Chef Kevin Davis loves to get his team thinking and talking through ideas as he plans his daily changing menu. Sous Chef, Oscar Sanchez, had an idea for the Kurobuta Pork chop chef had ordered, which made it to last week’s menu. He even took the initiative to seek out the best tomatillos for the dish, which became a bright green fresh sauce for the pork.
Snake River Farms Kurobuta pork is considered to be the pork equivalent of American Wagyu or Kobe beef. Created from the Berkshire pig, Kurobuta is a heritage pork that comes from Japan. It’s world-renowned for its hefty fat content and exceptional tenderness, which gives traditionally tough cuts of pork a major texture upgrade. This gourmet pork is also much more flavorful than your typical grocery store variety. Snake River Farms Kurobuta pork uses 100% purebred Berkshire hogs as mandated by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and raised with no added hormones and grown in their network of small family farms.
Watch these videos to learn how to make the dish in your own home.
Chile Verde Kurobuta Pork
Serves 4
Salsa
1 cup mixed tomatillos, husks removed
1 Jalapeño Chili
1 shallot, peeled
¼ large white onion
2 teaspoons Mexican Magic spice, or to taste
1 bunch cilantro, including stems
Salt and pepper to taste
½ – ¾ cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 Pork Chops
To serve, hot grits, mash or polenta
Method
- Place the tomatillos, chili, shallot and onion on a grill and cooked until just blistered and tender. Place in a food processor with the spice and ½ cup water. Blend until coarsely chopped, then add the cilantro and blend until finely chopped, adding more water if needed to bring to desired consistency.
- Cook pork chops over a hot grill (or in a heavy based grill pan) for 3-6 minutes each side, depending on thickness of chops, or until cooked about three quarters of the way.
- Heat olive oil in a large enough sauté pan to hold all the pork or two separate pans. Add 1 cup of the salsa and heat through, then add pork, turning well to coat entirely. Cook, turning for 1-2 minutes, or until pork is cooked as desired, spooning sauce over as it cooks.
- Line outside of plate with a tomato chili sauce, and spoon grits into center of plate. Top with pork and spoon over the salsa left in the pan. Top with some greens or cabbage slaw.