Photo: Brined Pork Porterhouse with Dried Fig Saba Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
Pork:
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 6 fresh sage leaves, torn
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- Two 18-ounce pork porterhouse steaks
- Pinch crushed red pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
Fig Sauce:
- 1 cup saba
- 8 ounces dried Black Mission figs, stemmed and cut into quarters
- 4 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 cup chicken stock
- Kosher salt
Directions
For the pork: Combine the salt, sugar, sage, garlic, bay leaves and 2 quarts water. Submerge the pork in the brine and refrigerate for 24 hours before cooking.
When ready to cook, remove the pork from the brine and discard the brine. Let the pork come to room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before cooking. Pat dry.
Meanwhile, for the sauce: Combine the saba and figs and let sit for 1 hour.
Toss the pancetta into a small saute pan, give a little drizzle of oil and bring the pan to a medium heat. When the pancetta starts to brown and crisp, toss in the garlic and rosemary and stir to combine.
Add the saba, figs and vinegar. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the chicken stock and bring the mixture back to a boil (BTB) and then reduce it to a simmer (RTS). Simmer the sauce until it becomes a chunky, saucy consistency. Season with salt.
Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
Sprinkle the pork with crushed red pepper and a drizzle of oil. Grill the pork for 8 to 9 minutes on each side and 1 to 2 minutes standing it up on the fat edge to crisp that up. If the pork starts to burn, move it to a cooler spot on the grill.
Let the pork rest for 10 to 15 minutes after grilling. Cut each steak off the bone and slice. Be sure to serve the bone along with the steaks.
Serve garnished with the sauce.
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By jdburdick_11410319
portland, OR
on September 14, 2012
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She doesn't say in the recipe what liquid to use for the brine. I'm thinking water, mixed with the salt, garlic etc.
By BlairSollenberger
on May 20, 2012
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A powerhouse of awesome flavor! I didnt have Saba and I had some thick pork tenderloin medallions for dinner the day this episode aired. I made it with balsamic vinegar sweetened a bit as Chef Anne suggested. It took a little longer to reduce the sauce but it was so tasty we used it over the baked sweet potatoes as well. Thanks, Anne. Awesome as always.
By devildogrn
San Diego, CA
on March 31, 2012
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Another great hit from Anne! Amazing flavor! I could not find the 18 oz porterhouse pork steaks so used regular sized porterhouse pork instead. Instead of brining the pork, I made a blend of the sage, oil, etc and let it sit on the pork for two hours. The rest of the recipe I followed exactly as written. Wow - if you want something different you definitely need to try this! It beats the heck out of the standard pork chops and apple sauce!
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