I got a chance to get some Wooly Pig last Sunday and made some amazing food. Mangalitsa pig, if you’ve never heard of it, is much fattier and tougher than normal pork, but it’s amazingly rich and wonderful. I got two shoulder chops from Bill the Butcher over on Madison for about $10. Pretty good price from what I’ve heard from buying from other sources (wooly pig can get expensive because it’s hard to find).
I found a great recipe on the Seattle PI Blog and changed it up slightly.
Here’s what I came up with for my adaptation on the recipe:
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
- Wash and pat dry chop thoroughly with paper towel. Lightly salt and pepper and let sit for about 30 minutes.
- Add a small amount of oil to a small, heavy oven-proof skillet. Over medium-high heat, sear chop for about 60 seconds on each side to brown, then remove from skillet.
- Turn heat down to medium and add 1 medium sliced onion with several sage leaves cut or torn into smaller pieces. Cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally until browned lightly and beginning to soften. Add 1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and sliced, and 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup. Cook for a few minutes to warm apple, and add 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup. Remove pan from burner to cool several minutes
- Add chop to pan and settle into onions and apple. Cover, and place in oven for about 60 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees (the USDA’s benchmark for safety).
- Remove skillet from oven, and place skillet back on burner on medium-high heat for a few minutes until juices are reduced, then serve with chop.
- Serve with some nice garlic mashed potatoes & some Éphémère (if available).
Cooking Notes:
I increased the cooking time, and had to keep the chops in the pan when reducing to cook them all the way through. This was most likely because I had some seriously thick chops to cook though. I also picked granny smith apples because of their tartness, but sweetened them back up with maple syrup (which I love that combination). I could have served the pork a bit pink, but I’m always uneasy with doing that with pork.
Overall, I’d say this was really amazing - I can’t wait to try some of the wooly pig bacon Bill’s curing right now. I think the only thing I’d do different is take some of that wooly pig fat and whip it into the potatoes instead of milk/butter. Jane and I both ended up with leftover pig fat on our plates when we were done (trust me, we did get lots in the marbling, it’s sooo good).
