Welcome to Episode 1 of Reduce by Half: Rioja-style Pork Chops. In this episode we share a Rioja-style Pork Chop recipe, talk about Spanish wine from Rioja and share a little bit of Spanish culture. We also have a giveaway featuring the meat and wine we use in podcast. Listen to the episode by using the player below or click here to listen on iTunes. Keep reading for this week’s recipe, wine pairing, book suggestions and giveaway entry form!
Rioja-style Pork Chops Recipe
Select high quality, thick cut, bone-in pork chops for this recipe. 
Let your pork chops sit with the seasoning for at least 15 minutes. This will dry brine them and help keep them flavorful and moist. 
A big cast iron skillet is perfect for this recipe. The Pork Chops will sear beautifully. 
Give the chops a good sear on both sides. 
You'll also need minced garlic, red wine, tomatoes, red pepper, onion and olive oil. 
Sauté your veggies until they're soft. 
Pair this Rioja-style Pork Chop recipe with a Rioja wine like El Coto. Use it for both cooking and drinking! 
After the veggies are soft, you can stir in the tomatoes and red wine. 
Add the pork chops back in, cover and simmer! 
After simmering, your Pork Chops will be ready when they reach 145º and the vegetables are soft. 
Enjoy! 
Serve over rice and garnish with fresh oregano.
Here’s a quick overview on how to make the Rioja-style Pork Chops we talked about on this recipe. You can view the full recipe on our recipe section.
El Coto Rioja Wine Pairing
El Coto de Rioja is the largest owner of vineyards in Rioja, Spain. They make delicious wines that reflect a traditional Rioja style with modern production techniques. Their El Coto Crianza Rioja is a wine that’s made from 100% Tempranillo grapes by winemaker César Fernandez. It’s been aged 12 months in oak and 6 months in bottle before release. Fruit flavors of raspberry and cherry are mixed with oak, vanilla and cedar. For around $15, it’s a great value and a perfect pairing for our Rioja-style Pork Chops.
You can learn more about El Coto de Rioja on their website by clicking here.
Resources on Spanish Cuisine
If you’re interested in more Spanish recipes, we highly recommend the books of Penelope Casas. We used a recipe in her book “1,000 Spanish Recipes” as the basis for our Rioja-style Pork Chops. You can buy her books from Amazon at the links below:
- 1,000 Spanish Recipes – an easy overview of Spanish recipes. Trust me, 1,000 isn’t too many!
- The Foods and Wines of Spain – a great book that explores a little bit more of the relationship and history of the foods and wines of Spain.
- Paella!: Spectacular Rice Dishes from Spain – if you love Paella, this is a great book to have.
- Tapas (Revised): The Little Dishes of Spain – bite sized food! Everyone loves it! This is one of the best English language works on tapas, so check it out if you love tapas.
(If you purchase via the links provided, LGCM will receive a commission from Amazon, so thanks for helping us out!)
Giveaway
You could win four 1″ thick Pork Chops and a bottle of El Coto Rioja wine! Just fill out the form below before May 1st, 2017 and you’ll be entered to win.
We hope you enjoyed this episode! If you have any questions or feedback on this episode, leave us a comment below. Remember, you can subscribe to Reduce by Half on iTunes by following this link. We’ll see you soon at Lake Geneva Country Meats!
