Brined Pork Chops with Soft Parmigiano Polenta

Recipe courtesy Anne Burrell

Show: Secrets of a Restaurant ChefEpisode: The Secret to Grilled Pork Chops

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (116)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(116)

Cook Time:
40 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
4 servings

Times:

Prep: 25 min
Inactive Prep: 72 hr 0 min
Cook: 40 min
Total:: 73 hr 5 min

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Ingredients

For the brine:

1/2 cup salt, or to taste
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fennel seed
2 tablespoons coriander seed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 bay leaves
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, diced
4 cloves garlic smashed
1 1/2 quarts cold water
4 bone- in pork rib chops
1 tablespoon wild fennel pollen*
Soft Parmigiano Polenta, recipe follows

Directions

To make the brine: In a large container, add all of the ingredients and stir to combine. Submerse the pork chops in the brine and refrigerate for 3 days. After 3 days remove the chops from the brine, discarding the brine.

Preheat a grill or grill pan. Roll the fat edge of each pork chop with the fennel pollen. Place porks chop gently on the preheated grill or grill pan. After 3 to 4 minutes rotate the chops 90 degrees to create lovely grill marks. Grill the chops for another 3 to 4 minutes and then turn over and repeat the process. If the chops seem to be burning move the chops to a cooler part of the grill to allow for longer cooking time without burning. Stand the chops up so the fat edge is in contact with the grill to crisp up the fat edge, this will also make the fennel pollen very aromatic. Remove the chops from the grill and let rest in a warm place before serving. The doneness of the meat should be about medium to medium well and very juicy. Serve with polenta.

Cook's Notes:

This is DEFINITEY a plan ahead recipe as the pork chops need to brine for 3 days.

*If fennel pollen is not available, toasted ground fennel seeds are an acceptable substitution

Soft Parmigiano Polenta:

1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 bay leaf
Salt
1 cup long cooking polenta
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese

In a medium size saucepan, bring the milk, water and bay leaf to a boil. Season generously with salt, almost to the point of over seasoning. How do you know that you are there? TASTE IT! When it has reached a boil, slowly whisk in the polenta in small sprinkles. Once all of the polenta has been incorporated, reduce heat to medium and immediately switch over to stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook the polenta for 30 to 40 minutes, adding water if the polenta becomes too thick to loosen it up.

When the polenta is thoroughly cooked, it should look creamy and not feel gritty on your tongue. Remove it from the heat and stir in the Parmigiano and mascarpone. Serve it immediately, or place a sheet of plastic wrap right on the surface of the polenta to prevent a skin from forming on the top.

To reheat: Add a little water to the polenta and heat over low to medium heat stirring constantly to prevent burning.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Brined Pork Chops with Soft Parmigiano Polenta
Donna Tenmile, OR 10-20-2009
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The Best Pork Chops Ever - But Use Quality Pork
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I've made this recipe several times. When made using the gorgeous local pork available from our local butcher, these were... fabulous enough that I now stock fennel pollen in my spice drawer. Then I tried the recipe using chops that were on sale at Safeway and they were quite salty. Since the Safeway chops were fattier, my theory is that the fat absorbs the salts more than the lean meat does. I'll make this over and over, but I won't buy the pork at the supermarket anymore.Read more
recipe Brined Pork Chops with Soft Parmigiano Polenta
kim seattle, WA 10-13-2009
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Love them!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made this recipe last year- no reviews yet & it was amazing. I too am not a pork chop fan but after seeing this episode,... made them. They turned out perfectly though I used fennel seeds, not pollen. Perhaps I added more water but they weren't salty. My friend made this recipe & said they were salty. I am making again this weekend & will watch the salt. But hands down the best chops! Love Anne!Read more
recipe Brined Pork Chops with Soft Parmigiano Polenta
Mushy Riverside, CA 10-11-2009
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Great flavor
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I took the advice of fellow reviewers and used less salt. When I made the brine, I salted to taste before adding the pork... chops. Read more
recipe Brined Pork Chops with Soft Parmigiano Polenta
BOB Kearney, NE 10-04-2009
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Not at all salty - but Pete was right...use 4 quarts of water
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I used 2 inch thick pork chops. I followed the recipe exactly except I used 4 quarts of water as the previous reviewer... suggested. The chops turned out perfectly and there was little flavor of salt. I also used Morton Kosher salt which did not seem to be an issue at all. The friend who came for dinner declared them to be the best pork chops he had ever had.Read more
recipe Brined Pork Chops with Soft Parmigiano Polenta
Marianne New York, NY 10-03-2009
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The best pork chops ever
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

So I've never been a big fan of pork chops, but after seeing Anne make it on the show and deciding to try this recipe, I now... LOVE them, and won't make pork chops any other way! The flavor really is unbelieveable, as well as the moistness - I ate 2 in one sitting! I would absolutely try this recipe, and don't worry if you don't have fennel pollen, it tastes amazing without!Read more
recipe Brined Pork Chops with Soft Parmigiano Polenta
Pete Burnaby, BC 09-11-2009
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4 QUARTS of water for the brine. *NOT* 1.5 quarts
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This episode just aired on Food Network up here in Canada, and after seeing it, I wanted to bookmark the recipe. After... reading all of the comments about the saltiness of the pork, I went back and watched the recorded program again. The problem appears to be a simple one...the online recipe here says "1.5 Quarts of water" for the brine. On TV, the container Anne was adding everything to had 4 Quarts of water in it before she began adding the veggies and seasonings. Seems that whomever wrote the recipe down made a mistake, which is very unfortunate, considering that mistakes like that can ruin people's meals and cost them money. I see complaints about recipe inaccuracies quite a bit on here, again, unfortunately. Seems that Food Network really needs to work on better QA/QC when it comes to making sure the recipes are accurate. Anyway, hope this helps some of you out. The salt and sugar amounts seem right, but you need way more water. Good luck!Read more