Cinnamon ancho bried heritage pork chop recipe

Ingredients

• 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 4 cups (1 quart) water
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) champagne vinegar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 small carrot, chopped
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 4 (approximately 1-inch-thick) bone-in pork chops

• 1 cup (8 ounces) water
• ½ cup (4 ounces) apple cider
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
• Peel of ½ lemon, sliced off in 1 or several pieces
• Peel of ½ orange, sliced off in 1 or several pieces
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 whole star anise
• 2 large peaches, unpeeled, cut into ½- or ¾-inch cubes
• 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) olive oil
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 thin slice prosciutto, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 cup cooked farro
• ½ cup cooked wheatberries
• 3 tablespoons chopped dried tart cherries
• ½ cup (4 ounces) Veal Demi-Glace
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
• Kosher salt and ground white pepper

• ¼ cup (2 ounces) olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 8 ounces sugar snap peas, tipped and tailed
• ¼ cup (2 ounces) Light Chicken Stock
• Kosher salt and ground white pepper
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, for the finished dish
• Small sprig of fresh thyme, for the finished dish
• 1 garlic clove, for the finished dish
• ½ cup (4 ounces) Veal Demi-Glace, for the finished dish

To Prepare the Pork Chop Brine
1. Warm a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the ancho chiles to the dry pan and toast them on both sides for a couple of minutes, just until fragrant. Immediately pour in the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt.
2. Add the onion, carrot, and cinnamon, and simmer for 3 minutes.
3. Transfer to a shallow dish that can hold the liquid and the 4 pork chops, and let the brine cool to room temperature. You can speed along the process, if you like, by placing the dish over an ice bath.
4. Submerge the pork chops in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours.
To Pickle the Peaches
5. Warm the water, cider, cider vinegar, sugar, ginger, citrus peels, thyme, bay leaf, and star anise in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.
6. Gently stir in the peach cubes and remove the pan from the heat. Let the peaches sit in the pickling liquid at room temperature, placing a plate over them if they float.
To Prepare the Wheatberry-Farro Saute
7. Warm the butter and oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the walnuts, shallot, and prosciutto, and cook several minutes until fragrant and lightly colored.
8. Add the farro, wheatberries, cherries, and demi-glace, and simmer about 3 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed.
9. Stir in the chives, remove from the heat, and season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.
To Cook the Chops
10. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the chops from the brine, rinse them, and pat them dry with paper towels.
11. Warm a 12-inch ovenproof skillet, such as cast-iron, over high heat. Add the oil, swirl it around, and reduce the heat to medium.
12. Add the pork chops. Sear until deeply golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
13. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the pork another 8–10 minutes, or until the temperature on an instant-read thermometer stuck horizontally into a chop registers 140°F– 145°F for medium doneness.
To Prepare the Sugar Snap Peas
14. Prepare the peas while the chops are in the oven. Warm the oil and butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
15. Stir in the peas and sauté for 1 minute.
16. Pour in the stock, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook several minutes until the liquid has evaporated and the peas are glazed and tender. Season with salt and pepper.
Putting it all Together
17. Remove the skillet from the oven and add to it the butter, thyme, and garlic. As the butter melts, baste the chops for 30 seconds with the pan juices. Transfer the chops to a cutting board and let them rest for a minute.
18. Add the demi-glace to the pan juices and heat the mixture through, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.
19. Spoon 2 mounds of wheatberry-farro sauté on each of 4 plates. Halve each pork chop and stand up both portions in the middle of the plate, bone upward. Add several cubes of peach to each plate and top with peas. Spoon pan juices around each plate and serve.