Pork Chops with Cajun Brown Butter & Cornbread
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4-6
Description
Juicy pork chops served with Cajun-spiced brown butter and golden cornbread with honey. This is comfort food at its finest!
Ingredients
Pork Chops
6 x 100 g pork rib chops
2 Tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
6 sage leaves
Cajun Browned Butter
125 g salted butter
1 Tbsp (15 ml) Cape Herb & Spice Louisiana Cajun Rub
Cajun Garlic Butter
1 whole garlic bulb
olive oil, for roasting the garlic
125 g salted butter
1 Tbsp (15 ml) Cape Herb & Spice Louisiana Cajun Rub
Cornbread
¼ C (65 ml) canola oil, plus extra for greasing
1½ C (375 ml) fine polenta (blend if too coarse)
1 C (250 ml) cake flour
½ tsp (2.5 ml) bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp (10 ml) baking powder
1 tsp (5 ml) fine salt
1 tsp (5 ml) sugar
1½ C (375 ml) buttermilk
2 eggs
1 x 420 g tin creamed style sweet corn
To Serve
2 Tbsp (30 ml) chopped chives
honey for drizzling on the cornbread
remaining Cajun garlic butter
Instructions
Pork Chops
Drizzle the pork chops with olive oil and add the sage. Set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Cajun Brown Butter
Add the butter to a light-coloured saucepan, if you have one, and place over medium heat (the light colour of the pan helps monitor the colour change).
Melt the butter and swirl the pan occasionally as it starts to foam. Continue cooking; the butter will turn golden and begin to develop a nutty aroma. You’ll see milk solids browning at the bottom; at this stage, add the Cape Herb & Spice Louisiana Cajun Rub, mix to incorporate, and then remove from the heat. Set aside until ready to use.
Cajun Garlic Butter
Preheat the oven to 200 ºC.
Slice the top of the garlic bulb, place it in foil, and then drizzle with olive oil before wrapping the entire bulb in the foil. Place the garlic into the oven to roast until soft. Remove from the oven and squeeze out half of the cloves. Add this to a food processor, along with the butter and Cape Herb & Spice Louisiana Cajun Rub. Blitz until combined and set aside.
Cornbread
Grease a cast iron skillet with canola oil and place it into the preheated while the batter is prepared.
Combine the polenta, flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, canola oil and creamed corn until fully incorporated. Combine the wet and dry ingredients gently and carefully transfer to the hot cast iron skillet.
Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
Remove from the oven and add dollops of about half of the Cajun garlic butter to the top and allow to melt into the bread. Reserve the rest for serving.
Pork Chops cont.
Prepare a medium-heat braai.
Braai the pork chops (fat side down first) until the fat is rendered, then continue cooking the chops 2 minutes a side until medium. Remove from the braai and rest the meat for 10 minutes before serving.
To Serve
Spoon the Cajun browned butter over the pork chops, and serve with warm cornbread and Cajun garlic butter on the side. Drizzle the warm cornbread with honey.
