Alabama Scramble And Stuffed Chops

The season is at an end for okra and green tomatoes and Bev wanted to have our friend, Kathy, over for one more batch. While Kathy is primarily an okra fan, we decided to make the Alabama scramble of potatoes, onion, okra, and tomatoes and let others eat around parts they may not like – that turned out to be no problem. I had some thick cut pork chops in the freezer from our last purchase of a whole boneless pork loin and wanted to stuff and grill them - but they were the side dish to the scramble.

The first step, after thawing, for the chops was about 7 hours in buttermilk brine from At Graces Table – the recipe below is one and a half times the posted recipe, which was for four chops.

3 cups buttermilk
3 Tbsp kosher salt
3 Tbsp sugar
1 ½ Tbsp lemon rind
1 ½ Tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 ½ Tsp chopped fresh sage
3 Tsp fresh ground black pepper
6 Pork chops

I had all of the ingredients but only one cup of buttermilk and I also had no milk, so I turned two cups of half and half into buttermilk by adding 2 tbsp of white vinegar – it actually tasted like buttermilk. With only an hour of marinadtng time left, it occurred to me to cut the stuffing pocket into them so the marinade could get inside - next time I'll cut the pocket from the get go.

I wanted to stuff them, but not put a lot of work into it, so I just used Stovetop Stuffing (which we had on hand) made per package directions and with the addition of a handful of Craisins. I cut a big pocket into the chops and used the entire box for the six of them.

I cooked them on the charcoal grill over direct heat to get a nice crust, then over indirect until a probe thermometer in the stuffing read 142*. While they were cooking, I basted them with the marinade, making sure it got well cooked. They were very good and got excellent reviews from the eaters – we all liked the marinade flavor - but Bev would have liked it a little stronger. Here’s the finished product.

Bev used the discada to cook the scramble and had a little trouble with heat management – I think the burner tube may have a spider or something in it messing up the air flow. But even though some of it was well caramelized, it was delicious. Here’s a shot of  my plate, which also included some fresh green beans and cucumber salad.  I was the only one to finish the chop so the 5 women (somebodies got to do it) each got a doogie bag.

We topped it off with brownies and ice cream for a delicious meal.

And what about the leftover Alabama Scramble - glad you ask - breakfast.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.
 
Larry