FLOWER POT KITCHEN: COUNTRY FRIED PORK WITH COUNTRY GRAVY AND JACK DANIELS SWEET POTATO MASH

12 Jun 2013

COUNTRY FRIED PORK WITH COUNTRY GRAVY AND JACK DANIELS SWEET POTATO MASH

My husband says this is the only way he ever wants to eat a pork chop again, this makes me fabulously happy as these chops were outstandingly gorgeous.

INGREDIENTS

Pork chops off the bone and bashed flat

FOR THE SEASONED FLOUR COATING

plain flour

good pinch of salt, white and black pepper

pinch onion powder

pinch of garlic powder

THE DIP BEFORE THE FLOUR COATING

3 eggs beaten

FOR THE BEST FRY

1 ltr ground nut oil or 3 packs of lard

FOR THE COUNTRY GRAVY

6 sweetcure bacon fine diced

500ml milk

100ml double cream

salt and pepper

chicken stock

3tbsp plain flour

FOR THE JACK D'S SWEET POTATO MASH

6 sweet potato's peeled

100ml Jack Daniels

4 tbsp brown sugar

100g butter

First job is to take your pork chops off the bone if they are on a bone, lay some cling film on your chopping board and then place the pork chop or loin on the cling film and cover with another sheet of cling film, then with a rolling pin or heavy object gently bash away until you have a nice medium thin escalope of pork, season with salt and pepper, these are ready to dip in the egg and then the flour and then to fry.

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees and place a pan of water onto boil for the sweet potato mash. Peel the sweet potato's and place in the boiling water and boil for approx 20 minutes until fork tender, drain and leave to steam for a few minutes. Place the potato's in a bowl, mash well and then season and add the butter, Jack Daniels and sugar mix, stir in and place in a baking dish and pop in the pre heated oven for 20 minutes to fluff up while you fry the pork and then finish off the country gravy.

Keeping one hand for wet and one hand for dry, dunk your pork into the egg wash and then into the seasoned flour and place on a plate ready to cook.

Meanwhile start to heat a deep frying pan and melt the fat, I like to bring my fat up to 200 degrees, this I find then gives me a better seal and a better crispy country finish.

Your country fried pork should take approx 3-4 minutes each side in the frying pan. Once your pork is cooked, place in your oven to keep warm while you make the country gravy to finish the dinner.

THE COUNTRY GRAVY

FOR THE COUNTRY GRAVY

I like to drain off 3/4 of the frying fat, keeping all the bits in the pan, add the bacon and gently cook for 3 minutes, add the flour and stir in well this is making your roux, start to add your milk a generous glug at a time and stir in well, once all the milk had been absorbed add the chicken stock and cream and seasoning, if you feel your gravy is too thick add a little more milk to loosen.

To serve the dish, take your southern fried pork and place on your plate, add the Jack Daniels mash and make a well in the centre to accommodate the country gravy, and I like to over spill a little onto my southern fried pork chop. This is one of my top favourite dinners a naughty but oh so nice !!!

No comments:

LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.