One night, on the bus home, I was pondering my dinner (I think about food a lot).
And as I watched my twitter feed scroll in front of me, this recipe popped up.
Ohhh! I thought. And then reality kicked in. I had pork, yes, but no Bourbon (drank it), no cider (don’t tend to have it in), no apples.
Time to rethink. What I did have in was gin (obviously), lemons (what’s a gin and tonic without citrus?) and those pesky pork chops. And so an idea sprang into my head.
Take one cocktails – the Tom Collins – and turn it into food. Kind of.
This needs to be made at least 4 hours in advance – the longer the better. I left my pork 24 hours in the brine, before cooking, and it’s well worth it. The flavoured brine enhances the pork flavour, rather than dominating it, so choosing good pork is important.
Tom Collins Pork Chops
Ingredients:
Serves 2
2 Good sized pork chops
1 Lemon, sliced
2 tbsp Sugar (I used golden caster sugar)
2 tbsp Salt
125ml Hot water
250ml Cold water
100 ml Gin (a good savoury or citrussy gin, I used the last of my Tanqueray TEN)
Oil for greasing
Optional: extra lemon zest and rosemary for cooking.
Method:
Grab yourself a sealable container – even a good ziplock back will do the trick.
Meantime, in a jug mix the hot water, sugar and salt until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
Then add in the cold water and gin. This will bring the temperature of the water back down.
Meantime, slice the rind on the back of the chops to prevent curling while cooking (I forgot this bit, learn from my stuff up).
Put the chops, the sliced lemon and the brining mixture into the container and seal. Leave up to 24 hours.
When ready, preheat your grill and remove the chops from the brine. Yes, throw the dirty gin brine away.
Pat dry the pork chops and smear with a little oil – sprinkling with the lemon zest and/or rosemary if using.
Cook under the grill for around 8-10 minutes until done (4 minutes each side). Then leave to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Squeeze a little lemon over the pork, and enjoy!
