Pork Chop Tapas Menu

The pork chop is like steak for me; it's something I grew up with and absolutely love, and there's a million ways to make it, but once you've elevated it, you've ruined everything else.

I don't know how many dry pork chops I've eaten over the years and still genuinely loved. Honestly, a comical amount. Especially with a good gravy. Right?

Then I discovered with a sous vide and a well-seasoned cast iron plus some avocado oil, you could make perfectly crispy Maillard reaction around juicy perfectly cooked pork chops so easily. Now every time I see pork chops pretty much anywhere, I'm saddened that they aren't going to be the standards Laura and I have for them.

That lead to a lot of experimentation with seasoning. We'd buy the 9-10 pack of thick cut pork chops at Costco and then season them and seal them in FoodSaver bags and toss in the freezer, always making perfect pork chops a "go to" on a random weeknight when no one wants to do a lot of hard work but still have something almost every restaurant - and even most people at home - have never had: perfectly cooked pork chops.

I'd usually cake a few in a mix of TexMex spices - ground espresso, lots of chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic, a bit of Adobo... Then make some others with an eclectic mix of Asian spices; Chinese five spice, Japanese sesame and ginger blend, Vindaloo curry, and other random spices I yanked out of my spice rack. I'd also do a "Euro" blend with Parmesan, Black Truffle, Black Garlic, Herbs d' Provence, and Italian spice blend.

But ultimately, they all got sous vide'd for about an hour at 135° F, rested, washed with butter/agave syrup/baking powder and seared on avocado oil in cast iron at around 550° F then served with some assorted sides.

So, how do you elevate that? And make everything pop?

Thus, I created this menu, a three-course pork tapas dinner that blends Asian spice, Tex-Mex smoke, and wild American sweetness into one unforgettable evening. Each course is designed around sous-vide pork, elevating classic flavors with a few twists — smoky corn, a cheater mole, and a punch of key lime. Perfect for an ambitious home cook looking to turn Sunday night into a celebration.

Recipe

🥢 Course 1: Asian-Inspired Pork Tonkatsu Bites with Key Lime Mayo

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless pork chops
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Chinese five spice, to taste
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, beaten (egg wash)
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, seasoned with Japanese seasoning blend
• Avocado oil, for frying
• 1/2 cup avocado oil-based mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons key lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions:

1. Sous Vide:
   Vacuum seal pork chops and sous vide at 135°F (57°C) for 1 hour.
2. Chill:
   After cooking, remove pork chops from bag, pat dry, and refrigerate uncovered for 2 hours to firm.
3. Prepare Pork:
   Slice thinly, pound gently with a meat mallet until even thinner.
4. Season and Bread:
   Lightly season with salt and Chinese five spice. Dredge first in flour, then dip in egg wash, then coat in seasoned panko.
5. First Fry (Par-Fry):
   Heat avocado oil to 325°F (163°C). Fry pork pieces for about 1 minute per side until lightly golden. Rest on a wire rack.
6. Prepare Mayo:
   Blend avocado oil-based mayo with key lime juice and sugar until smooth. Chill until serving.
7. Second Fry:
   Right before serving, fry pork again at 375°F (190°C) until deeply crispy (about 45 seconds to 1 minute per side). Drain.
8. Serve:
   Drizzle with the key lime mayo.

🌵 Course 2: Tex-Mex Inspired Pork with Smoked Corn Purée and "Mole"

Ingredients:

• 2 thick-cut pork chops
• 1 tablespoon ground espresso
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon agave syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil, for searing

For Corn Purée:

• 1 lb frozen sweet corn
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, cold
• 1/3 cup chicken stock, nearly boiling
• 1/4 cup cold chardonnay
• Mesquite smoke (both via smoker and via smoking gun)

For "Cheater" Mole:

• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

For Plating:

• 1/4 tsp crumbled cotija cheese

Instructions:

1. Sous Vide Pork:
   Season pork chops with espresso, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Vacuum seal and sous vide at 135°F (57°C) for 2 hours.
2. Make Corn Purée:
   Roast frozen corn on perforated baking sheet at 375°F (190°C) with mesquite smoke for 25 minutes.
   Blend hot corn with heavy cream, near-boiling chicken stock, and cold chardonnay. Fill blender jar with mesquite smoke before blending for a smoky infusion.
   Blend until silky smooth. Simmer gently to thicken if needed.
3. Make Cheater Mole:
   Combine almond butter, chicken stock, cocoa powder, cumin, and chili powder. Simmer and reduce by half to thicken.
4. Chill and Prep:
   After sous vide, pat dry and let rest for ~15 minutes.
5. Sear Pork:
   Mix melted butter, agave syrup, and baking powder. Brush pork chops.
   Sear on a cast iron skillet with avocado oil at about 550°F (288°C) until beautifully crusted.
6. Slice and Serve:
   Thinly slice seared pork. Plate with a dollop of corn purée, lay sliced pork on top, and drizzle with cheater mole. Top with crumbled cotija cheese.

🍁 Course 3: Wild Pork Bites with Sour Cherry Drop

Ingredients:

• 1 pork chop, cut into ½ inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons apricot nectar
• 1 tablespoon browned butter
• Homemade sour cherry jelly (made from sour cherry juice, lemon juice, agar agar)
  • 1 cup pure sour cherry juice
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1.5 tsp agar-agar powder
• Sage leaves
• Spicy rock salt
• Toothpicks, for serving

Instructions:

1. Make Cherry Jelly (can be done ahead of time and stay in fridge for weeks):
   Combine sour cherry juice, lemon juice and honey. Bring to simmer, then whisk in agar-agar and stir 1 minute, until fully combined, pour onto tray and refrigerate until solid, then puree with stick blender and funnel into squeezable bottle for later use while plating.
2. Sous Vide Pork:
   Cube pork chop into ½" pieces. Vacuum seal and sous vide at 135°F (57°C) for 1 hour.
3. Prepare Glaze:
   In a small saucepan, reduce maple syrup and apricot nectar until thick and syrupy.
4. Glaze Pork:
   Toss sous vide pork cubes in the warm syrup reduction.
5. Prepare Sage Leaf:
   Brown butter, then fry sage leaves in browned butter until crispy (but not overly fragile).
6. Assemble:
   Skewer each pork cube on a toothpick and top with a small drop of homemade sour cherry jelly atop a sage leaf and then topped with a dusting of spicy rock salt for sweet, spicy, savory and salty treats.
7. Serve:
   Serve warm as bite-sized wild treats.