Glazed over

I recently discovered that the co-op downtown, Fiddleheads, carries a large amount of meat from my favorite local meat provider, Four Mile River Farm (even since being seated next to Nunzio and Irene Corsino at a River Tavern farm dinner, I have made a point to seek out their products). I had been ordering Four Mile River Farm products from CT Farm Fresh Express, but to find such a selection available a couple miles from my house (where I could look at it before I bought it and not pay an additional delivery charge) was a true find.

Four Mile River Farm specializes in beef and pork. Last week, we had meatloaf and hamburgers made from their amazing ground beef (it tastes different than supermarket beef - I swear, it does). We had a beef roast I did in the crockpot with veggies and red wine two weeks ago. However, on my last trip to Fiddleheads, I scored some pretty major pork chops - over an inch thick, bone-in, of the most beautiful shade of pink - and those pork chops became tonight's dinner. I looked at a couple recipes, took inventory of my ingredients on hand, and mashed together this spice-rubbed, honey glazed concoction.

First, I made a rub of ground cumin, Hungarian sweet paprika (thank you, Penzey's!), thyme, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. I threw these all in the mini-chopper and pulsed to combine.

 

I am pretty sure I picked up this mini-chopper 

in a Ladies weekend give-away

I rubbed the rub (duh) all over the chops.

 

I tried to resist the urge to totally overdo it with the rub

Following a cooking and glazing technique outlined in Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, I heated a pan over high heat and cooked the chops for about ten minutes, flipping every minute or two (these were very thick chops, so they took the whole ten minutes - use your discretion).

 

Yes, I need a bigger pan. I know this is too crowded.

After heating some honey in the microwave so that I could pour it easily, I slathered each chop with a healthy dose, turned them over, poured a tablespoon or so more honey on, and then flipped again to thoroughly coat. I continued to cook them, flipping frequently, until the honey thickened and the glaze was almost red in color.

 

The honey bubbled up quickly

These were delicious. It was a subtle enough treatment to not overpower the fresh, tasty pork, but still plenty flavorful. The spices in the rub balanced the sweetness of the honey. We ate this with corn muffins and green beans. Noe LOVED it.

 

(Slightly blurry) finished product

What's your favorite pork chop treatment?