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[jdmessner]

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am getting ready to move. We are headed about 200 miles north of where we are now. The official move in date is July 1. For the most part I am really looking forward to it. The country side is quite beautiful (even if they did have snow on Mother’s Day weekend). We have been sorting through stuff and starting to get things in boxes. So far it has all been kind of surreal. Even though I know change is coming, I am good at rationalizing that it is still a ways off and I don't need to worry about it for a while.

Well, now reality is starting to sink in. My brother-in-law, who lives close to where we are moving, is coming down with a truck and a trailer to take up a load of big bulky things for us. On the list of things to go are my grills! That means this is my last weekend for a cookout until sometime around the Fourth of July!

I want to do one more community dinner on the grill before I go as kind of a grand finale. I was hoping to do either pulled pork, chicken, or even a brisket, but what we have on hand for the dinner are ¼ lb. boneless pork chops.

However, the real problem is the dinner is on Wednesday and the grill is leaving on Tuesday. I have not done a lot of chops on the grill and I don't want to dry them out. My current plan is to season the chops and grill them on Monday, then reheat them in a roaster or oven on Wednesday. I thought I would put the meat on a rack in the roaster and pour some liquid (broth or apple juice) on the bottom of the pan to create a little steam when reheating. Do you think this will work? Is there a better way to go? Any ideas would help. I may practice on a few this weekend to see what happens.

[BigDave83]

How many are you doing?You could smoke them for an hour at say 150 or 160, heck could probably even cold smoke them for 2 hours. Then single layer and vac seal. Sous vide them at probably 140 for maybe 2 hours. For me I would do 132 for 2 hours  but they will be rare and people will think you are trying to kill them before you leave. You could then ice them down and put in the fridge and retherm them on the day you need them. Ideally cold smoke, SV  and serve the same day. I am not sure what the food police would say if you were to cold smoke on Tuesday and seal them up and back in the fridge to SV them for serving on Wednesday. I would not have an issue doing this for my own eating.

I have SV boneless chops about an inch thick at 130 for 2 to 3 hours then put them in a slow cooker on low with a good pasta sauce and took to work. The guys told me they were the best pork chops they ever had and wanted to know how they were done.

[jdmessner]

How many are you doing?You could smoke them for an hour at say 150 or 160, heck could probably even cold smoke them for 2 hours. Then single layer and vac seal. Sous vide them at probably 140 for maybe 2 hours. For me I would do 132 for 2 hours  but they will be rare and people will think you are trying to kill them before you leave. You could then ice them down and put in the fridge and retherm them on the day you need them. Ideally cold smoke, SV  and serve the same day. I am not sure what the food police would say if you were to cold smoke on Tuesday and seal them up and back in the fridge to SV them for serving on Wednesday. I would not have an issue doing this for my own eating.

I have SV boneless chops about an inch thick at 130 for 2 to 3 hours then put them in a slow cooker on low with a good pasta sauce and took to work. The guys told me they were the best pork chops they ever had and wanted to know how they were done.

We are doing close to 300 pork chops. I don't know how many I can do at a time, but it will probably be a few batches. I really am not equiped to SV. I do need to make sure the food police are happy! If I can cool them off quickly and refrigerate them I should be OK. I know the easiest thing to do would be to just cook them the day of, but I never tend to do the easy thing!

[cookingjnj]

I was going to say what about brining the chops for 4-6 hours before seasoning and cooking.  They stay very moist and would still be moist on a reheat.  Then I read you are cooking 300 chops.  That would be a lot of brining and probably not realistic.

[Bentley]

The brine suggestion is a great one.  If they are going to be reheated to X° temperature, all I would do in put a good char on each side and put them in the pans they are going to be reheated in.  Let the reheating do the cooking and avoid drying out the chop in the reheating process!

[Kristin Meredith]

I think your steam reheat suggestion sounds good.  I am partial to apple juice as the medium.

[pmillen]

I thought I would put the meat on a rack in the roaster and pour some liquid (broth or apple juice) on the bottom of the pan to create a little steam when reheating. Do you think this will work? Is there a better way to go? Any ideas would help. I may practice on a few this weekend to see what happens.

I think this is a genius idea!  I, too, vote for apple juice.  But only because I love the combination of pork chops and apple flavor.

[Trooper]

Well, you are certainly going to be missed Pastor JD. And your are leaving behind some very large shoes to fill.
I'm sure you're aware that when you arrive in Fife Lake, you'll need to have your priorities in order.
That group is going to want a sermon and a JD meal. Not certain in what order.

[yorkdude]

Well, you are certainly going to be missed Pastor JD. And your are leaving behind some very large shoes to fill.
I'm sure you're aware that when you arrive in Fife Lake, you'll need to have your priorities in order.
That group is going to want a sermon and a JD meal. Not certain in what order.

JD you are an amazing person. You really are.

[Trooper]

OK. Let me keep it simple and say to JD and his family -

"You are the salt of the earth"

[jdmessner]

REPRIEVE!!! My brother-in-law came down to move the grill and a few other things for us. He also brought his new wife, who is kind of high maintenance. Rather than leaving on Tuesday as planned she decided she wanted to go back home today, so my BIL obliged. We were only about half way through when they left. So I am still in business for a little while longer.

We did 300 pork chops in 5 different batches. I could cook up to 68 at a time on 4 sheet pans. We did them in the pans to try and keep them moister by keeping them in their juices. I did think about brining, but did not get around to it. We seasoned them with Lowry’s Seasoning Salt. Cooked them on high (which is normally anywhere from 280*-350*) for about 45 min. We then applied some Memphis Style sweet BBQ sauce for about another 10-15 min. We pulled them at around 145*.

We also made about 300 biscuits for strawberry shortcake. Used a Gordon's Food Service brand box mix. It had little flakes of butter in it. You only needed to add water. They were great biscuits. They were very light and tasted great. I will try and remember to get a picture on Wednesday.

[jdmessner]

Here is the set up with a make shift upper rack. I think it is the wire handles from a disposable aluminum turkey roasting pan.

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This is Carmi. He has been one of the driving forces behind the community dinners. He is a great cook and I will miss spending time with him in the kitchen. Last fall we did a brisket and pulled pork for a dinner. He was there and camped out all night with me and helped tend the grill. Yesterday, while cooking the chops I was foreging through the freezer to see if we could find something for lunch. Found some leftover brisket from that dinner. It was a great bonus and a tasty lunch!


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[jdmessner]

Not a bad night, served around 250 meals. Reheating by steaming with apple juice worked well.

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[ZCZ]

Awesome cook JD!!
Al

[Kristin Meredith]