Lord, and you just can't stop
Make me wonder to myself
Why, oh, why
Did I leave that last porkchop
-- Hank Williams, Jr., "Last Pork Chop"
Once upon a time, butchers bedecked in blood-stained smocks were as ubiquitous in grocery stores as large displays of on-sale canned vegetables. With more and more grocery stores relying on pre-packaged meat, it's getting harder and harder to find supermarkets in which a large staff of expert butchers are employed.
My very favorite grocery store in Nashville is Compton's Foodland (Compton's does b'iness in the Priest Lake 'burb). The main reason why I like Compton's so much is because of the quality of the meat sold there.
Step to the back of Compton's Foodland and its like stepping back into your childhood. Compton's still has a big glass window in the meat department, and you can peer at butchers as they cut and package steaks, chops, country ham, pork and beef roasts, and ground beef.
Not only do I like the fact that Compton's still prepares its own meat, I like the quality and value of the meat sold there, too. I have never - and I mean never - had a complaint with any meat I've purchased there.
Furthermore, I have never been refused a special request at Compton's. A few years back, they took pinwheel steaks out of their meat display. When I complained, I was told that they would make some pinwheels for me -- all I had to do was call and tell 'em ahead of time. ("What's a pinwheel steak?" you ask. Well, it's a foot, foot and a half strip of inch and a half wide steak that's wound and held together with toothpicks. The reason I like pinwheels so much is that they are great served with a red wine sauce. The sauce permeates into the cracks of the steak, if you will, and you get a taste of sauce with every bite of meat.)
All that said, I invited a friend over for dinner tonight. I stopped at Compton's on my way home to pick up something to grill. I couldn't remember the last time I had just a simple grilled pork chop, so I bought me a package of pork chops, some corn on the cob, and some fresh green beans. Got home and started cookin' ...
Now, I want you to take a look at the picture below, and while you're doing that keep in mind that the pork chops you see set me back a whopping $3.70.
Those ain't fatty pork chops, believe me. If'n they had been, I wouldn't have bought 'em -- no matter how inexpensive. They were juicy, flavorful, and ... damn, I wish I hadn't left the last one to sit in the refrigerator overnight. I should've et the thing and enjoyed the pleasure of doing so.
5 comments:
I hated pork chops when I was little because my mother would fry them until they were so hard they could be used as pinpong paddles. One of my roommates in college turned me onto grilled pork chops and I have loved pork chops or the last 20 years.
I don't eat much pork these days but when I do a grilled pork chop is my preference. Sometime through you some steamed apples on them chops, esp if you cook in a skillet.
But mostly what I like about pork chops is that it's fun to say. I could make pork chop my non-sequitar answer of the day.
"what time do you close?"
"mmmmm pork chop!"
"do you have a wall street journal?"
"mmmmmm pork chop!"
In fact, I think we might as well call you, Pork Chop!
"I don't eat much pork these days"
You ain't become one of them Mooz-lims, have you?!
You'll be relieved to know that today I made and am enjoying a burger consisting of approx 3 oz of ground pork and the same of ground sirloin served on toasted whole grain white bread and Duke's mayo (with a bit of Plochman's mustard and Vizcaya Habanero hot sauce.)
Tasty. Try it. Blog it!
Don't forget the whisky!
Nice post.
I worked in Compton's meat Dept for about 8 years. We had the best meat in town. No one really goes there for the groceries. The meat dept keeps that place alive. I still keep in touch with the guys there. Dale runs a great meat dept.
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