This is the recipe for “Jacked Pork Chops” from the book, Le Pigeon: Cooking at the Dirty Bird by Gabriel Rucker and Meredith Erickson with Lauren and Andrew Fortgang.
This Erik Van Kley special is hands down the best pork chop I’ve ever tasted. Although it’s a 2-day recipe, it’s completely worth the effort. The foundation is curds and whey: the pork is brined in the whey and the curd becomes the cheese that’s added to the green bean salad. Brining the pork in the whey pumps up the pork with a really strong, out-of-this-world flavor, hence the term jacked. {Serves 4}
2 quarts (2 l) whole milk
1⁄4 cup (35 g) kosher salt
1 cup (250 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
4-bone rack of pork loin, frenched by the butcher
Extra-virgin olive oil for rubbing
4 ounces (125 g) thinly sliced prosciutto
Hazelnut Pesto
1⁄2 cup (75 g) whole hazelnuts, toasted and skins removed
1⁄2 cup (75 g) sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup (40 g) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon hazelnut oil
11⁄2 cups (375 ml) neutral oil
Kosher salt
Green Bean Salad
Kosher salt
4 cups (315 g) fresh green beans
1 cup (150 g) whole hazelnuts, toasted and skins removed
5 Calabrian chiles, seeded
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1. We’re going to make the brine and the cheese simultaneously here: In a heavy pot over high heat, bring the milk to 175°F (80°C), just under a boil. Add the salt, lemon juice, and vinegar. Turn the heat off and let sit for 30 minutes. The curd and whey will naturally separate.
2. Line a colander with cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Pour the contents of the pot into the colander and wait for the curds (the solids in the colander) to drain completely, about 5 minutes. Transfer the whey (the liquid in the bowl) to the fridge for 20 minutes, and then add the pork to the bowl. Cover and brine the pork in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
3. Put the colander with the curds over another bowl, then fold the cheesecloth tightly around the curds and press. The easiest way to do this is to put a bowl with some sort of heavy weight in it on top of the curds and place in fridge for 24 hours. Add any whey that you squeezed out of the curds to the bowl with the pork.
4. The next day, remove the pork from the whey and pat dry. Rub the pork with a little olive oil so the prosciutto will adhere. Wrap the pork with the prosciutto all along the top edge. Slice into four chops and set aside.
5. To make the pesto, in a blender or food processor, puree the hazelnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, garlic, and the hazelnut oil. With the motor running, drizzle in the neutral oil until you have the right pesto consistency. Season with salt to taste.
6. To make the green bean salad, prepare an ice water bath. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and blanch for 2 minutes. Taste one of the beans; if it’s not cooked enough for you, blanch for 1 minute more. When the beans are ready, using a spider or a large slotted spoon, transfer the beans to the ice water bath to cool for 5 minutes. Remove the beans from the water and pat dry; set aside.
7. Remove the curds from the cheesecloth. They will be crumbly and soft; that’s just how you want them. (Note: You will have leftover curds. We like to mix them into salads, omelets, kimchi, or French fries.) In a salad bowl, toss together the green beans, hazelnuts, Calabrian chiles, and crumbled curds. Season with salt to taste, a squeeze of lemon, and ⅓ cup (70 g) of the hazelnut pesto.
8. To grill the pork chops, preheat a gas grill or prepare a charcoal grill for cooking over very high heat. Grill the pork chops for 5 minutes on the first side, flip, and then grill to medium doneness, 4 minutes more.
9. Drizzle some of the hazelnut pesto over the pork chops and serve with green bean salad alongside.
You’ll find another recipe from the book here.