Gochujang Pork Chops with Noodle Stir Fry

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I'm by no means an expert in Asian cuisine but I sure like to dabble in it. Case in point, these pork chops with a compound butter featuring the amazing spicy, umami, and slightly sweet flavors of gochujang that we made last year. 

If you're not familiar with it, gochujang is a Korean condiment made with fermented bean paste, chiles, and rice. It is often lumped in with sriracha, sambal oelek, and garlic chile paste. They are all similar and based on red chiles, but I find that they each have their own unique taste and texture. For me, gochujang has more of the umami flavor.

I use the compound butter in the sous vide pack and in the stir fry. But the best part is using the butter at the end, letting it melt its deliciousness all over the juicy pork chop.

The gochujang butter is an avalanche of lusciousness and flavor.

Choosing A Wok For The Grill

Shaved Steak Gyros on the Big Green Egg

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I love gyros. A pita stuffed with the heavily seasoned, mildly spicy lamb/beef mixture topped with a creamy, aromatic tzatziki sauce is Nirvana to my palate.  

Shaved steak gyros topped with tzatziki sauce.

To me, the only downside is that the process is time-consuming and usually requires that I start one day ahead of time. I have to find lamb, grind it with beef and seasonings, and then let it rest for a day before cooking.

Quick and Easy Solution

This is another case where the Bertolino's Certified Angus Beef® Brand shaved steak from Food City comes in handy. With a hefty dose of Greek seasoning, it tastes pretty darn close to my usual gyros with hardly any work, and I can have them ready within 30 minutes. So far, I have used this shaved steak in fajitas, stir-fry, cheesesteak sandwiches, and now gyros.

Cooking shaved steak gyros in an 80-year-old Griswold skillet on a large Big Green Egg. You can see a Kick Ash Basket down there in the glowing coals; that one is 6 years old and holding up well.

Stovetop, Skillet, or Griddle

To be honest, I don't think doing this on the grill adds anything to the recipe; it's just a matter of preference. This recipe works well in a skillet on the grill, on the stovetop, or using a flattop griddle. 

Leftover Gyro Salad

If you have leftovers, this makes for an excellent salad as well. Just put the meat, seasoned onion, and tomato on a bed of mixed greens. Then you can thin the tzatziki with some buttermilk, lemon juice, or stock to make the salad dressing.

Reverse-Seared Tomahawk Ribeye on the Big Green Egg

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We started off 2021 with a thick, juicy tomahawk ribeye steak that I dry-brined and then reverse-seared on one of my large Big Green Eggs. 

Tomahawk ribeye steak with Worcestershire and shallot salt.

Being quite thick, there is a lot of meat that doesn't get touched by seasoning during cooking, so after slicing this behemoth steak, I seasoned it with homemade Worcestershire and shallot salt. A good finishing salt like this makes the flavor pop.

This isn't a recipe post; it's more about the process. Here's what we did on New Year's Day.