Brined and Smoked Chops

Thanks to Dylan, Leslie and Ben for their delicious grilled Mother's Day Feast!

Kris arrived in Toronto Sunday evening to a beautiful Mother's Day dinner of grilled steak, lobster tails, vegetables, potatoes, and corn on the cob.  Her kids pulled out all the stops with Caprese salad, Greek salad, and cheese and fruit. 

Meanwhile, in another part of the province, with sun in the forecast for the weekend, it was the perfect time to head north and open the cottage.  Thursday night we set some chops in brine so they would be ready to cook when we arrived. The first order of business on Friday afternoon was to fire up the Broil King Keg and load it with vegetables and chops.    It’s so easy to set the low, slow fire, knowing that the food is going to be tender, juicy and delicious a few hours later.  There is no need to fuss over the grill, because it needs to be left alone to work its magic. 

We promote smoking more vegetables than you need, because the leftovers are so versatile and tasty. From omelettes, to pizza to soup, there are endless dishes you can make with them. 

Brined and Smoked Chops

3 cups hot water

1/3  cup molasses

1/3  cup apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

4 thick chops; pork or veal

Stir the ingredients for the brine until dissolved.  Let cool.  Place chops in a large re-sealable plastic bag, and place the bag in a glass dish.  Pour the brine over the meat, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours.

Prepare the smoker and set at 275°F.  Scatter soaked apple-wood chips over the coals. Remove the chops from the brine, pat them dry with paper towelling, and place the chops on the smoker for 2 hours, turning halfway through. 

Because we had just arrived at the cottage with minimal provisions, we served the chops as is and they were delicious.  But a barbecue sauce with a bit of a kick would have been very nice as well.

At the same time, we tossed whole mushrooms, thick slices of sweet onion, chunks of peppers, zuchinni,  peeled eggplant, quartered tomatoes and halved acorn squash with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and arranged them on the smoker .  We topped the smoky vegetables with some fresh buffalo mozzarella, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and fresh basil chiffonade.  

Saturday we celebrated Mary Ann and Arnold's new cottage and Ted and Andrea's Anniversary