Pork Chops Étouffée with Somewhat Dirty Rice for Two

One was in a Cajun/Creole mood tonight. I started off with two thick boneless pork loin chops, which I cooked sous vide at 140° for 65 minutes using my beloved Joule.

To go with the pork, I made an étouffée sauce. Earlier in the day I had made a dry roux. I put 2 cups of flour in a pie plate and cooked it in my Breville smart oven at 425° on the roast setting. It took about 40 minutes to get to a peanut butter color, stirring every 10 minutes or so. Much easier and safer than making a traditional dark roux in a Dutch oven.

I melted a tablespoon of unsalted butter in a 2-quart saucier over medium heat and then sautéed a ¼ cup each of diced onions, celery, and poblano pepper, having seasoned them with a big pinch of salt. After about 8 minutes the vegetables had softened somewhat and very slightly colored. I added the white parts of 2 green onions, diced, a teaspoon of Cajun spice mix, and 1 ½ tablespoons of dry roux. I continued to sauté the vegetables for 2 more minutes. I then added 3 crushed garlic cloves and half of a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes (drained; reserving the juice) and cooked the mixture for another minute. I then added ½ cup beer, ½ cup chicken stock, and ½ cup reserved tomato juice to the pan. I cranked the heat to high and added 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce and about 4 dashes of Tabasco. When the mixture came to a boil, I reduced the heat to low and let it simmer slowly.

Meanwhile, over in my also beloved 4 quart Fagor multicooker (now made by an outfit called Zavor), set on the sauté setting, I sautéed a ¼ cup each of diced onions, celery, and poblano pepper. After about 10 minutes, I added the white parts of 2 green onions, diced, and continued cooking them for another 2 minutes. I had ground half of an Aidell’s andouille sausage and 2 Jimmy Dean pork sausage links in a mini food processor to the consistency of ground beef and added it to the pot. Finally, I added half of a Zatarain’s Dirty Rice mix, the other half of the can of tomatoes, and 1 ½ cups of water, put on the lid, and set the multicooker to the risotto setting.

When the pork was done I removed the chops from their bags, patted them dry, seasoned them on both sides with salt and Cajun spice mix, and seared them in a nonstick skillet I had pre-heated over medium-high heat. To serve, I topped them with the sauce and rice on the side.

We drank a 2017 Turtle Rock Westberg Red, which has become one of our favorite wines and makes an especially good match for spicy food.