Heritage Pork Chops

There are a number of heritage breeds of pigs whose meat is available via the internet, but rarely do I see it in local stores.  The two, Berkshire pork rib chops pictured here caught my eye the other day when I wondered by the meat case in a local market.  Also known as Kurabota pork they were much more marbled with fat than the pork normally seen in the case and the fat along the edges had not been trimmed entirely away.  They were twice the price, but in the end they were worth it.

I dusted them with salt and white pepper and then lightly flowered them.  They went into a barely warm pan with some duck fat melted in it.  They sauteed slowly, the heat never getting above medium.  When they were done the crust was crunchy and salty and the interior meat moist and tender.  At the very end I found myself picking up the bone and gnawing off the last little bits of meat. 

The wine was the remainder of the Masante discussed below, and a couple of days under vacuum did little to tire out the wine.  Still delicious.