Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube | Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
Advice? Pork Chops safe? Stike? Lil Chef?
Options
CaptainSpaulding
Posts: 368
Bought 9 thick cut, boneless loin chops about a week ago from Costco. The cellophane wrapper had. Quarter sized hole in it and one of the chops had a nice little dry aged spot where it was exposed to the air during the week.
I just rinsed them all in cold tap water and there's a faint tinge of an odor to them. Got the large settling in at a nice 450° and don't want to waste $13 worth of meat. My gut tells me they're fine, but looking to all of you experts for some reassurance.
What do you think?
Joe
I just rinsed them all in cold tap water and there's a faint tinge of an odor to them. Got the large settling in at a nice 450° and don't want to waste $13 worth of meat. My gut tells me they're fine, but looking to all of you experts for some reassurance.
What do you think?
Joe
Comments
-
Joe....Pork often does have a faint odor....as does most chicken, which goes away once the meat has been exposed to air, and while cooking. I always go by the addige "The Nose Knows". Cook it off...your nose will know. If it smells 'off' after the cook, don't chance it. I suspect it is just fine...but that decision will ultimately be yours.
-
Thanks for the rapid response, chef. I've got 'em rubbed with salt and Redeye Express and will cook them up and see. My sniffer isn't what it used to be. Too much Copenhagen, Rum and hoppy IPA's. Hopefully my better half gets home pretty quick. She's got the senses of a Comanche scout and can give me a better read.
Joe -
the fact that there's a hole doesn't mean anything one way or another as far as food safety. bacteria is there when the meat is wrapped.
as long as your temps were fine, it should be fine. some restaurants are even trumping "aged pork" now...
remember, plastic wrap offers absolutely no value as far as food safety goes, it's food QUALITY that it helps to (try to) preserve.
aged beef has very little odor, and no one would ever mistake the smell of aged beef for "bad" beef. if the pork smelled otherwise normal, it should be fine. the smell of bad pork isn't the kind of thing you wonder about -
Thanks, Stripsteak. I kinda knew that my gut instinct was correct, but was just looking for a little validation.
Unfortunately, the chops were really tough. These are the first pork chops I've gotten from Costco and I'm not impressed. To be fair, I did pull them a little high, at 155° internal. They were very thick, at about an inch and a half and I felt it would be okay to take them up a bit. They were still a nice light pink I the middle, but really chewy. I usually lke to hand pick pork chops that favor the darker meat and didn't have that luxury at Costco.
Live, cook and learn, I suppose...
Joe -
As you’ve discovered, with input from here and the cook itself…A bit of an off smell isn’t necessarily meaning “gone bad”. Your nose will be able to tell you if the meat is rotten!!
Think of the smell when cleaning chicken or turkey! Mrs. Potatohead can’t even do it!
As for the toughness, it just could have been the cut. But, what method (raised, hot sear, indirect, marinated) did you use? That may have had an impact too.
And…For what ever it’s worth: I have gotten away from pre-cut loin chops. Watch the sale ads for a whole loin. Pick one out that has a nice fat cap (even a bit of marble, but that doesn’t happen too often) and cut your own. You can even get a nice roast (buckboard bacon, butter flied stuffed and rolled, marinade / rubbed) in addition to some really nice thick cut chops. -
pulled at 155, they were more like 160on your plate (or higher). much of the toughness might lie right there, frankly. one good thing about the egg is that overcooked pork is still juicy, at least for the first serving...
-
Thanks, Spuds. All great advice. I've done the whole loin thing in the past, as well. Love that Buckboard Loin Bacon!
I was just stocking up at Costco and they looked great in the package.
Cook was direct at standard grid level on the large at 450º. I'm sure part of it was cooking to 155º. I usually pull chops at no more that 140º.
Joe -
I believe you're right, Jeff. The flavor was decent and they were still juicy, bet the chew was just on the tender side of catcher's mitt.
I think I'm still batting about .995, though. That was the first and only cook I've done on the egg that was short of stellar since taking the plunge on Father's Day. I'll get back on the horse, tonight, though. Cooking 30 pounds of butt for an impromptu New Years Eve get together. I can smell the sizzling pork fat and pecan smoke already.
Happy New Year!
Joe
P.S. Good to see that you're taking it easy on the post count. You've already got me lapped with your new moniker!
Categories
- All Categories
- 182.7K EggHead Forum
- 15.7K Forum List
- 459 EGGtoberfest
- 1.9K Forum Feedback
- 10.3K Off Topic
- 2.2K EGG Table Forum
- 1 Rules & Disclaimer
- 9K Cookbook
- 12 Valentines Day
- 91 Holiday Recipes
- 223 Appetizers
- 516 Baking
- 2.4K Beef
- 88 Desserts
- 163 Lamb
- 2.4K Pork
- 1.5K Poultry
- 30 Salads and Dressings
- 320 Sauces, Rubs, Marinades
- 543 Seafood
- 175 Sides
- 121 Soups, Stews, Chilis
- 35 Vegetarian
- 100 Vegetables
- 313 Health
- 293 Weight Loss Forum