We are not very good at cooking pork. It always turns out dry and just sort of overdone. Thankfully, it always tastes good...even if it's a little tough to cut and chew. In the past, we've done the ole "stick it in a baking dish, cover it with sauerkraut and let it bake for a while" method, which is salty and delicious, but not entirely creative. So last night, I decided we would attempt this recipe from Real Simple.
Our pork chops were bone-in, and they were probably not thick enough, and of course, they turned out dry and chewy...but they were really, really good. If they hadn't been overcooked, they would have been unstoppable.
A note on the brussels sprouts: I made this recipe from memory, having seen it on the Food Network (a show called Cooking for Real, I believe). Basically, you slice brussels sprouts sorta thin, and heat 'em in a pan with some olive oil. Add dried cranberries and nutmeg at some point. Heat till it is wilted and maybe a little brown. I also added some salt and pepper. Clearly, I have great measuring skills. It was pretty tasty though, and I had some leftovers for lunch today. Excellent hot or cold. Yum!
Anyway, the question of the day: Do you have any tips on not overcooking pork? I didn't eat a lot of it growing up, so I don't have a ton of experience in the matter...the recipe said the internal temperature should be 150 degrees, but my meat thermometer was barely reading 145 when we took it out, and like I said, it was way overdone. Thoughts? Tips? Recipes?
