It is still fun. Honest. So far I haven’t been rained on cooking outside. That is of course because when it is raining, we get take out. Yep, I haven’t braved cooking outside in the rain yet though. I reckon it will be fine though, a decent jacket and a large rain umbrella, and we will be set!

The biggest problem with this dish was the lack of light. Sounds really odd, and is nothing I have had to consider before when cooking. Yep, our halogen work light went out. To top it off, the electrical in the kitchen is being worked on, so I couldn’t really turn on the kitchen lights, which would cast a bit of light outside. So this was cooked by flashlight. One of those small, crappy by last forever LED flashlights. I know, I should be more prepared, but I wasn’t. And yes, we will be buying a new bulb for the work light before I do any more cooking!!

I think what has surprised me most about this whole cooking outside deal is that I haven’t had to change my cooking style that much. With a bit of thought, and careful planning I can cook most of what I would do in my kitchen, outside. The biggest change really is complexity. I am picking simple dishes to cook. With only one gas burner ring, and a smallish BBQ I have to. The main bug bear is really just how hot (or not…) the camping gas stove gets a pan. It is hot enough to cook most things, and eventually bring a pot of soup to the boil, but isn’t really hot enough to get a decent sear on fish. I actually don’t cook a lot of fish on the grill. I find it generally a messy experience, that has often ended in tragedy. Fish is pricey, and it can all too easily fall through the grates of ones grill. The best way to solve that though is to cook the fish with the skin on, and make sure your grill is really clean. Delicate fish like the turbot cooked below is out of the question on a grill – it would just fall to pieces.

So, back to this dish. Really an easy one to cook outside, with what I had. A pork chop is always great on the BBQ, and is in fact my favorite way to cook a thick chop. The sauce was done in a small pan first, and then the kale was cooked afterwards in a different pan. When everything was done, I bunged the sauce back on the heat to get warm again. Really nothing to it.

Pork Chop, Kale, Mustard Apple Cider Reduction sauce

2 pork chops

1 head of kale

Dijon mustard

2 cups of apple cider

1 teaspoon of butter

Olive oil

Kosher salt and pepper

Start by tossing the pork chops in a splash of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Get this cooking over a medium/high grill. We are going to grill each side for a couple of minutes, until a good sear is formed. You can then turn your grill down to medium to let the chop gently cook through. Cooking time really depends on the thickness of chop. These were pretty thick, most likely around 15 minutes in total. You don’t want to overcook pork, it goes so tough – but as well all know you certainly don’t want to undercook it either.

Put a couple of tablespoons of Dijon mustard in a small pan. Pour in the apple cider. Get this boiling over a high heat, until it has reduced by half.

Slice your kale crossways into thin (1/2inch) slices. Put this into a medium sized saute pan, add a little water, and a good glug of the apple cider. Cover the pan, and get up to the boil, so the kale gently steams. Keep an eye on this – you don’t want this to run out of liquid and burn. Top up with water or cider if you need to.

When the sauce is complete, and just before serving whisk the butter into the sauce until it is completely dissolved. This adds a good gloss and a savory element to the sauce.

That is really it to be honest. To plate, put the kale down first, and top with the pork chop. Pour the sauce over, and get stuck in!