Thick cut pork chops with the bone in and rind still on are both more flavourful and less likely to dry out during cooking. These ones, from Ruby and White are the real deal and come from pigs raised on the beautiful Quantock Hills, just an hour away from my house. Here, I’ve cooked them with my favourite – celeriac remoulade (posh coleslaw) and roasted baby potatoes for a light Spring supper.
You may remember that I’ve talked about Ruby and White before and shared a cracking recipe for lamb casserole (link in bio). Well, I’m pleased to be working with them again and sharing the love. This Bristol based butchers, with their shop on Whiteladies Road, is a local institution. Their meat is all locally sourced and high welfare – they do things the right way! For example, the chicken in my recent mustard chicken and mushroom orzo dish this recipe came from Castlemead Poultry in Radstock which is 16 miles from Bristol! The chickens there are free to roam, reared in small flocks and eat a diet of meadow grasses, milled grain and foraged feed. As a chicken keeper myself, with a flock of ex-commercial hens, I know just how important it is to raise livestock the right way.
Their ‘at home’ range includes a range of meat boxes like the one they sent me, deli items (with their own house made condiments) and seasonal offers. Currently, they’ve got some incredible looking beef rib ready for Easter, as well as bones and rolled leg of lamb, smoked gammon and even rack of venison. Today though, it’s all about their gloriously thick cut pork chops.
Thick cut pork chops with remoulade (serves 2)
Ingredients:
- x2 thick cut pork chops
- Salted butter
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 celeriac, peeled and grated
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
Method:
Remoulade
- Start with the remoulade. It’s so easy. Simply mix the grated celeriac with a squeeze of lemon juice, the mayonnaise, wholegrain mustard and a good crack of fresh black pepper. Once made, clingfilm the bowl and keep in the fridge.
Pork chops
- Cut the rinds off the chops (if they have them) – but don’t discard; these will make good crackling and provide fat for the pan.
- Pat the pork chops dry with kitchen paper and then season them on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat your heaviest pan (I used my cast iron skillet) to medium-high and add the rinds. Press them down in the pan and wait for them to cracking and pop. It’ll take a while but they’ll release their fat and also eventually crisp up.
- Next, hold the pork chops down fat side down in the pan. Hold them like this for several minutes to add colour and render the fat down. You could lean them against each other if you don’t want to hold them – just make sure the fat side is down.
- After 3-4 minutes, you can start to cook the chops through. Depending on their thickness, they’ll take around 7-8 minutes per side.
In the last few minutes, add a knob of butter for extra umph and baste the chops with any juices.
Enjoy…
I served these chops simply, with steamed baby potatoes tossed in butter and fresh parsley, plus the celeriac remoulade. Such high quality meat really doesn’t need dressing up. Just salt and pepper was more than enough.
The crisp acidity of the remoulade works so well with the pork, cutting through the fat and complementing the earthy flavour of the pork. It’s a combination which really works!
Prefer lamb?
I’ve worked with Ruby and White before, back in 2020. That time, I made my mum’s gorgeous lamb casserole and dumplings with their diced lamb. Check it out!