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1
Slather both sides of the pork chops with the chile paste and place in a large resealable plastic bag.
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2
Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes (and up to a few hours).
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3
Leave a light coating of the chile paste on the pork chops and season with salt and pepper.
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4
Place a large, well-seasoned cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and add the olive oil.
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5
When the oil is hot, add the pork chops in a single layer and sear for 2 minutes on each side, or until the meat turns golden brown.
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6
Pour in enough beer to barely cover the chops.
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7
Cover the pan (top with a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the pan if yours does not have a lid) and decrease the heat to a simmer.
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8
Cook for 15 minutes.
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9
Turn the pork chops over and cook for another 15 minutes.
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10
Uncover the skillet and increase the heat to medium-high.
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11
Allow the liquid to reduce almost completely, flipping the pork chops over every few minutes to ensure that both sides become glazed with the reduced sauce.
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12
This should take about 10 minutes.
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13
Serve warm with tomatillo sauce.
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14
INGREDIENTS
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15
Pork Chops
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16
Because bone-in pork chops are more flavorful than boneless chops, I prefer them in this recipe.
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17
But feel free to use either one.
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18
I also like to use the thick cuts, but the thin ones also work well.
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19
Just make sure to decrease the braising time if you are using thin cuts because they will cook in less time.
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20
TECHNIQUES
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21
Braising the Pork Chop
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22
Braising is a technique used to tenderize tough cuts of meat.
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23
The meat is first seared to develop a nice golden crust, then simmered in a liquid to cook it through without drying it out.
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24
You will find variations of this technique throughout the meat recipes in this book, as Mexican cooking tends to use tougher (and tastier) cuts of meat.
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25
ADVANCE PREPARATION
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26
The red chile paste and tomatillo sauce can be made well in advance (up to 3 days before).
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27
Once the pork chops are braised, they can be held, covered, in a warm (250F) oven for about 1 hour before serving.
