pork chops with an oregano-sage rub

I tried the following for a rub: coarsely chopped oregano and sage, cracked black/white/green/red pepper, olive oil. I pressed the herbs into the meat and let refrigerate for two hours. Then kosher salt, generously applied before grilling.

The grill was a problem. It took nearly an hour to get it up to temperature and even then the fire was uneven. Ended up doing a double sear with one flip, five minutes total. Heat was then cut down and chops cooked for another two minutes a side. Tented with aluminum foil while the zuchini/squash hybrid (squachini? zuquash?) grilled. Another ten to fifteen minutes.

The meat was pretty much perfect, although a hotter fire at the beginning would have given it a better crust. But sometimes you have to roll with the punches.

The Wise Fool

So-called for its mixture of sage and gin, which I think speaks for itself. With the wife and child gone for a few days, I had to try my hand at inventing a cocktail, and I had to make use of the copious amounts of fresh sage growing in the garden. Since sage and gin are a natural fit, and I've been craving a martini forever, this seems a good mix. Here is the recipe I will try:

10 medium sage leaves

quarter lemon wedge

1 tsp. turbinado sugar

4 ounces gin

3 ounces fresh grapefruit juice

Muddle the sage, lemon, and sugar in a shaker. add gin and grapefruit juice. shake.

It helps to run the final product through a strainer, unless you want bits of sage floating about in the drink.

Garnish with a sage leaf, rubbed or broken to release fragrant oils.

This drink has promise. My first attempt had 3 oz. gin to 3 oz. grapefruit and quarter lemon wedge, but I thought it is too heavy on the citrus. Second had the ratio above, and it was a cleaner drink, and the Ethereal gin I used came through.

I used ruby grapefruits in this (what I had on hand), and they were very tart. The drink does not need to be any sweeter, in fact the citrus is a nice bite. But the sage must come through more.

Future concoctions might include a sage syrup rather than muddled fresh sage. Or perhaps a naked sage and gin martini cocktail with a good, dry vermouth.

Pork Chops with a sage rub

Early herb garden mix:

sage leaves (about eight, many large)
oregano leaves (only a small number)
finely chop fresh herbs, add sea salt and fresh ground pepper and mix in olive oil

dress up the pork chops, about 1 inch thick

grill was weak--550 to start.
Sear for 1.5 minutes each side
put up dampers, cut to 400 degrees
roughly 5 minutes a side.

a third pork chop joined with only salt.

The result: juicy, but medium rather than medium rare. The rub could have been better singed, but was tasty.

Still, I have to say that fresh herbs on a chops rub is not really all that great. Dried herbs seem to do better, sadly--more potency. Perhaps mixing fresh and dried sage would do better?

UPDATE: fresh herb rubs work well if the heat is high enough to start, and if the dampers don't get completely shut down. I clearly need to do a thorough cleaning of the grill.

Kitchen Garden

So, I ripped up another patch of grass and replaced it with a kitchen garden. It is modest for now:

Golden Pineapple Sage
Sicilian Oregano
Basil
Thyme
Sage

In the back--Rosemary and potted mint. I'm debating transplanting the mint to the back planter what happens.

The herbs were all planted a couple of weeks ago--call it April 25. They are growing nicely. I'm debating putting a raised bed back here at some point.

Steaks, with a (sage) rub

This rub does not excite, but it is workable:

dried thyme (whole)
dried rosemary (whole)
dried sage (powdered)
cracked pepper
coarse sea salt

I'm beginning to think that rubs add texture more than anything else, although the sage came through (bright and sweet) to counteract the thyme and pepper.

BIG GREEN EGG NOTES:

I'm having a gasket issue which I will fix up next weekend, and I think it led to the following problem. I let the grill get very hot. It ran for ten-fifteen minutes at 650 degrees. It allowed me to clean the grill (which really worked), and also put a nice sear on it. But when the grill surface is that hot, and the internal temperature of the egg is sitting at 650, 1.5 minutes on the sear blackens the meat. That wasn't the real rub, however. It was the cooking afterwards (5.5 minutes or so) at a slightly higher heat than normal, thanks to my gasket issues, that cooked the meat too much.

The meat also was allowed to sit for nearly ten minutes, which helped the juices to settle, and I'm sure it cooked during that time as well. I should cut the cooking time down to 4.5 to 5 minutes if the temperature stays up around 500 degrees.