CHALLENGE! Need help re-creating Perry's Pork Chop (Houston, Tx)

Wimbo1029

I had the best pork chop of my life at Perry's in Houston.  There is not even a close second.  I know they smoke it for 4-6 hours, then obviously put it on a big fire for a short time to sear and carmelize... but I need your help & experience in planning a strategy to re-create this masterpiece.

I attached a picture to try to give you a mental image of how it is served.

This is how their menu describes it:

Carved tableside. Hand selected in the Midwest specifically for Perry’s Steakhouse, this prime chop is cured, roasted, slow-smoked and caramelized and served with homemade applesauce

They serve the chop with 3 ribs plus the "eyelash" - I don't know what that means, but it was delicious.  Basically, you end up with a triple thick chop, 3 ribs, and what seems to be tenderloin type texture "eyelash", which is fatty but packed with flavor.

I assume they are using a brine, since this is slow smoked... probably what they mean when they say "cured".

So Mr(s). CHEF... how would you go about making this?

Thanks!

Village Idiot

Wimbo,

I live in Houston, but had never heard of Perry's.  I see they have 3 locations -- Memorial City would be closest to me.

Looks pretty fancy.  I didn't see pork chops on the menu.  All I saw was lamb chops.  If it is pork chops, I'll try them out.

Thanks.

Wimbo1029

Look on their Signature Selections menu:  http://www.perryssteakhouse.com/menus/dinner-menu/signature-selections

Village Idiot

HOLY CRAP !  $32.95? Let me know if you get a recipe.

Stoater

Me too that looks delicious.  So does the prime rib with the herby garlic butter dolloped over it.

thailandjohn

I do these often...... Get a rack of pork, these are 8 bones.....I buy mine at Restaurant Depot, Costco sells these in our area only during the holidays, November-December I season the outside of the roast with mustard and your seasoning of choice.......I slow smoke with my Stoker set at 210 degrees and an internal probe inserted in the meat.....I cook to internal temp of 125-130.......meat must be very cold to start.........when done, remove, cool down, cut into individual chops place in Zip Lock bags along with any drippings from meat. I do all this a day or two before we are going to eat the chops........the chops resting in the drippings add to the flavor......I remove from refrigerator, bring to room temp then grill over Mesquite and Apple chips to desired doneness......I like mine 140-145 I don't use much sauce in my Qing, I put sauce on the side but if you want something like these ribs, I would use some kind of a sweet glaze while grilling to finish Without question, Crown Pork Roast done this way, is always a big hit, and so easy to do This is the way I do mine, hope this helped

henapple

thailandjohn said:

I do these often......
Get a rack of pork, these are 8 bones.....I buy mine at Restaurant Depot, Costco sells these in our area only during the holidays, November-December

I season the outside of the roast with mustard and your seasoning of choice.......I slow smoke with my Stoker set at 210 degrees and an internal probe inserted in the meat.....I cook to internal temp of 125-130.......meat must be very cold to start.........when done, remove, cool down, cut into individual chops place in Zip Lock bags along with any drippings from meat.

I do all this a day or two before we are going to eat the chops........the chops resting in the drippings add to the flavor......I remove from refrigerator, bring to room temp then grill over Mesquite and Apple chips to desired doneness......I like mine 140-145

I don't use much sauce in my Qing, I put sauce on the side but if you want something like these ribs, I would use some kind of a sweet glaze while grilling to finish

Without question, Crown Pork Roast done this way, is always a big hit, and so easy to do

This is the way I do mine, hope this helped

Newbie question...what is a rack of pork. Don't laugh.

SmokeyPitt

Man that does look good!  I was googling the interwebs and found this.

http://thethinkingmother.blogspot.com/2012/04/homemade-version-of-perrys-steakhouse.html

What is on top of the loin/chop in the pic?  Is that a garlic butter sauce?   As if the 4 lbs of pork wasn't enough calories...better add a stick of butter! 

I think @thailandjohn 's recipe sound pretty darn good.  I would agree that just by the looks, you need some kind of sweet sauce to brush on during the finish.  Shootin from the hip...perhaps apple jelly mixed with maple syrup and/or honey?   Maybe some bourbon?  I think I am inspired by Egret's maple bourbon ham. 

 

cssmd27

That's the only dish I order when I head to their Dallas location.  My beef sources + BGE render ordering beef at a steakhouse useless since it's a step down in quality and a step up in price.

Also, they do this dish for lunch (smaller portions, but still plenty large) on Fridays for something like $20.  Good stuff.

jlsm

Does this taste more like ham or more like pork loin? If ham, they do mean cured. If loin, then they must mean brined. 

And it looks great!

Austin Egghead

thailandjohn said:

I do these often...... Get a rack of pork, these are 8 bones.....I buy mine at Restaurant Depot, Costco sells these in our area only during the holidays, November-December I season the outside of the roast with mustard and your seasoning of choice.......I slow smoke with my Stoker set at 210 degrees and an internal probe inserted in the meat.....I cook to internal temp of 125-130.......meat must be very cold to start.........when done, remove, cool down, cut into individual chops place in Zip Lock bags along with any drippings from meat. I do all this a day or two before we are going to eat the chops........the chops resting in the drippings add to the flavor......I remove from refrigerator, bring to room temp then grill over Mesquite and Apple chips to desired doneness......I like mine 140-145 I don't use much sauce in my Qing, I put sauce on the side but if you want something like these ribs, I would use some kind of a sweet glaze while grilling to finish Without question, Crown Pork Roast done this way, is always a big hit, and so easy to do This is the way I do mine, hope this helped

Thanks for the recipe.  That is now on the to-cook list. 
No problem finding a rack at HEB any time of the year, or Randall's (Safeway) for that matter.  I make a cranberry-Maker Mark glaze for my hams that would work well here.  A request to cook my ham at the Plano fest may be superceeded by this cook.

Austin Egghead

We have a Regional Company meeting coming up in Houston, may request this as the place for to for our get together supper.  I am getting real tired of Fogo de Chao.

nolaegghead

henapple said:

I do these often...... Get a rack of pork, these are 8 bones.....I buy mine at Restaurant Depot, Costco sells these in our area only during the holidays, November-December I season the outside of the roast with mustard and your seasoning of choice.......I slow smoke with my Stoker set at 210 degrees and an internal probe inserted in the meat.....I cook to internal temp of 125-130.......meat must be very cold to start.........when done, remove, cool down, cut into individual chops place in Zip Lock bags along with any drippings from meat. I do all this a day or two before we are going to eat the chops........the chops resting in the drippings add to the flavor......I remove from refrigerator, bring to room temp then grill over Mesquite and Apple chips to desired doneness......I like mine 140-145 I don't use much sauce in my Qing, I put sauce on the side but if you want something like these ribs, I would use some kind of a sweet glaze while grilling to finish Without question, Crown Pork Roast done this way, is always a big hit, and so easy to do This is the way I do mine, hope this helped

Newbie question...what is a rack of pork. Don't laugh.

Pork equivalent of a standing rib roast.

http://www.porkbeinspired.com/cut_rackofpork.aspx

thailandjohn

Many people have problems finding certain cuts of meat.....my suggestion would be, go to a Mexican or Chinese market that has a meat department that can cut to order....sometimes it would help to show them a picture of what you want

Wimbo1029

Ok so I made an attempt here to at least get the flavor right.  It's pretty close, but I will keep tweaking it.  I used some of the tips in this thread, so thanks to all who posted.

1)  I purchased a couple of extra thick chops from my local butcher. They were about 1.75 - 2" thick, and included the chop and the tenderloin (no ribs).  

2)  I soaked them in a brine for 2-3 days.  Brine recipe (rough measurements): enough water to cover chops in a gallon zip lock bag - about a quart? (put the chops in the bag & cover with water to see how much you need), another cup of water (boiling), 1/3 cup kosher salt, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2T fresh ground black pepper, long squirt of honey (maybe 2T), and 1T of dark brown sugar.  bring 1 cup water to boil & stir in salt and sugars until dissolved.  Add pepper and honey & mix well.  Add to rest of water in zip lock bag & refrigerate until fully cooled (you may want to put the bag in a container - just in case it springs a leak).  Once cooled, add chops, press out extra air & seal bag.  Refrigerate for 2-3 days.  note - one zip lock gallon bag will comfortably hold only 2 of these thick chops, so plan accordingly for the amount of brine you need.. or use a different container that can accommodate all the meat).

3)  remove chops from brine & thoroughly rinse the chops off.  pat dry with paper towel. wrap and refrigerate until ready to start your cook - you want them cold when you put them on the BGE so they can smoke better/longer.

4)  Build your fire using lump and several chunks of apple wood.  Settle the temps to around 200-220F.

5)  Generously coat the chops on all sides with rub (I used the rub recipe in the link above: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/pats-smoked-pork-chops-recipe/index.html) However, I thought that the rub had a little too much cayenne and salt, so next time I will cut those back a little bit... not much.  this rub recipe makes enough to do 4-5 very large chops & have some left over.

6)  put in your platesetter, legs up for indirect cooking.  Apply meat to heat & close BGE.  Readjust your temps accordingly.  Using a temp probe inserted from the side into the thickest part of the chop, slowly smoke the chops until they reach about 145F. I didn't time it... maybe 2 hours?  They are still not fully cooked at this point, but pull them off.

7)  remove platesetter & open up your vents.  Get your BGE in lava mode... like 600F.  Put a cast iron skillet on the grid & let it get hot.  

8)  CAREFULLY, USING ARM PROTECTION pour some Olive Oil in the skillet.  Enough to cover, amount depends on how many chops you are putting in.  I also threw in  1T of butter.

9)  CAREFULLY, USING ARM PROTECTION add your chops to the skillet using long tongs - you don't want to get popped!

10) Cover & cook for about 1 minute.

12)  Flip chop & cook until internal temps read 155F (only about 1 more minute)

13)  quickly pull the chops out of the skillet - they should be well carmelized.

14)  shut all your vents & let the BGE cool with the skillet inside - it will be too hot to handle for a while.

15)  Put a couple of pats of garlic-herb butter (mash diced garlic and chopped parsley into softened butter, form into block on wax paper, and refrigerate until ready to use) on top of each chop as soon as they come out of the BGE - let it melt over the meat.

I served this with garlic cheese grits (Paula Deen's recipe), and this asparagus recipe (http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1132984/ahhhhhh-sweet-asparagus)

Everyone was thrilled with the results, and want me to do it again.

Sadly, I didn't think about taking pictures until I was about half way through the meal.  Next time.

pasoegg

great directions....well documented....thank you for sharing this!

bigphil

@wimbo1029 sounds tasty thanks for sharing another to the to do list 

mb99zz

I ate there this Summer in business travel. A colleague who lives there raved about the "seven finger pork chop". That was it. It was quite good indeed.

krobertsmsn

I was just thinking about the Perry's pork chop recently. I moved away 3 1/2 yrs ago, but lived within 3 miles of Perry's Cypresswood location. I LOVE that pork chop. You are indeed correct NO ONE can come close. That chop will easily feed 3 people. Their menu is full of delish food! You can buy meat from them...It just is not the same as at the restaruant.

Wimbo1029

dropped some chops in brine today - doing it all again on Sunday.

Wimbo1029

brined, rubbed, and just put on the grid.  Results to come later.

Wimbo1029

Ok, so an edit to my original post with instructions on how to make it.  I mentioned that my recipe came out salty... after some digging, I discovered that I was brining the pork too long. The recommended amount for pork chops is 12-24 hours.  Overbrining can destroy a good cook. So, if someone knows how to edit my OP, please change the brine times - I'd hate for someone to spoil a good cook because of faulty directions from me.  Thanks!

Wimbo1029

Finished product, served with garlic cheese grits and asparagus (blanched, drizzled with honey, topped with basil/tomato feta, crushed nuts, salt & pepper).

Chasman

Found a video of mr Perry himself discussing their famous chop. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMrMOdFt7rg&feature=youtube_gdata_player Gives a few hints to the process: 5 days, 4 hours of Pecan wood smoke,... Given that it's a high-end steak place, it wouldnt surprise me at all if it's not finished in a 1,800 degree broiler, even if just to "carmelize."

cazzy

For you that haven't tried, Perry's usually has their famous chop for $11.95 on Friday during lunch.

Charlie tuna

I have never tried "re-cooking" the rib chops from the "bone-in" pork roasts??  But slow cooking the bone in roast is a very good meal in itself!  And as stated, they seem to be only available here around the holidays...  I will definently try this the next time i fine one!!  Thanks for sharing. 

Spring Chicken

You are absolutely right... they are good.  Now you've got me wanting to cook my own.

My first and second time eating those was at their Woodlands location.  I had to take some home and it was excellent the next day.

I think about them now and then but now that you've addressed the possibility of a do-it-yourself pork chop, I'll all ears.  I'll add it to my 'must try' list.

 

Thanks.

 

Spring "Leave Chickens Along - Eat More Pork" Chicken

Spring Texas USA

 

 

Springram

cazzy said:

For you that haven't tried, Perry's usually has their famous chop for $11.95 on Friday during lunch.

Yea, but it is "only" a 2-bone chop at that price. Don't get me wrong, it is plenty enough and really, really good.

Spriingram

Spring, Texas

Spring Chicken

And it's worth every penny of it.

 

Spring "Got Pork Chops On My Mind" Chicken

Spring Texas USA

 

 

cazzy

Springram said:

cazzy said:

For you that haven't tried, Perry's usually has their famous chop for $11.95 on Friday during lunch.

Yea, but it is "only" a 2-bone chop at that price. Don't get me wrong, it is plenty enough and really, really good.

Spriingram

Spring, Texas

Recently took 7 of my team members there for lunch, and everyone of us got 3 ribs. Assuming that's what you're were talking about. It was twice as much food as any normal person should eat too! 2 of the peeps had chops bigger than my kids head!

Not the best picture

Austin Egghead

Spring Chicken said:

You are absolutely right... they are good.  Now you've got me wanting to cook my own.

My first and second time eating those was at their Woodlands location.  I had to take some home and it was excellent the next day.

I didn't know they had a Woodlands location....Next time I am working in the Woodlands will stop there.....Naw ....would rather come to the coop and cook with y'all.  We can make it happen. :-)