Bacon-Wrapped Pork Chops

citizensnips420 posted this comment suggesting a recipe for making bacon-wrapped pork chops. I love all things bacon and I had just bought some hard apple cider which I decided to use as the braising liquid instead of beer. Turned out ok. Not my greatest foray into the kitchen. Good flavor but I think I overcooked the meat since it was a bit on the tougher side to chew. I still had some pork chops left so in the second attempt, I left out the braising step and did everything on the stove top so I could keep a closer eye on the meat. Came out much better the second time through. So I'll post the steps I made on both attempts.

( Click for Recipe and Bigger Photos )

Chicarrones (Pork Rinds)

Now the real reason I made the Bacon-Wrapped Pork Chops was so I could have some pig fat to turn into crispy bites of happiness. I had read this recipe for Deep-Fried Pork Belly and I couldn't wait to make this at home. Going to my regular grocery, the closest thing to pig skin I could find were some pork chops with some fat along the edges that I thought could work. I came so close. They looked beautiful when I was done. They had the perfect crispy texture. They tasted awful. All I could taste was baking soda. Clearly I messed up. Looking back at the original post, I'm pretty sure I had the same problem someone else did in the comments. I should've rinsed the baking soda off and patted it dry. If I had read through all the comments, I would've known this. But I didn't until after I had botched that batch of pig fat.

But I went to an Asian grocery (Super 88 in Boston) and saw that they had pork belly with the skin still on. I didn't buy it yet though. It was enough to know that it was available. First I wanted to consult the cooks of the internet. Do you have a tried and true recipe for frying up pig fat/skin? Do you have any tips for how I might've corrected this?



( Click to read what I did and suggest ways to fix it )