Help - cooking supermarket pork chops.

lemonizer

Hi all,

Is it actually possible to cook a supermarket pork chop without overcooking them? They are so thin that every technique I've tried doesn't appear to help. I've grilled, brined, cooked on high heat/low heat and all combinations of the above. All produce either an undercooked or "used insole" chop.

Obviously I could buy thicker chops but there must be a way to cook these 1cm thick supermarket ones. Surely, the hive mind of MSE can find a way to actually make these tasty.

Anyone got any ideas? Or am I doomed?

joedenise

I tend to cook those thin chops in a pan for about 3 minutes each side on a medium/high heat (it's at 5 on a scale of 1-9 on my cooker) and this seems to cook them through without being dry and tough.  However I must admit I tend to buy thicker pork shoulder chops now as they are much easier to get right and actually have a decent bit of colour on them!

PipneyJane

I’ve stewed those pork chops in the past.  The recipe I use is from Bernadine Lawrence’s book “How to Feed Your Family for £4 a Day” and is called “Pork and Beans”, which involves frying the chops with onion and garlic, then combining in a tomato sauce with cooked black-eye beans and simmering for half an hour.  (The link is to the updated version from 2012 which is for £5 a day.  My copy is 33 years old.)

- Pip

Keithy13

Try "sous vide" see it here

DullGreyGuy

Sous vide for the actual cooking. Pat them dry after and put them in a pan screamingly hot to sear them for 30 seconds each side

-taff

smash them flat, cover in breadcrumbs , hey presto, escalopes....

Misslayed

Keithy13 said:

Try "sous vide" see it here

Not exactly a moneysaving method!

I sandwich them between two pieces of clingfilm, bash em with a rolling pin till really thin, coat with egg and breadcrumbs and flash fry, 2 minutes each side - pork schnitzel. Never fails. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and German style potato salad and you have a taste of Austria!

Another thing we do with them is to chop them into bite size pieces, and layer in a casserole with very thinly sliced potatoes (I use a mandolin), sliced fresh tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and grated Italian hard cheese on the top. Season each layer with salt and pepper. Bake in oven (about 180) for 40 minutes with the lid on, then 15/20 minutes with the lid off, till it's golden and slightly crispy. Leftovers are fabulous too. We sometimes use lamb or chicken. It's a Rick Stein 'peasant food' recipe from Puglia, in Italy. 

DullGreyGuy

Misslayed said:

Keithy13 said:

Try "sous vide" see it here

Not exactly a moneysaving method!

On what basis @Misslayed?

Low temp cooking is like a slow cooker, long duration maybe but very low energy consumption especially if you are using an insulated water container. 

Plenty have gone out to buy an airfryer to "save money" 

Eldi_Dos

The dangers of undecooked pork are not to be taken lightly. There was a horrific article three days ago on the BBC webpage about a chap who ended up with tapeworm larvae in the brain from eating undercooked pork.

Schnitzel and high heat is my preference
.

lemonizer

Braised with a tomato sauce - sounds yummy and simple to make.
Bashed, egged and breadcrummed - Great idea for a "burger tea", instead of chicken/beef patty, a pork schitzel!
That sort of potato/tomato gratin thing - also sounds lovely, not got a mandolin but I could slice using my food processor.

In terms of sous vide. I don't have a machine but I do have an oven thermometer and a probe thingy. Might have a go at the oven sous ide method. See how it turns out.

Thanks for all the tips. Keep them coming if you have anymore!

Misslayed

PS the schnitzel thing works very well with chicken too, I make very small pieces for fussy children (and unbelievably one adult!) who 'only eat chicken nuggets'.