Mariahs Famous Pork Chop Dinner

If you're anything like me, you have experienced eating dry pork chops, which are bad enough to drive most people way from eating them; I have played with and tweaked this recipe over the years and have finally found the perfect recipe for juicy, succulent breaded pork chops that have made quite the impression on everyone who has had them (I've been told they're the best people have had!

If I have the extra time I will always take the opportunity to marinade my pork chops in milk for up to 2 hours. Milk contains latic acid that gently tenderizes the pork chops where as a normal vinegar or citrus based marinade will turn the meat slightly mushy instead of tender. 

       

Rinse the pork chops under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Place in a large ziploc bag or container and pour in enough milk to cover. I like to spice up my marinade a bit so I add Dales steak seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, Lawry's seasoned salt, rosemary and pepper. 

For best results allow the pork chops to soak in the milk marinade for up to 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Peel the potatoes and carrots. (I usually use baby reds, and those you won't need to peel, I just had russets on hand).

Cut the potatoes into uniform bite sizes pieces along with the carrots. Mince the garlic.

Heat a saute pan over medium heat along with butter and white truffle olive oil (yes it makes a HUGE difference!)

Add the minced garlic to the pan and stir until the garlic becomes translucent and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, carrots, parsley, tarragon, white pepper and Lawry's. 

Saute vegetables for 10 minutes and transfer to a roasting pan (Set aside the saute pan, you will need it again). Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.

While the vegetables are in the oven start preparing the pork chops.

Remove the pork chops from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Prepare a shallow dish and pour in the bread crumbs. 

Alright, I know I may catch a few of you off guard with this but bear with me, coat the pork chops with mayo....yes mayonnaise. For those of you mayo haters I promise you won't even be able to taste it! It locks in the moisture better than a traditional egg wash and acts as a better bond for the bread crumbs.

After all sides of the pork chops have been covered with mayo, place the chops into the bread crumbs to coat.

Reheat the saute pan you used for the vegetables and add more truffle oil.

Sear one side of the pork chops until the bottom is golden brown, about 2 minutes (if you check the bottoms too soon, or if the pan isn't hot enough the breading will fall off the bottoms.

After all of the pork chops have been seared on one side, the vegetables should be just about ready to take out of the oven.

Remove the foil and place the pork chops, seared side down, on top of the vegetables.

Bake uncovered for 18 to 20 minutes , until the pork chops are no longer pink on the inside or when they reach an internal temperature of 160.

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Remove from the oven and voila! you have nice juicy pork chops to indulge in, enjoy!

Ingredients: 

Milk Marinade:

-2 C whole milk

-1 Tbsp Dales Steak Seasoning

-1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

-2 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt
-1 Tsp Rosemary

-1/4 tsp Ground white pepper

cracked pepper to taste

Mariah's Famous Pork Chop Dinner

-4 Boneless pork chops

-5 large russet potatoes or 8 baby reds, cut into bite size uniform pieces

-5 large carrots, cut into uniform pieces

-3 cloves of garlic, Minced

-1 Tbsp Butter

-2 Tbsp White Truffle oil, divided

-1 Tbsp Lawry's seasoned salt

-1 Tbsp Parsley

-2 tsp Tarragon

-Salt and pepper to taste

-2 C Italian seasoned bread crumbs

-Mayonnaise

Directions
-Assemble the marinade ingredients into a large ziploc bag and marinade the pork chops for up to 2 hours ahead of time in the refriderator.

-Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

-In a saute pan, melt butter and add add the olive oil. Add the vegetables and seasoning down to the salt and pepper.

-Saute the vegetables for 10 minutes and transfer to a roasting pan and cover with foil.

-Bake for 15 minutes.

-While the vegetables are cooking, cover the pork chops with mayo and coat in Italian bread crumbs.

-In the same saute pan, sear the breaded pork chops on one side for about 2 minutes, or until golden brown.

-When the vegetables are done remove from the oven and take off the tin foil.

-Place the pork chops seared side down onto the veggies.

-Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the pork chops are no longer pink in the middle.

-Let rest for 5 minutes and enjoy!

Sous Vide stuffed Cornish game hens

If you have never had the pleasure of enjoying a Cornish game then you have been missing something special! These tender, juicy little birds are not actually a game bird which the name suggests, but are a cross between Cornish chickens and the white Plymouth rock chickens. The result of this combination is big breasted birds with a shorter maturity time, which makes them very readily available and easy to find!  They are also relativity inexpensive depending on where you live and make for a very impressive and easy meal. I have prepared them in a few different ways but this one is definitely my husband's favorite. For this method i will be using a sous vide (if you have never heard of it or never used one i highly recommend it!). It is possible to make this without the sous vide, you just need to extend the oven cook time. Let's get to it!

 First preheat your sous vide water bath to 150 degrees so the water can warm up while you prep!

 Make sure your game hens are completely thawed and make sure to remove the giblets if they came with the hens, pat dry.

Next, gather all of your seasoning ingredients. I used freshly ground salt and pepper, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, fresh oregano, lemon pepper, poultry magic, and butter.

 Cut a small slit in the top of each breast and stuff with pieces of butter and a small amount of each of the herbs, and stuff the body cavity as well.

 Rub the hens with butter and add the salt, pepper, lemon pepper and poultry magic, and then put each one in a one gallon zip lock bag, you can add more fresh herbs and a few tablespoon of dry white wine if desired.

 Remove all of the air from the bags using the water emulsion method or if you choose you can use a food saver to seal the bags, then place in the preheated hot water bath for 4 hours.

After the 4 hours are up, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, turn off the sous vide and remove the hens and let rest in the bags for 10 minutes. In the meantime start preparing your favorite stuffing according to the package directions (I used a 1/2 C of the reserved liquid as well as water to make my stuffing, this is completely optional.

Remove the hens from their bags and reserve all of the juice in a bowl or measuring cup, and let them drain on a cutting board in the sink.

While the hens and stuffing are cooling prepare some aromatics for the bottom of and 9x13 baking dish. I used some onion i have left in the fridge, but you could also have some fun with it and add some carrots and celery as well. I also added a few cloves of crushed garlic and some more of the fresh herbs left over from stuffing.

Space out your aromatics evenly so the hens are raised above the bottom of the pan. When the hens and stuffing have cooled off, remove the herbs from the body cavity and stuff the hens. Tie up the legs with cooking twine as pictured below so the stuffing doesn't fall out during cooking. Place the hens in the prepared pan and pour the reserved liquid over them. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes covered.

After 20 minutes remove the foil so the hens can brown and the skin gets nice and crispy! Bake for another 15-25 minutes until the hens are golden brow. times may vary depending on your ovens efficiency.

When the hens are a beautiful golden brown remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes, serve and enjoy!!

Ingredients:
-2 Cornish game hens, thawed and giblets removed
-Fresh herbs (rosemary, time, oregano, or sage)
-1/4 C good quality butter
-Salt and pepper to taste
-Lemon pepper
-Your favorite poultry seasoning ( I use poultry magic)
-A few tablespoons of dry white wine (optional)
-Aromatics of your choosing i.e. onion, garlic, herbs, carrot, and celery
-A box of your favorite stuffing (feel free to use home made!)


Directions:
-Preheat your sous vide water bath to 150 degrees.
-Remove the thawed hens from packaging, remove giblets if included and pat dry.
-Make a small incision in the top of each breast with a sharp pairing knife, be careful not to cut into the meat.
-Run your finger under the skin where you made the incision to pull the skin from the meat to create pockets.
-Stuff each breast with a pad of butter and some of your fresh herbs.
-Rub butter in the body cavity of the hens and stuff with more of the fresh herbs.
-Rub the dry hens with butter and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, lemon pepper, and your favorite poultry seasoning.
-Place each hen in their own zip lock or food saver bag and add a few tablespoons of white wine into each and more herbs if desired.
-Remove all of the air from the bags using the water emulsion method and seal.
-Place in the preheated hot water bath and let sit for 4 hours.

-After 4 hours preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
-Turn off the sous vide and remove the bags from the water and let rest for 10 minutes.
-Drain the liquid from the bags into a bowl or measuring cup and reserve.
-Place a cutting board in the sink and let the hens drain all of the reserved liquid.
-Make the stuffing according to the directions on the package (I used a 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid in place of some of the water to give the stuffing a bit more flavor) when the stuffing is done, set aside to cool.
-Butter the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and layer your aromatics evenly, so the hens don't touch the bottom of the pan.
- When the hens and stuffing have cooled, remove the herbs from the body cavities and replace with the stuffing.
-Tie up the legs with cooking twine so the stuffing cant fall out and place in the dish over the aromatics.

-Pour the reserved liquid over the hens and into the pan.
-Cover the pan with tin foil and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
-Remove the tin foil and bake for an additional 15-25 minutes until the hens are crispy and golden brown.
-Remove the hens from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
-Serve and Enjoy!