Pork and Mushroom Carbonnade
Speed - 97%
Simplicity - 99%
Tastiness - 100%
99%
Perfect!
These porkchops came out perfectly moist and tender. Its also amazing how those potatoes tasted after soaking up on all those flavors in the pot. It's a throwback to "one pot meals" but with a few twists, you can really make this dish shine like an expensive steakhouse meal.
Ingredients
- 2 pieces French Pork Chops
- 1 cup Stout
- 1 cups Beef Stock
- 1 cup Straw Mushrooms
- 2 pieces Potatoes cut into quarters
- 2 tablespoons Prepared Mustard
- 2 pieces Shallots cut into halves
- 2 pieces Bay Leaf
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Brush porkchops with prepared mustard and season.
- Sear both sides of pork in a hot pan.
- Remove pork and sautee onions, potatoes, and mushrooms.
- Deglaze pan with stout then add in stock.
- Transfer all ingredients into slow cooker set on low for 4 hours.
This is an interesting preparation for pork chops which draws inspiration from a local Belgian dish. Carbonnade is a traditional stew of pork loin, or in some variations beef, cooked in a strong beer or red wine. This recipe stays true to those flavors, calling for the use of stout, for its deep, sour, and slightly bitter tones. I've also adapted this for the crockpot adding in potatoes, and mushrooms rounding it up into a one-pot meal.
Though not part of the traditional preparation, I chose to brush my chops with prepared mustard before seasoning with salt and pepper. Dijon, brown, or english mustard would be equally terrific. The tang from the mustard will noticeably complement the flavor that the beer would eventually impart into the final dish. This layer of mustard will also beautifully caramelize into a very flavorful crust.
Take note of the cut of pork I specifically chose for this recipe :
- bone-in to ensure that it maintains it shape during the long cooking process
- french cut for its relatively higher fat content which will act as a source of moisture
- about an inch thick to make sure it stays moist after braising
Sear. Searing locks in those natural juices so don't skip on this step whenever roasting or braising meat. Dishes prepared in a slow cooker benefit further from searing in that they develop a deeper color which would otherwise be impossible.
Notice those brown drippings forming at the bottom of the pan? That's flavor right there waiting to be incorporated into a sauce that can only be achieved by searing in a very hot pan.
When the chops are nice and brown, set them aside. Get those vegetables in. Let the potatoes brown a bit, allow the shallots to release those sugars, and let the moisture from the mushrooms loosen up those burnt pieces on the pan. Adding a bit of salt at this stage would also draw out a bit more moisture from the shallots and mushrooms and will aid deglaze the pan. If some drippings still remain sticking, you may add a bit of liquid to make them easier to scrape loose. You may use water, a little from the stout, or a bit of beef stock.
Next would be to combine all those ingredients in the slow cooker until the chops achieve perfect doneness. The slow cooker I'm really enjoying using right now is the Hamilton Beach Set n' Forget. It's perfect for this recipe so you can measure the internal temperature of your pork chops. I use it for my whole chicken recipes and other types of meat that I don't want to overcook. The reason this particular slow cooker is good for this type of cooking is that it comes with a small hole in the lid and a temperature probe you can hook into a jack on the side of the cooker.
You can then set the slow cooker to stop cooking at a desired temperature, ie the internal temperature of the meat, so that your meal does not overcook by simply setting it to an estimated amount of time.
Overcooking these chops would render them less juicy. We're looking for an internal temperature of 145F. I wanted to take the guess work out so I took a meat thermometer to make sure I stop the chops from cooking at the exact time. The size of porkchops I used took 4 hours on low and came out perfectly pink in the center. Remember to rest the chops for about ten minutes before serving or cutting into them. This allows the juices to be redistributed into the meat fibers instead of running out.
Take note on the size I chose to cut my potatoes. This came out perfectly cooked in time with those chops. A bit smaller and they would have ended up overcooked. Too large, and they'd come out raw.
Ingredients
- 2 pieces French Pork Chops
- 1 cup Stout
- 1 cups Beef Stock
- 1 cup Straw Mushrooms
- 2 pieces Potatoes cut into quarters
- 2 tablespoons Prepared Mustard
- 2 pieces Shallots cut into halves
- 2 pieces Bay Leaf
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Brush porkchops with prepared mustard and season.
- Sear both sides of pork in a hot pan.
- Remove pork and sautee onions, potatoes, and mushrooms.
- Deglaze pan with stout then add in stock.
- Transfer all ingredients into slow cooker set on low for 4 hours.
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