OVERVIEW
This is my perfect winter day meal. It’s the dish I cooked at the EGGtoberfest 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia as the official UK representative. It’s great for those cold, dark evenings when you want something warming and filling. Saying that, it’s also a crowd pleaser. If you’ve got yourself some dinner guests to impress, you’ve picked the right dish.
If the chops are very fatty, trim some of the fat to leave a cap around 3-4cm thick. Otherwise it will start dripping into the fire, causing flaring.
Using the EGGspander System makes the cook much quicker and simpler. But if you don’t have one available, start by searing the chops in the pan, then cook the beans in the pork fat, then roast the chops, then reheat the beans at the end. A bit convoluted but no less delicious.
MAKE YOUR SALSA VERDE
To make the salsa verde, throw all the prepped ingredients into a large mixing bowl – it doesn’t matter in what order – and mix well. Add extra olive oil until you reach your desired consistency.
SET UP YOUR EGG
Set up your EGG for direct cooking using the EGGspander System, with the ConvEGGtor Basket in place topped with a Stainless Steel Half Moon Grid and a Half Moon Cast Iron Plancha Griddle. Target temperature is 200°C-220°C.
Dice your onion and garlic. In a Cast Iron Dutch Oven, add the onion, garlic, the thyme sprigs and a nice chunk of butter and gently sweat off on the grid, directly over the heat. Add a few glugs of cider and begin to reduce. After a few minutes, add the chicken stock and continue reducing.
BROWN YOUR CHOPS
Meanwhile, brown your chops on the Plancha Griddle. Start by standing them up on their fatty edge to render some of the fat, then sear both sides.
While the cider mix is reducing and the chops are browning, drain your butter beans, reserving some of the starchy water.
Add the butter beans to the pot and season with cracked black pepper and sea salt. Add a small amount of butter, stir, then simmer gently. You may need to reduce it more, or if it’s gone too thick, you can add some of the starchy bean water.
ADD THE MULTI-LEVEL RACK
Remove the chops from the EGG and replace the Plancha Griddle with a second Stainless Steel Half Moon Grid. Position the Dutch Oven in the centre of the grid and add the 2-Piece Multi-Level Rack on top. Place the chops onto the rack, right above the open pot, so that the juices drip down into the beans.
Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the chops, but you’re looking for an internal temperature of 65°C-71°C. If you’re using high-welfare pork and you know its history, you should be safe to cook the chops to a lower internal temperature, leaving them slightly pink, extremely tender and juicy.
Make the dish the centrepiece by placing it in the middle of the table with a serving spoon for everyone to enjoy. Serve with your homemade salsa verde.