With a steady supply of Berkshire tomahawk pork chops, they've become a staple in my rotation. When grilled to perfection, they're right up there with beef steaks. I chose to grill them live fire this go round in honor of my friend Henrik and his previous live fire lamb chop cook.
As an added bonus to this cook, I also ran across some prepared meat in Central Market that gave me an idea for some lollipop skewers that I included with this meal. First, a quick recipe description is in order for....
Lamb Keema Lollipops
Ingredients
1/2 pound lamb keema (curried minced lamb, grocery sourced)
1/2 pound 80/20 ground chuck
1 medium shallot
1 jalapeno pepper
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon Hank's Beef Rub
5 skewers
Method
1) In a large bowl, combine and thoroughly mix together the lamb, the ground chuck and Hank's seasoning.
2) Mince the shallot. De-vein, remove the seeds and finely chop the jalapeno. Finally rough chop the cilantro and add all three to the bowl. Gently incorporate into the seasoned meat. Do not overwork or the mixture may turn mushy.
3) If the mix becomes too loose, add some bread crumbs to firm up.
4) Shape the meat into 1" thick by 3" long cylinders. Place a skewer through the longest cylinder dimension. Once all are formed and skewered, add some additional Hank's seasoning before grilling. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up.
5) Live fire grill until the internal temperature hits 135* for medium rare. Remove and serve.
_____________
So back to the star of the show, our tomahawks pork chops. I dry brined them overnight with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound. Prior to grilling, I hit them with some Lea & Perrins and gave them a base coat of coarse ground pepper followed by a liberal application of Killer Hogs pork rub. I let them rest in the fridge along with the lollipops until I fired up the grill....
Only thing left to do was feed the flame and start the ball rolling with 1/2 chimney of charcoal. Once the charcoal was ashed over and a base established, I added several mini mesquite logs to establish my fire. Once established I mounted my Santa Maria grilling accessory to my 22" Weber kettle.....
The lollipops finished fairly quickly. Ran them up to about 135*F IT, removed them and covered them with foil. Chops finished when their internals hit 140*F IT, thinner ones first followed by the thicker ones. To go along with the chops, I wanted a sweet accompanied sauce to cut the pork fat taste and chose to do a simple pear sauce. It's basically an apple sauce substituting pears for apples.
Pear Sauce
Ingredients
3 Bartlett Pears
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Method
1) Chop the pears into small pieces. Add the pear pieces and the remaining ingredients to a small pan. Bring to boil and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes until soft.
2) For a coarser texture, chop the sauce with a potato masher. For a finer texture add to a blender and give it a quick spin until smooth. Avoid liquefying.
3) Place into a container and refrigerate until ready to serve.
__________
Chops and lollipops were served on a large platter for a help yourself meal. Along with the pear sauce, sides included slaw and barbecue beans.
Well back at ya Henrik, can't wait to see what you come up with next !!! Troutman is out !!!!
Photos taken with a Nikon D7500 and a 70-200 mm Nikor lens.
As an added bonus to this cook, I also ran across some prepared meat in Central Market that gave me an idea for some lollipop skewers that I included with this meal. First, a quick recipe description is in order for....
Lamb Keema Lollipops
Ingredients
1/2 pound lamb keema (curried minced lamb, grocery sourced)
1/2 pound 80/20 ground chuck
1 medium shallot
1 jalapeno pepper
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon Hank's Beef Rub
5 skewers
Method
1) In a large bowl, combine and thoroughly mix together the lamb, the ground chuck and Hank's seasoning.
2) Mince the shallot. De-vein, remove the seeds and finely chop the jalapeno. Finally rough chop the cilantro and add all three to the bowl. Gently incorporate into the seasoned meat. Do not overwork or the mixture may turn mushy.
3) If the mix becomes too loose, add some bread crumbs to firm up.
4) Shape the meat into 1" thick by 3" long cylinders. Place a skewer through the longest cylinder dimension. Once all are formed and skewered, add some additional Hank's seasoning before grilling. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up.
5) Live fire grill until the internal temperature hits 135* for medium rare. Remove and serve.
_____________
So back to the star of the show, our tomahawks pork chops. I dry brined them overnight with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound. Prior to grilling, I hit them with some Lea & Perrins and gave them a base coat of coarse ground pepper followed by a liberal application of Killer Hogs pork rub. I let them rest in the fridge along with the lollipops until I fired up the grill....
Only thing left to do was feed the flame and start the ball rolling with 1/2 chimney of charcoal. Once the charcoal was ashed over and a base established, I added several mini mesquite logs to establish my fire. Once established I mounted my Santa Maria grilling accessory to my 22" Weber kettle.....
The lollipops finished fairly quickly. Ran them up to about 135*F IT, removed them and covered them with foil. Chops finished when their internals hit 140*F IT, thinner ones first followed by the thicker ones. To go along with the chops, I wanted a sweet accompanied sauce to cut the pork fat taste and chose to do a simple pear sauce. It's basically an apple sauce substituting pears for apples.
Pear Sauce
Ingredients
3 Bartlett Pears
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Method
1) Chop the pears into small pieces. Add the pear pieces and the remaining ingredients to a small pan. Bring to boil and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes until soft.
2) For a coarser texture, chop the sauce with a potato masher. For a finer texture add to a blender and give it a quick spin until smooth. Avoid liquefying.
3) Place into a container and refrigerate until ready to serve.
__________
Chops and lollipops were served on a large platter for a help yourself meal. Along with the pear sauce, sides included slaw and barbecue beans.
Well back at ya Henrik, can't wait to see what you come up with next !!! Troutman is out !!!!
Photos taken with a Nikon D7500 and a 70-200 mm Nikor lens.
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