Oh My Pork Chops!

These slow cooker pork chops are so good they could make me weep. Last time my daughter came home I chased her around all weekend trying to get her to try a teeny taste. She kept insisting, "Okay I might try it, but I don't like pork chops." Finally on Sunday night she took the littlest bite and said something like, "Wait, these are good." She then absconded with all my leftovers. They are seriously delicious.  This recipe is inspired by a recipe found on The Gluten Free Homestead post from October 12, 2016. I am definitely a KISS kind of cook. This version is somewhat more simple than the original. You do need to plan ahead for this one as you'll want to brine the meat for at least one hour. I like to put it in brine the night before and then set it up in the morning.

Ingredients for Brine

2 large Bone in Pork Chops, preferably pasture raised

3-4 warm cups water
2 Tablespoons salt
2-3 bay leaves
Searing Ingredients
2-3 teaspoons bacon grease, olive oil or avocado oil
About 1/4 cup Bragg's apple cider vinegar (or cooking wine).
Slow Cooker Ingredients
3 cups water
1 teaspoon Bragg's apple cider vinegar
1 medium onion
4 large carrots
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano (or a few fresh leaves)

Brining the chops. Add two tablespoons salt to 3-4 cups warm water to dissolve into a glass or metal container (I use a medium glass mixing bowl with a lid). Add 2-3 bay leaves and pork chops. Cover and refrigerate. Leave for at least an hour.

Pour off the brine, and put the bay leaves into the slow cooker (if possible). Sprinkle salt one one side of chops. Preheat a cast iron or stainless steel frying pan to medium high heat and add the bacon grease or oil. Once it sizzles when you drip a little water in the pan, it is ready for the chops. Please note if the oil smokes the pan is too hot. If that happens you probably want to throw out the oil, wipe out the pan and start again. After you put the chops salted side down, sprinkle the other side with salt.

Add the pork chops to the hot pan and leave them until you can shake the pan and the meat moves. If the meat is sticking to the pan, it's not ready.  While the chops are searing you can add the Slow Cooker ingredients to the Slow Cooker. Once the chops move freely and have some nice brown spots go ahead and flip them.

Add the seared chops to the slow cooker. After you remove the chops, you will deglaze the pan with about 1/4 cup Bragg's vinegar. Pour the vinegar into the still hot pan and scrap up all the good bits. Pour everything from the pan on top of the pork chops in the slow cooker.

Set the slow cooker on low and cook 4 hours.

Hold the (Old School) Mayo

Yes you can make mayonnaise at home!

I cannot say enough about mayo. It's a love story for me. I mean egg salad, tuna salad, tomato sandwiches, egg sandwiches, deviled eggs...need I go on? Sadly, all that mayonnaise in my past was apparently not doing me any favors.  After reading Deep Nutrition by Dr. Cate Shanahan, commercial mayonnaise is simply no longer an option. It is loaded with unhealthy oils such as canola oil. So now, it's a thing of the past for me.

Fortunately, we have options.  Primal Kitchen makes a great avocado mayonnaise that you can buy-- for a price. The price might take your breath away... though it offers convenience.  It's not easy to find the Primal Kitchen Mayo, at least on the East Coast, so I buy it online through The One Stop Paleo Shop. You can also find it on the The Primal Kitchen website. I have found it on Amazon, but the last time I looked it was nearly double the price of other sites.

Even better? Make your own mayo.
It's pretty easy.

Ingredients:

• 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup avocado oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder (or yellow mustard)
• 1 teaspoon Braggs apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:

I start by washing the eggs as I use regular eggs. You can choose to buy pasteurized eggs if you are concerned about food contamination. Separate the egg yolks using an egg separator. I avoid using the egg shell to separate the egg as the yolk and avoiding touching the yolk to the shell is best.

Put the yolks and all ingredients except the oil into a food processor and blend. Then while it is blending you will SLOWLY drizzle the oil to the mixture. I spend three to five minutes adding the oil. Usually a start a timer on my phone to remind myself to slow down. As you are adding the oil it will slowly start to thicken up and before you know it, it resembles mayo!   This particular recipe comes out a bit yellow and tastes a little tangy.

Put into jars and refrigerate. Jelly jars work great! I label the expiration date to be the same as the date on the eggs. I use a Sharpie and write directly on the jar or the lid. Later you can take it off with a little olive oil.

Now go back to enjoying all those old favorites without all those nasty oils!