{"id":14431,"date":"2011-10-12T07:37:41","date_gmt":"2011-10-12T11:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/foodembrace.com\/?p=14431"},"modified":"2011-10-12T07:37:41","modified_gmt":"2011-10-12T11:37:41","slug":"cider-and-beer-brined-chops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/2011\/10\/cider-and-beer-brined-chops\/","title":{"rendered":"Cider and Beer Brined Chops"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/cider_beer_brined_chops2.jpg\" data-rel=\"attachment-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-14433\" title=\"Cider and Beer brined chops\" src=\"http:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/cider_beer_brined_chops2-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/cider_beer_brined_chops2-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/cider_beer_brined_chops2.jpg 467w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><a title=\"Work Day, Rest Day\" href=\"http:\/\/foodembrace.com\/2011\/10\/work-day-rest-day\/\"> As promised<\/a>, this post is all about my most recent experiment with brining; combining cider and beer.<\/p>\n<p>First, you all know that<a href=\"http:\/\/foodembrace.com\/2008\/11\/tt-brining-is-your-friend\/\" target=\"_blank\"> I love to brine<\/a>. And if you&#8217;re eating pork or poultry, <a href=\"http:\/\/foodembrace.com\/2009\/11\/tuesday-tip-thanksgiving-edition-more-tips-on-brining\/\" target=\"_blank\">my opinion is always to brine that baby first<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve done <a href=\"http:\/\/foodembrace.com\/2009\/11\/tuesday-tip-thanksgiving-edition-more-tips-on-brining\/\" target=\"_blank\">cider brines<\/a> and I&#8217;ve done <a href=\"http:\/\/foodembrace.com\/2010\/03\/beer-brined-pork-chops\/\" target=\"_blank\">beer brines<\/a>, but I have not combined them.<\/p>\n<p>Last Sunday I decided to do just that. \u00a0I had some cider that needed used up and I had a fall inspired <a href=\"http:\/\/abita.com\/brews\/pecan.php\" target=\"_blank\">pecan beer<\/a> that would pair well with the cider.<\/p>\n<p>I used up the last of the cider so I don&#8217;t know exactly how much was left but I&#8217;m going to guess about two cups or thereabouts.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Andrea&#8217;s Cider and Beer Brined Chops<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2 Thick cut, bone-in pork loin chops (<a href=\"http:\/\/bluescreekfarmmeats.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Blues Creek<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>2C Apple Cider (get fresh and local!)<\/li>\n<li>1 12oz Bottle of <a href=\"http:\/\/abita.com\/brews\/pecan.php\" target=\"_blank\">Abita Pecan Harvest Ale<\/a>\u00a0+ 1\/4C (more if you make gravy)<\/li>\n<li>1\/4C Brown Sugar<\/li>\n<li>Slightly more than 1\/4C Kosher Salt<\/li>\n<li>2 Jalapenos, sliced in half<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 Small onion, + 1\/4 Small Onion, sliced<\/li>\n<li>2 Garlic Cloves<\/li>\n<li>Red pepper flakes<\/li>\n<li>Chili powder<\/li>\n<li>Garlic Powder<\/li>\n<li>Smoked Paprika<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>*As much as you want of the seasonings<\/p>\n<p>In a large bowl combine the cider, 12oz beer, salt, and sugar. \u00a0Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. \u00a0Add in the other seasonings, garlic, 1\/2 onion, and jalapenoes and stir. \u00a0Add in the chops. Top mixture off with more water until the chops are completely submerged. \u00a0Quick stir and place in fridge.<\/p>\n<p>Let brine in fridge for at least 5 hours.<\/p>\n<p>Remove from brine, gently rinse chops under cold water and pat dry. \u00a0Sprinkle with garlic powder, chili powder, and smoked paprika on both sides. \u00a0Allow to rest for at least a half an hour to take the chill off the chops.<\/p>\n<p>Preheat oven to 400.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a title=\"Kitchen Essentials: High Sided Skillet\" href=\"http:\/\/foodembrace.com\/2011\/03\/kitchen-essentials-high-sided-skillet\/\" target=\"_blank\">sautee pan<\/a>, drizzle in a little olive oil and heat over medium heat. \u00a0Add in chops and sear chops on each side. \u00a0Add the 1\/4 of an onion, and about 1\/2C of Pecan Ale. \u00a0Place in oven and roast until cooked through. \u00a0About 15-20 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Remove from oven and let chops rest for about 5 minutes before serving.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/cider_beer_brined_chops.jpg\" data-rel=\"attachment-image-1\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14432\" title=\"Cider and Beer Brined Chops\" src=\"http:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/cider_beer_brined_chops-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/cider_beer_brined_chops-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/cider_beer_brined_chops.jpg 467w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>I also made a quick pan gravy for the chops. \u00a0In a blender, I blended up the beer and onions that were in the skillet with the chops. \u00a0I then added that mixture to a roux of olive oil, butter, and flour. \u00a0I added in more chicken stock and another 1\/2C of beer to create the gravy. \u00a0A little pinch of salt and pepper brought it all together.<\/p>\n<p>These chops turned out really well. \u00a0Leaving the bone in meats is automatically going to\u00a0guarantee\u00a0you more flavor and a juicier bite, by adding a brine to that makes those attributes even more\u00a0prominent.<\/p>\n<p>Both Scott and I were really pleased with the way these turned out and the chops were so HUGE that neither of us could finish our portions. \u00a0Scott had the leftovers the next day for dinner.<\/p>\n<p>They are also flavorful enough on their own that you don&#8217;t <em>need<\/em> gravy but well, it was a gravy kind of day so I went for it. \u00a0It was my first time making gravy with beer and it didn&#8217;t turn out too shabby.<\/p>\n<p>These would be great for grilling too. \u00a0Add in some hickory chips for extra umph!<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are your thoughts on brining? What is your favorite brine?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As promised, this post is all about my most recent experiment with brining; combining cider and beer. First, you all know that I love to brine. And if you&#8217;re eating pork or poultry, my opinion is always to brine that baby first. I&#8217;ve done cider brines and I&#8217;ve done beer brines, but I have not [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[32,37,15],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4KYWa-3KL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14431"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14431\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}