucchini was probably one of those 'assumes everyone knows' steps on thirty year old handwritten recipe cards.

If there were any important takeaways from making these Zucchini Muffins it was the reminder of the importance of always 'eating deliciously'. Coming from me this may seem like a slight departure from my usual 'eat beautifully' mantra. Call it wisdom, a moment of irrationality, or sage advice. Whatever you call it I'm going on record saying never ever pass up a muffin having a 9+ rating on the flavor continuum. 

Recipe

Zucchini Muffins

Makes 18-20 incredibly delicious muffins

Ingredients

1 cup vegetable oil or canola oil

2 1/2 cups (500g) granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups (396g) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 cups (300g) unpeeled, coarsely shredded zucchini (see notes)

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a cupcake pan with cupcake papers.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and Kosher salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, briefly mix together the sugar and oil (about 15-20 seconds).

4. Add in the eggs and beat until well blended (about 30-40 seconds).

5. Mix in the vanilla.

6. Add in the dry ingredients. Mix until blended (the batter will be very thick).

7. Add in the zucchini and mix just until fully incorporated.

8. Using an ice cream scoop, fill the cupcake tin 2/3's full. Place the cupcake tin on a large baking sheet and bake for 28-32 minutes or until the muffins spring back when lightly pressed.

9. Remove from the oven. Let cool for about 5 minutes in the pan. Then remove and transfer to a cooling rack.

10. Repeat the baking process using the remaining batter.

11. Serve the muffins warm or at room temperature. Store any leftover muffins in a freezer ziplock bag.

Notes: (1) If measuring the zucchini using measuring cups, press down in the same kind of manner as you measure brown sugar. Ideally, weigh out the shredded zucchini. Before mixing the shredded zucchini into the batter, transfer to a colander and squeeze out much of the liquid. (2) Some of the baked muffins might have a slight dimple in the center. Not to worry, they are still really delicious. (3) If you love the flavor of zucchini, there are eight other zucchini recipes on the blog!

The Badlands, South Dakota (August 2022)

Blueberry Banana Bread

You might be wondering (hopefully gleefully wondering) if I have decided in favor of continuing to breath life into this non-income producing, creative outlet endeavor. The short answer is yes. But having spent an inordinate amount of time and energy wrestling with this decision over the past several weeks, the short answer doesn't really fully explain what will be happening in this blog's next chapter. So here goes. The blog will evolve differently in the months ahead. There will be less new recipes appearing on a monthly basis, but they will be ones being what I will call 'cookbook worthy'. Meaning, if someday there is a cookbook in my future, these recipes will be some of the contenders. There will be updates to many of the recipes posted in the blog's early days. From reshooting the photos (desperately needed in too many cases), to revising the recipe ingredients (to include gram measurements), to bringing greater clarity to the directions, is how I will spending more of my time. When these revisions happen, they will appear on my Instagram feed and stories. So I hope you follow me (lynnkrizic) there too, if you aren't already. Rather than spending countless hours taking and editing photos for a blog post, I am going on the uphill learning curve climb and dipping further into the reel pond. As I believe this is where the foodie world has been headed for awhile now (yes, I am a tad late to the party). So each blog post, beginning with this one, will have no more than six photos. Infrequent will be the days when a post has ten to twelve photos. But you never know, there may be an exception every now and then. If it weren't for the feedback I had received from a small handful of loyal, publicly supportive, encouraging friends, I would be writing the eulogy for this blog. So if you have ever doubted that it only takes is a small group of people to make a difference, let me be the one to tell you to never have those doubts again.

There happens to be eight delicious versions of banana bread recipes on this blog. And when I press the publish button there will be nine! Yes, nine recipes for banana bread. I have sung the praises of all of them. But after tasting a bite of my friend Ann's Blueberry Banana Bread I knew it was one I needed in my repertoire. Let me go on record as saying this is the blue ribbon banana bread contender, the one I would put up in a banana bread throw down, the one I must begrudgingly admit wasn't my original creation but a slight adaptation, the one you need if you want to live your best banana bread life. If I haven't yet enticed you to make this moist, scrumptious, better than any fancy bakeshop Blueberry Banana Bread, let me keep trying.

If I hadn't first tasted this Blueberry Banana Bread, I may have never made it. Because for some reason I wouldn't have been able to wrap my head around the whole blueberry banana combination. Which explains in part why there has been an almost unforgivable void on the blog. But let me back up a bit. Before I tasted this seriously good, actually pretty darn great, blueberry banana bread, my friend Ann shared it was a long time favorite family recipe. When I hear the words 'favorite family recipe' my thoughts immediately go back to the well done roast with crisco laden gravy my husband at one time would have referred to as a 'family favorite'. In other words, I am guilty of being unfairly dismissive of any recipe framed by those words. And had I not been a little hungry, I may have taken a pass on a slice. Thank goodness hunger has a way of overruling irrational thinking. Because I knew in the first bite, I absolutely had to have her recipe. 

Fortunately for me, she shared it. But like most well-worn, old family favorite recipe cards, the directions left a little to the imagination. Having seen and tasted the blueberry banana bread she made, I could have easily figured out how the blueberries were added to the batter. But, of course, I felt I had permission to take a few liberties with the recipe. Instead of mashing 1/3 cup of fresh blueberries in with the bananas, I decided to add a whole cup, lightly tossed with flour, (plus a handful for the top) of fresh blueberries into the batter. When you taste a whole sweet blueberry in a bite of banana bread, you will understand why I did this. I had to make an educated guess as to what size (metal) pan to use. The first time I made it, I used an 8" x 4" pan (rather than a 9" x 5" pan) because I like a banana bread to have alot of height. The second time I used an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" pan. The slightly larger pan worked perfectly. And lastly, I made two changes to the ingredients: increasing the amount of Kosher salt from 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon and adding in 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Yet, in spite of these slight changes to my friend's recipe, it was the ratios of all of the other ingredients that were responsible for creating such an incredibly moist, perfect crumb, scrumptious blueberry banana bread. Without her recipe, I may have never been able to make a five star worthy version of a banana bread.

Forget about taking out your KitchenAid to make this Blueberry Banana Bread. Use your hand mixer. For the best results, use a European-style unsalted butter. In this bread, it makes a difference. Use very ripe bananas to give your bread a deep, luscious banana flavor. If you don't happen to have any bananas, it might be a week before you can make this bread. Unless of course you can find some getting very close to the ripe point bananas at your grocery store. Then maybe you are only a couple of days away from making this Blueberry Banana Bread. (Hint: Convenience stores are famous for having ripe bananas for sale.)

This Blueberry Banana Bread doesn't really need to be slathered with cream cheese or butter and honey, but I won't stop you. Whether you eat it 'plain' or 'adorned', you are in for such the best treat!

Last but not least, I hope you continue to follow the blog and my Instagram account. Nothing is more validating or motivating to a blogger than when posts garner comments and/or likes. 

Recipe

Blueberry Banana Bread (some very slight changes to my friend Ann's Blueberry Banana Bread family recipe)

Ingredients

1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature (recommend European or European-style butter)

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 Tablespoon for dusting the blueberries

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 Tablespoon whole milk

1 1/2 cups (about 350g) ripe bananas, mashed (3-4 medium sized or 3 large bananas should yield this amount)

1 cup (148g) fresh blueberries

Optional: 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Optional: Cream cheese, butter and/or honey for serving

Directions

1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and Kosher salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, add in the unsalted butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy (approximately 2 minutes) using a hand mixer.

3. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat until fully incorporated.

4. Add in the dry ingredients. Beat until incorporated (don't over beat).

5. Add in the Tablespoon of whole milk and mashed bananas. Beat until blended.

6. Toss the blueberries with a tablespoon of flour. Add to the batter. Fold in using a spatula. (Note: Coating the blueberries in flour helps to prevent them from sinking to the bottom.)

7. Butter or spray an 8 1/2" by 4 1/2" metal baking. Line with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top, then sprinkle on a handful of fresh blueberries. If using walnuts, fold them i with the blueberries.

Place the baking pan in the refrigerator to let the batter rest for 15 minutes. While the batter is resting, preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F).

8. Place the baking pan on a baking sheet before placing in the oven. Bake for 70-90 minutes or until the bread is done. At the halfway point, rotate your baking pan and lightly place a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the bread to prevent it from 'over' browning. Note: My baking time was closer to 80 minutes.)

9. Remove from the oven. Place baking pan on a cooling rack but keep the aluminum foil on top (it helps to keep the top of the bread from getting a hard top layer.) Allow the Blueberry Banana Bread to rest for at least 15 minutes before transferring the bread back to the cooling rack. Place the piece

10. You can wait to cut into thick (1" slices) when it comes to room temperature, or you can cut it when it's almost room temperature. However long you can wait.

11. I like to store any leftover blueberry banana bread in the refrigerator as it helps to keep it moist. You can always reheat a slice in the microwave or in the toaster if you would like to enjoy it warm.

Notes: (1) I increased the Kosher salt from 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon because I use unsalted, not salted butter, when baking. (2) I added 1 teaspoon of baking powder, in addition to the baking soda, to ensure there would be some rise to the bread. (3) Giving the bread some resting time in the refrigerator is a modification of a technique used when making quick breads. And technically, banana bread falls into the quick bread category.