July 18, 2016
4 pork chops, 1 inch thick
Napa Valley Rub
Olive Oil (or other cooking oil)
Salt and Pepper to taste
First, mix your Napa Valley rub, some olive oil, and some salt and pepper together in a bowl. Using a barbecue brush, cover each pork chop with the mixture. Seal them in a vacuum-sealed bag and drop them into a sous vide cooker at 143 degrees for an hour. In the sous vide, the chops will cook slowly while retaining their moisture; the flavors of the rub will have plenty of time to penetrate the chop while keeping it tender.
After an hour, remove the chops from the sous vide, cut them out of the bag, and sear them in a cast iron pan on medium high heat, about 2 minutes a side. As the chops are already cooked and very tender, the idea is to get them just the right amount of crisp on the outside while retaining the juiciness the sous vide provides. Set the chops aside and mix the pork’s juices in the pan with a little stock, feeling free to add a bit of fresh Napa Valley rub to the mix. Pour the stock and juice mixture over your pork chop, and voilà —you have avoided the nightmare of a tough, dry, overcooked pork chop!
