Beyond Barbecue
There’s no doubt Charleston is a barbecue town. From famous pitmasters like Lewis Barbecue and Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog Barbecue to longtime family establishments Bessinger’s Barbecue and Home Team BBQ, there’s no shortage of the smoky pig in town.
These establishments offer classic barbecue staples like a pulled pork sandwich. But if you’re looking for something different, such as deep-fried or grilled pork loins, Charleston has a handful of spots in town to fulfill the desire for a nice cut of pork, un-pulled, of course.
Grilled and basted
On East Bay Street near Waterfront Park, you’ll find a pork classic at Slightly North of Broad (SNOB). Though local seafood is the top seller at this venerable Charleston establishment, the grilled heritage farm pork chop is the next best-selling protein — above ribeye steak, lamb and duck, according to executive chef Russ Moore.
A grilled pork chop seems simple, right? Not at SNOB.
The chops come from a North Carolina farm and are cut daily in the restaurant, then brined for an hour. If chops sit in the brine for longer than an hour, “you get into this kind of ham territory,” Moore said.
After brining, the pork chops undergo an overnight cold smoke — smoldering wood chips are extinguished and sealed in a container with the pork chops, then put in the walk-in to stay cold. SNOB uses applewood chips for a smoky, sweet flavor to seep into the muscle fibers.
Once the cold smoke is finished, the chops are grilled to order. Most people order medium-well to well-done, according to Moore, with the ideal temperature at medium-well for a juicy and tender bite. Even if ordered well-done, the pork chop still stays juicy thanks to the brining process.
Once on the grill, the pork chop is slathered in a sorghum-mustard glaze made from whole grain mustard and apple cider vinegar, which adds a thin crust to the meat.
During spring, the pork chop is served with a caramelized blue cheese bread pudding and brussels sprouts to balance the sweet and spicy sorghum glaze. The bread pudding, Moore said, is like an “insanely good stuffing or core dressing.”
French bread is soaked in a custard and mixed with thyme, rosemary and caramelized onions, then baked in the oven. Blue cheese tops the bread pudding towards the end of cooking to form a crust on top. Caramelizing the blue cheese mellows the flavor, Moore said, and gives it a rich nutty taste.
“It’s not just like cutting a pork chop and throwing it on the grill,” Moore said. “There’s definitely a process to it to make it taste really good.”
Braised shank
Herd Provisions near Hampton Park utilizes a different cut of pork: the shank. While chops typically come from the loin muscle (near the ribcage), the shank comes from the forearm of the pig. Herd sources its pork shanks from Peculiar Pig Farms in Dorchester, with the skin on for some added flavor.
“It’s great to braise,” executive chef Jeanne Oieksiak said about choosing pork shank. “It’s super tender and really moist. It holds up its shape a little bit better.”
The shanks are braised overnight in a simple mirepoix (aromatic flavor base made by lightly cooking onions, celery and carrots), herbs and “a whole bunch of garlic,” Oieksiak said.
The pork sits in the braising liquid overnight, or until the meat is tender and falls off the bone. It’s then left to cool in the liquid to “suck back in that flavor,” Oieksiak added. Once it’s cool, the meat is picked from the bone, and the skin is removed as it will be fried for a garnish.
The vegetables don’t go to waste; they’re strained from the stock (which can be used again) and pureed with a little bit of the braising liquid to make a pork sugo, or “sauce” in Italian. The tender, aromatic pork is served atop pappardelle pasta with pea shoots for added texture.
Pork and pasta
At Cru Cafe on Pickney Street, the kitchen keeps things nice and simple with its pork schnitzel. A slice of pork loin is pounded thin, seasoned with salt, pepper and a little bit of smoked paprika, coated in panko bread crumbs and fried until golden brown. The schnitzel is served with a lemon wedge to add a little bit of flavor and acidity to the savory schnitzel.
“It’s so basic,” said John Zucker, owner and executive chef of Cru Cafe. “It’s probably the easiest dish in the world that I love. That’s pretty much what I order every time.”
Along with the lemon wedge, the schnitzel is served alongside capellini pasta tossed in a house-made white wine cream sauce with capers and cremini mushrooms.
“Some people put gravy on theirs, but we just wanted to really have a taste of the pork and just a little bit of lemon to make it simple,” Zucker said.
Chicken-fried classic
The inspiration behind the chicken fried pork chop at Poogan’s Porch originated three years ago when it expanded to Summerville with Poogan’s Southern Kitchen. The goal, said Jacob Rios, director of culinary operations at Poogan’s Hospitality, was to modernize a Southern dinner and elevate it.
“When we first opened Southern Kitchen, we wanted to hit home with traditional Southern meals,” Rios added, “like dishes you would eat at your grandma’s house. But then we take that and add a chef’s twist.”
The chicken-fried pork chop is prepared exactly like fried chicken, with a chicken marinade of hot sauce, buttermilk and mustard and breaded (no chickens are harmed in the making of this dish). But, before it’s marinated, the pork chop is cut down, pressed and tenderized to loosen the fibers and make the cut extremely soft. It’s then deep-fried until golden brown and served with black pepper gravy, whipped potatoes, English peas and pearl onions.
The whipped potatoes are made with a heavy amount of butter and cream for a fluffy texture and mouthfeel. The peas and pearl onions contrast the potatoes for an added crunch and bite along with the crispy texture of the pork chop.
“It’s a good balance of that salty, crispy pork chop with the amount of gravy that we put on top,” Rios said. “And the potatoes are a great vehicle to carry all those. When you have that pork chop with the whipped potatoes and vegetables, it’s like one perfect bite.”
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