Best Pork Chops Ever

As you know I have been writing about pork chops lately. Well, rather than keep writing, I decided to cook. I went out to buy chops. As is always my way, I bought what was on sale. I purchased ¾” chops with a bone in. These pieces were too thin to stuff. I love stuffed pork chops and promise to make some soon. Instead I decided to lightly bread the chops, brown them and bake them. This recipe is now entitled the Best Pork Chops Ever.

Start by placing the chops in cold water and salt. Make a 10% brine solution. Refrigerate for 6 hours.

Set out two plates and shallow bowl and set up a standard breading line, flour, eggs and breadcrumbs, in that order. Bread the chops and place them on wax paper.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Coat the pan with EVOO and brown the chops for 3 minutes on each side. Place the browned chops in a roasting of refrigerate and bake later.

In the roasting pan add ¾ of cup of Chablis and ¾ of a cup of water. Sprinkle the chops with dried basil. You may want to cut up potatoes and place the pieces in the roasting pan with the chops. This is an easy way to get your vegetable cooked at the same time. Sprinkle the potato pieces with salt, pepper and dried basil. Cover the pan with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Uncover and cook for 5 more minutes.

Be prepared for the best pork chop ever. We paired the Best Pork Chop Ever with a Malbec from Argentina, Mendoza, the best known wine producing region of Argentina.

Argentina is making some interesting wines at the moment. Its main marketing push has been Malbec, a grape whose home is the southwest of France, where it’s the main grape in Cahors and a bit-part player in many Bordeaux blends. Malbec doesn’t have the black currant fruitiness of Cabernet; rather it is a bit darker, and a little more savoury, with spice and earth undertones. It has less of a tendency to go to lushness when grown in warm climates, which is probably a good thing.

Mendoza is the dominant wine region. Perched on the side of the Andes, this is a region that receives very little rainfall, and were it not for the ready supply of Andes melt water, viticulture wouldn’t be possible here. Another important factor is altitude: the vineyards here are high up, and with the highest vineyards in the region the extra UV light that the grapes receives causes the grapes to develop thicker skins, with more tannins (and softer tannins, too), as well as more colour. The cooling effect of altitude means that the grapes preserve acidity even when they are allowed to hang for quite a while before harvest.
I bought this wine, Moncagua at Bevmo! However, if you fall in love with Malbec, like I have you will want to start shopping for wines online. Case prices and variety rule on line and there are some amazing values for the Internet shopper. Check out my favorite online wine shop. Click here!

Shop our selection of wines that made Wine & Spirits Top 100 wines of 2009.


Enjoy!