Brown Sugar Pork Chops

Author

Lior Lev Sercarz, from "Mastering Spice" by Lior Lev Sercarz

Servings

4

Category

Main Course

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons cumin seeds (4 grams
• 1 tablespoon plus 11⁄2 teaspoons dried onion slices (10 grams)
• 3⁄4 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds (4 grams)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger (1 gram)
• 1 teaspoon packed brown sugar (5 grams)
• 4 (1-inch-thick) boneless center-cut pork chops (1 3⁄4 pounds)
• Kosher salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup fresh orange juice

Directions

1. Coarsely grind the cumin, onion, and mustard together and immediately mix with the ginger and brown sugar. Or mix together 3⁄4 teaspoon pre-ground cumin, 2 1⁄2 teaspoons granulated onion, and 1⁄2 teaspoon pre-ground yellow mustard powder with the ginger and brown sugar.
2. Coat the pork chops with the spice mix on all sides and then season the chops with salt.
3. Heat a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to coat the pan (1 to 2 tablespoons) and add the chops right away (you don’t want the oil to get hot first). Reduce the heat to medium so the chops sizzle steadily. Cook, turning once, until nicely browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chop registers 150°F, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, add the orange juice to the pan and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the juice reduces to a syrupy consistency, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. 
5. Slice the pork at an angle from top to bottom and drizzle the sauce on top.