Recipe: Sous vide pork chops with Caribbean spices

Inspired by my recent MasterChef cruise to the Caribbean, I made this sous vide pork chop using some jerk spices from the Virgin Islands. Tired from the week-long trip away from home, I wasn’t in the mood to cook entirely from scratch, so these spice blends came in handy: just rub the pork chops, vacuum seal, and then drop it in the water bath the next day with the immersion circulator set to 62.8°C for 92 minutes. (This temp and time is for 1” thick boneless pork chops; for bone-in or other thicknesses, consult your PolyScience sous vide toolbox app.)The loin chops came out perfectly cooked: tender and moist. We had them with a side of Caribbean spiced lentils and black beans. The next night, we had the pork sliced over a mixed green salad with a little bit of a white wine reduction.And that was how this dish was born of my recent travels. Try what the Blind Cooked up, and add a little tropics to your winter.

Recipe: Sous Vide Caribbean Pork Chops

Notes: If you don’t have a jerk spice blend just chill in’ in your spice drawer, you can make your own with a combination of allspice, Scotch bonnet peppers (a Caribbean pepper similar to the habanero), cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon—does this sound like a fall pie yet?—garlic, and thyme.

Ingredients

1. 4 boneless pork loin chops, approx 1” thick
2. 2 tsp Caribbean or jerk spice blend, or more if your tastebuds are dead

Instructions

1. Pat the pork dry with towels. Lay on a flat surface. Sprinkle all 4 chops with 1/2 the spice blend and gently rub into meat with fingers. Flip chops with same hand and, using the cleaner hand, sprinkle remaining 1/2 the spices over the chops. Vacuum seal and refrigerate overnight.
2. Fill your plastic bin or pot with enough water to hold the sealed bags of pork, and set the PolyScience immersion circulator to 62.8°C. Once this temp is reached, drop the chops in the bath, and set the timer to 92 min.
3. Once the timer beeps, pull the chops out from the water bath and let cool slightly before un-bagging and searing with your brand new Searzall for a nice crust. Slice and enjoy.

Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 1 hr 32 min
Yields: 4 servings