Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Chuletas de Puerco Cubanas (Cuban Pork Chops)

In my house we really have no name for this dish it's simply "Chuletas de Puerco" which means "Pork Chops" which can be prepared a number of ways but we usually make it the Cuban way or more exactly my grandmas way. These are seasoned with cumin, salt, garlic, and freshly squeezed lime juice then pan-fried in olive oil and in the drippings we sautee tons of onions until cooked to eat on the side or over the chops this is called "Encebollado" which means in onions, smothered in onions or with onions.

In my household we almost always sautee a bunch of onions after pan-frying or cooking meats by browning and cooking until done in a pan, we will always sautee onions in the drippings, I guess we are just onion lovers.

Ingredients:
-4 pork chops (or more depends how many your feeding and peoples appetite)
-4-5 cloves of garlic, mashed to a paste with a mortar or in a garlic press (it's about 1 clove or 2 per chop)
-juice of 1-2 limes or 1 1/2 limes
-1 teaspoon of ground cumin (more to taste or less cuban food is heavy on cumin)
-salt to taste 1-2 teaspoons of salt
-extra-virgin olive oil to pan-fry
-1 1/2 really large onions or 3 medium ones or 4 small ones julienned (optional)
-juice of 1 more lime (for onions)

Directions:
(1)
Rub meat with mashed garlic, salt, cumin, and lime juice (I simply mash everything in the mortar add lime there then mix well and rub all over meat, my grandma just rubs everything on individually in no particular order)
(2)Heat oil on medium high in a large pan, when oil is hot enough (you can test it with a wooden spoon if it bubbles around it it's ready) now add pork chops and cook on each side 10-15 minutes until browned so a total of 20-30. Some of the garlic will kinda burn but that is okay for this dish.
(3)Now set aside, in pan if you have to much oil you may pour some out if not well now add your onions, salt them well, sautee until caramelized and has no raw taste and picking up drippings, deglaze with lime juice while sauteeing.
(4)Turn of heat and place chops over the onions, or push them aside and set the chops next to them.
(5)To serve, simply put onions next or over chops on your plate. Serve with a nice raw salad or fried plantains and rice with beans or just rice.

15 comments:

Bishop said...

I should have visited your blog a long time ago. Tonight though I saw your porkchops and that is what pulled me in. This looks delicious.

Nicely done.

Nathan said...

Aaaw thanks stuff like this encourages me. :)

Korean Cuisine said...

This looks great! I must try this soon. Thanks for sharing.

Nathan said...

Korean Cuisine,

I am glad you are enjoying my blog.

I just took a peak at your blog and your latest pork dish looks amazing I am not very familiar with Korean Cuisine but have a Korean store very close to home, and have made Baechu Kimchi, Kaktugi, Bulgogi, Kimchi Fried Rice, "oh jing uh twi kiem" but still learning some more things.

(My first encounter with Korean Cuisine was in Los Angeles there was a old lady who lived down stairs from us named "On San Pak" she prepared delicious meat dishes. Then later I found a blog:

maangchi.com

It had videos. Now I'm lucky I found your blog YAY! haha)

Anonymous said...

This is great I love cuban/ Puerto Rican foods 9its my roots) the family loved the porkchops they were fantastic

Nathan said...

Anonymous,
I'm real glad your family enjoyed these Cuban style pork chops. Lately I've been looking into Puerto Rican food and found some delicious rice dishes i'd like to try like "Arroz Apastelado" :)

gina b. hal said...

Those pork chops look wonderful! Your photos are always great!

Anonymous said...

hola nathan.

esta es la tercera receta tuya que he hecho y me salio riiico!! ademas de esta, hice los frijoles colorados y banana bread. your blog is teaching me how to cook, thank you so much! the next thing i'm going to try are the frijoles negros y el pollo al mojo.

kelli

Nathan said...

Hi Kelli :) glad your enjoying the recipes if you have any special recipe requests let me know n I'll share them.

yanay said...

I have done this recipe twice this week, me and my husband love it!!! Im cuban but im learning to cook in his country, your blog is very helpful, and delicious! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Nathan!!

My husband and I are from Mexico living in Houston and both his parents are Cuban, so I must say I REALLY enjoy your blog!!! My favorite dish since childhood has always been enchiladas but never knew how to make them (self-teach myself in the kitchen as I go!) and I stumbled onto your blog searching the web for recipes... They are a staple now in my home and making them and having them turn out so delicious has motivated me into trying other dishes and it certainly made me feel really proud of myself, so thank you for that!!! The step by step pics do the trick for me every time!!!

I'm atempting chuletas de puerco today but I'm freaking out cause I don't have cumin.... Any substitues??

Keep up the *great* work and thanks again!!!

Jackie

Anonymous said...

Hi Nathan!!

My husband and I are from Mexico living in Houston and both his parents are Cuban, so I must say I REALLY enjoy your blog!!! My favorite dish since childhood has always been enchiladas but never knew how to make them (self-teach myself in the kitchen as I go!) and I stumbled onto your blog searching the web for recipes... They are a staple now in my home and making them and having them turn out so delicious has motivated me into trying other dishes and it certainly made me feel really proud of myself, so thank you for that!!! The step by step pics do the trick for me every time!!!

I'm atempting chuletas de puerco today but I'm freaking out cause I don't have cumin.... Any substitues??

Keep up the *great* work and thanks again!!!

Jackie

Nathan said...

HEllo Jackie,
GLad to hear you are enjoying the recipes on the blog :) sorry for hte late response. You can simply leave out the cumin and still get delicious pork chops. Oregano would be good as well, or simply salt and pepper would work :)

Anonymous said...

Used dehydrated cilantro leaves instead and they still turned out delicious!!! Thanks!! Not sure why my comment postet twice tho, sorry!!

Nathan said...

Anonymous,

Glad it worked out and you got some delicious chuletas! The secret to the flavor of these cuban chuletas was the citrus (lime juice or you can use lemon or naranja agria some ppl like white vinegar) and lots of garlic, and of course salt (basically that type of marinade is called "mojo" pronounced mo-ho) Anything else you can be creative (herbs, spices, etc. but the commonly used spices for these types of marinades are oregano, cumin, or black pepper or any mix of those, my mom likes to experiment and she'll use smoked paprika, or rosemary, etc.)

Saludos
Nathan :)



Saludos
Nathan