ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — What makes Renzo St. Pete’s pork chop so special?
“These are 30-day dry-aged pork chops, right in house,” Executive Chef Bill Tarleton explains.
And it’s served with a champignon cream sauce and seasonal vegetables.
Tarleton trims the chops about 1-1/4-inch thick, and the dry-aging effects are visible.
“It removes — helps remove — moisture out of the cells, and it intensifies the flavor,” Tarleton said.
It’s dryer, but not dry. The chef seasons simply with salt and grills.
“We just want to get some good marks on it, get a good color, a good sear on the outside,” Tarleton said.
After achieving the classic crosshatching grill marks, the meat goes into a wood-fired grill at 600 degrees with charcoal from Argentina.
“This is going to give it a real thick, smoky flavor,” Tarleton said.
Champignon Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of cream
- 1/4 cup of wine
- 1/2 teaspoon of mustard seed
- 1/4 cup of stock
- 2 ounces of cremini mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons of shallots
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
“If you are doing it at home on an electric stovetop, get yourself a cast iron, let it get up to heat,” Tarleton said.
- Cook the mushrooms and shallots in a small amount of cooking oil.
- Season with salt and pepper during cooking.
- Deglaze the pan with wine.
- The chef uses a pinot noir from Argentina.
- “Don’t be scared of it; it’s gonna jump up," Tarleton said.
- Allow the wine to heat and then add the stock.
- Reduce the stock by two-thirds, then add the cream.
- Reduce the cream by two-thirds until it reaches a nappe consistency, meaning it can coat the back of a spoon.
- Serve the sauce on top of the pork chops.