Pork Chops and Baked Potatoes with Salsa Sauce

Costco. I love it... I hate it; don't you?

I try not to go too often, and the fact that the huge warehouse store is located w-a-a-a-y over on the other side of town, keeps my trips down to about once a month. All right, truth be told, I'm a Costco addict and when the urge strikes a pack of saber-toothed tigers couldn't keep me away!

There, happy now?

Back to my trek through the hallowed aisles of the mega-giant store where I joined the milling masses of wide-eyed shoppers eager to part with cash, checks and credit cards. There I was, weaving my way past shelves that were just chock full of everything from the mundane and practical, the strange and the wonderfully bizarre. I'm on a mission, so I passed by everything with great determination not the browse... I want FOOD!

My destination is the meat section, where the mad butchers of Costco have gleefully laid out their bloody trays of raw flesh to tempt carnivores and cooks of every sort. Ah-ha! There's what I want... that huge, battalion-sized flat of extra thick, boneless, center loin pork chops. Mine... all mine!

Since many of my readers have been asking for recipes that only serve one or two portions, I decided that would be the goal of today's recipe. You can easily double the quantity or even substitute another cut of pork chops as long it is similar in thickness, which would be about 1 1/2 inches.
Okay, let's get cookin'! Here's our ingredients,
all prepped and measured -- a good thing todo so you don't leave out anything -- now we're ready to go. Oh boy, just look at those thick, yummy pork chops!
Not too complicated in the prep department, just some herbs and spices for a flavor boost, and some prepared salsa... c'mon, you can do this, so let's get cookin'!

Here's my lovely thick chops, well seasoned and nicely browned. The pile of caramelized onions and herbs that will form the base of the flavorful sauce. Oh, did I mention the flavor!

You can find out more about how to do browning and sauteing on the website.
Add all the ingredients all the ingredients exept the potatoes to the pressure cooker so the chops are nestled all comfy like in the flavorful sauce. This is a good example of how to use the Infusion Cooking method to make a rich and flavorful braise in the pressure cooker. To braise the chops the salsa, onions and the herb screate a delicious, flavorful and aromatic sauce using the Infusion Cooking method.

You can find out more about how to do all the different pressure cooking techniques used in this recipe, as well as other advanced pressure
cooking methods on the website.

This recipe also uses Tiered Cooking technique, stacking several foods so they cook separately to make a complete meal that cooks in one pot with no stirring. I'm placing the cooking rack on TOP of the chops to form a platform for the potatoes because I want them steam roasted, not braised. What... you thought the rack only works on the bottom?
See how the Tiered Cooking method is used in this recipe to allow me to use two different cooking techniques at the same time and in the same pot: I'm also using Steam Roasting to bake the potatoes.

Hungry? All right, here's my plate... where's yours?


Pork Chops and Baked Potatoes with Salsa Sauce

1 T olive oil

salt and coarse ground black pepper

2 extra thick cut boneless pork chops

1/3 c chopped cilantro

1/2 c chopped onions

2 T minced garlic

1 T dried oregano

1 cup chunky salsa

4 medium potatoes

1/2 c water

Heat the oil in the pressure cooker. Rub salt and pepper into the chops and brown them on both sides. Saute the onions and garlic until soft and caramelized to a golden brown. Set aside. Add the water to the not cooker and deglaze, scraping up any stuck-on browned bits. Stir in the salsa, cilantro and oregano, and place the chops in the sauce. Place a rack or steamer tray on top of the chops and arrange the potatoes. Lock the
lid in place. Bring to 15psi over high heat, immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting to stabilize and maintain that pressure. Cook 12
minutes. Remove from heat and use the natural release method before opening the lid. Transfer the chops to individual serving plates. Make 2-3 cuts in each potato to open them up and spoon some of that spicy salsa sauce over the top.