Porterhouse Pork Chop with Osso Buco Sauce, Gremolata, and Romesco Polenta

Category
Dinner
Cuisine
American
Serves
4
Time
45 minutes
From
Bobby Flay

porkpolenta

Adapted from Bobby Flay: Chapter One

This is a very comforting dish, and with its bright oranges, yellows, and reds, it's also gorgeous. Porterhouse signifies you're getting a chop with a T-bone down the middle, the loin on one side, and the no one es ana the tenderloin on the other. But the polenta might be the standout here, so if pork isn't your thing, serve the polenta with something else. It's creamy like a porridge, and the romesco is more like a paste than a sauce-swirl it in carefully to create a marble effect. Plus, make sure you spoon those pan juices over everything. The whole dish is as savory as can be.

Ingredients

Osso Buco Sauce

  • 5 tablespoons neutral oil, such as avocado or canola
  • 1½ pounds cubed pork shoulder
  • 1 pound pork neck bones, washed and dried
  • 1 medium Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
  • 1 fennel bulb, coarsely chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 2 quarts veal stock
  • 2 tablespoons veal demi-glace
  • 1 teaspoon Calabrian chile flakes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 sprigs thyme
  • 1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Gremolata

  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped into a paste with salt
  • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • Finely grated zest of 1 orange
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Porterhouse Pork Chop

  • 4 (12-ounce) Berkshire pork porterhouse chops, brought to room temperature
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons Spanish Spice Rub (page 309)
  • 4 tablespoons neutral oil, such as avocado or canola

Romesco Polenta

  • Kosher salt
  • ¾ cup quick-cooking medium-grind polenta, such as Moretti (see Note)
  • 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
  • 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
  • ½ cup Romesco Sauce
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Make the osso buco sauce

  1. In a large, wide pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer.

Add the pork and neck bones and brown on all sides, then transfer to a baking sheet.

  1. Add the onion, carrots, celery, fennel, and garlic to the pot and stir. Cook until deeply browned and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Return the browned pork and bones to the pot, then pour in the wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the stock, demi-glace, chile flakes, bay leaf, and thyme and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium to achieve a steady simmer and cook until the liquid has reduced by almost half, about 1½ hours.

  1. Strain the liquid, discarding the solids, and transfer to a medium saucepan. Add the tomatoes and simmer over medium heat for 1 hour, then use a potato masher to completely break down the tomatoes. Simmer for 1 hour more, or until reduced to a sauce consistency; you should have about 3½ cups. Season with salt and pepper, cover, and keep warm over low heat.

Gremolata

  1. In a small bowl, stir together the parsley, garlic, lemon zest, orange zest, and olive oil to combine. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
  2. Make the pork chops: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet.
  3. Season the pork chops liberally on both sides with salt and pepper and season only one side with the spice rub. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and heat
  4. until it begins to shimmer. Working in batches of two, carefully place the pork chops in the pan rub-side down and cook until a deep crust forms, about 4 minutes. Flip each chop over and cook for 4 minutes on the second side. Remove from the pan and transfer to the wire rack. Carefully pour the oil from the skillet into a heatproof bowl and wipe out the skillet with paper towels (once cooled, discard the oil). Return the skillet to the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, and repeat to cook the remaining pork chops. Add the pork chops to the wire rack, tent with foil, and set aside.

Romesco polenta

  1. In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups water to a boil over medium-high heat.

Reduce the heat to medium and add ½ teaspoon salt.

Slowly whisk in the polenta and cook, whisking, until it begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and soft, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the mascarpone, butter, and Parmigiano cheeses, and fold in the romesco. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve

  1. Place the pork chops in the oven for 3 minutes.
  2. Divide the polenta among four wide, shallow bowls. Spoon the osso buco sauce over the polenta.
  3. Place a pork chop on the sauce, rub-side up, and place a dollop of gremolata on each. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • The Italian brand Moretti makes a quick-cooking medium-grind polenta that is done in minutes. If you can't find it, you may have to substitute regular polenta and adjust your cooking time accordingly-most take about 45 minutes to achieve a soft, creamy consistency.
  • I would just use a regular (thick) pork chop and cook it sous vide