The idea for this recipe came from a conversation I had with a friend (shout out to FP) about how hard it is to find that sweet spot in cooking lean meats where they're perfectly cooked, but not a dry piece of shoe leather. We were particularly talking about turkey burgers with a 97/3 fat count. I had the thought of stuffing the burger with some cheese and maybe a grape tomato or two. The idea being that as the burger cooked, the tomato would slowly almost poach inside the meat and break, the juices permeating the meat and keeping it from drying out. Well I decided to take it a step further and get some thick-cut pork chops from the butcher at the grocery store. About a 2-inch cut, (TayTip: you are not limited to whatever fresh meat is already packaged at the store; just ask for the butcher to cut your meat however you want! You're paying for it, aren't you? I've found that they are typically more than happy to oblige.) and I would apply the same principle. So, here's what I created!
First I took the chops, stood them in their sides lengthwise with the fat side down, and using my paring knife, I made an pocket incision, leaving the fatty edge, and two sides intact. It should look like a pita when you're done. Make sure to move in one direction when making this incision. You're not sawing away here, that's why the paring knife isn't serrated. Don't attack the chop!
Next, I wanted more surface area inside the pocket's width. More surface area, more room for cheese and tomatoes! This next step is also important in tenderizing the pork, and in ultimately reaching our goal of a juicy chop. So I laid them down on my cutting board (TayTip: ALWAYS use a plastic or marble cutting board when dealing with raw meat or fish of any kind. Never wood! The bacteria from the raw meat penetrates the wood, and no matter how much you wash, stays in there. Impermeable cutting board means impermeable to everything, especially the things you don't want to be eating.) covered them in plastic wrap, and wacked away. No making fun of my makeshift meat mallet, it works just as well as the traditional kind. I've even used a sturdy coffee cup or my glass measuring cup when my pasta strainer escaped me. Pound the chops until you've gained a couple centimeters in all directions. You shouldn't, however, be making it thin enough to see holes in the meat; you want it in tact. The fatty side won't thin out, that's ok.
So once you've taken out all your anger and frustration on these poor little chops, it's time to get to the citrus infusion part. Everyone loves that crispy edge you get from searing meat in a pan, but I decided to take it a step further and add a little extra flavor. I took 2 T of salted butter and 1T of extra virgin olive oil and melted them in my pan over med-high heat. (TayTip: if you are using butter and not ghee, always put a little bit of olive oil in the pan. The oil keeps the milk solids in the butter from burning by raising the flashpoint, or temperature at which the butter burns.) Then, I added 1T of fresh minced dill and the used my microplane to get the zest of one lemon. Make sure it's organic since you're using the zest. If you only needed the juice, I'd say go for the cheaper non-organic kind; the thick rind on most citrus keeps any chemicals out. But any time you use the peel, skin, or zest of any fruit or vegetable, you have to go green. No need for added toxins and wax! Add it to the butter/oil mixture so it infuses all throughout. You want to cook this at the high heat for about 3 minutes, then take the pan off the burner completely, but leave the heat on. You'll be busy for a couple minutes, and don't want the zest and dill to burn.
Now it's time to get stuffing! For my cheese I chose this great mushroom brie that I found at the store.When I saw it staring up at me from the cheese cooler, studded with little brown bits of mushroom, I just had to take it home with me. Plus, brie is such a great melting cheese, that I figured it'd be perfect. If you don't like brie, you can use fontina (milder flavor, and not as salty), which is an Italian cow's milk cheese that originated in the Alps. It's semi-firm, unlike the soft brie, but it's also pretty much, in my opinion, the king of Italian melting cheeses. So next time you're making a homemade pizza, set aside the mozz for some fresh fontina.
I cut the rind off the brie because I wanted it to be as smooth as possible. Normally I eat the rind and all, but in keeping with the smooth factor, I nixed it off (and munched on it while I was cooking). I know it doesn't look like much, but you'll fix that in the next step.
I rarely cook anything savory without adding garlic. Unless I'm going for a very mild flavor, two or three cloves are usually in there somewhere. But I knew putting the cloves inside the chops whole would be too overpowering when you're eating it, so I decided to finely mince two medium cloves and mix them into the cheese. Do it right there on your cutting board--no need to dirty another bowl--and use your two best instruments in the kitchen: your hands! Make sure there are no rogue pieces of garlic floating out of the mixture. It should look like this when you're done.
Next is assembling your chops. Lie them open so that you can stuff all the cheesy tomato-y (?) goodness inside their nice little pork beds. Add the cheese and garlic mixture first.
Then add the tomatoes. You'll also want to return your pan to the burner and get it screaming hot. It's really important for the pan to be hot for you to get that nice sear on the meat.
Close the pockets and season the top side with fleur de sel (I use this one) and freshly ground black pepper.
Then place them in the pan (TayTip: put them in the pan seasoned side down so you can season the other side.) and listen for the sizzle. Let me tell you, it's quite the glorious sound. Sear on one side for 4 minutes. I know all you'll want to do at this point is look at the beautiful crust being formed on the pork, but resist the urge to touch the meat at all. If you move it at all, you'll lost the contact with the pan and won't have as good a crust.
AAAAAAAAAND flip.
Cook for another 4 minutes. Some of the brie will melt out, but that's fine, you won't waste it. I'm a BIG proponent of not wasting anything. It drives me crazy when TV chefs pour things out of a bowl or pan and leave a bunch in there. Grab a spatula and scrape that out! Anyway, getting back to the pork. At this point, it won't be cooked all the way through, just on the edges. So, take out a baking dish (I used my oval le creuset) and nestle those little piggies into sleep. Cover them up with some aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes at 375F, or until a meat thermometer inserted reaches 145F. This might seem like a low temperature for pork, but actually the USDA has recently approved this as an acceptable internal temperature for medium rare pork.
Now onto the broccoli! First I made the sauce that I would drizzle over top so it could chill (haha see what I did there?) in the fridge while I cooked the actual broccoli. Start by taking the lemon from earlier and juicing it. (TayTip: if you're like me and don't use a lemon juicer or press, to get the most juice out of your lemon, place your hands one on top of the other on the lemon and roll it on your cutting board a couple of times before you slice it in half. This will release the juices from the flesh before you even start squeezing it!) I put my small mesh strainer over my container to catch the seeds. Depending on the size of your lemon, you'll get 2-3T of juice.
The remaining ingredients are 2T of extra thick greek strained yogurt. NOT "greek style." It's not the same. In "greek style" yogurt they add thickening agents, and no one wants any unnecessary chemicals, right? Then add 2tsp of sriracha (hot chili sauce with vinegar and garlic). The last is a great seasoning that I bought a couple of months ago. It's this great paprika, lemon, and lime spice blend from The Gourmet Collection. In addition to those three ingredients, it has some really flavorful herbs and spices like coriander, parsley, and celery seed to name a few. (full ingredient list in the link above). A good buy, and a little goes a long way! Add about 3/4tsp. Combine all ingredients and pop it in the fridge until you're ready to serve.
Next, take your washed broccoli, cut the florets from the large stem, and put them in the same pan that you cooked the pork in. Add 1T of butter, a little drizzle of olive oil, and pinch of salt and pepper, respectively. Cook over med-high heat until the broccoli gets brown in parts. It will soften, but still have a great crunch to it. No mushy baby food-like greens here!
It should look like this when you're done.
At this point, you're pork should be done. You'll see a lot of rendered juices that have formed in the bottom of the pan. DON'T throw those away. I freeze them and use them as bases for soups, stir fries, chili, just about anything. You don't, however, want the pork to sit in them and get soggy, so check it with a thermometer, and if you're good to go, plate it up!
The majority of the cheese will be left inside because you put it in first, and the second you cut into this little meat pita, the brie will start to ooze out. The garlic is cooked, not so that it melts in your mouth, but to the equivalent of al dente pasta. Just with a little bit of bite left to it. The tomatoes are gleaming rubies roasted in their own skin, incredibly sweet, and pop open with just the weight of your fork put on them. The broccoli is charred a bit and still has some crunch. The tangy and spicy citrus yogurt sauce is packed full of protein, good bacteria, vitamin-C, and plenty of delicious flavor. So put aside your hot pocket, and make this meat pocked instead! Lean meat, incredibly low on carbs, creamy brie, and a green leafy vegetable topped with a non-mayo based, high protein sauce. Buon appetito!
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