Cook's Country

-Today on "Cook's Country," Ashley and Julia make authentic Monroe County-style pork chops, Adam reveals his top pick for pie servers, and Christie and Bridget update a classic recipe for coconut cream pie.

That's alright here on "Cook's Country."

-Kentucky barbecue dates back to the region's earliest days, when Virginians traveled through the Cumberland Gap into the Great Meadow, an early name for Kentucky.

-And, of course, they brought their barbecue experience with them.

-Now, Kentucky barbecue is extremely diverse in terms of meats, including pork, beef, turkey, venison, and fish.

And specific styles are largely contained within county lines.

-And today, we're taking a closer look at a type of barbecue found in Monroe County -- thin steaks of bone-in pork shoulder cooked over hot coals and basted with a simple vinegar sauce.

-Because of the small surface area, the pieces of shoulder soak up a lot of smoke in a short amount of time.

-In fact, the cook time is so short that some barbecue purists are hesitant to even classify it as barbecue.

-Ooh.

Them's fightin' words.

But today, Ashley's gonna show us how to make an authentic Monroe County pork steak at home.

So, Bridget floated the idea that this kind of barbecue -- Monroe County pork steaks -- isn't barbecue in the true sense of the word because it's not smoked low and slow.

Now, Ashley, what do you think about that?

-I have to admit, I thought she was right.

-Really?

-Yeah.

Until I actually tried this recipe.

I thought it was gonna be shoe leather or jerky.

Um, but honestly, they cook so quickly, and they are such a tender cut of pork.

It was a game-changer for me.

-So it still tastes like barbecue?

-It totally does, yeah.

-Alright.

-And it's as much about the sauce as it is about the pork chops.

-Alright.

-Barbecue fans unite.

We have eight 6-ounce bone-in, blade-cut pork chops.

-Mm-hmm.

-And using some kitchen shears, I'm just gonna cut little slits every 2 inches right around the loin portion of the pork chop.

-Oh, right in through the middle.

-Right in through the middle.

And that just prevented the pork chop from buckling.

And that's because these guys are only 1/2-inch thin.

One of the reasons we actually chose blade chops for this recipe is because not only are they readily available, but they're also usually sold pretty thin.

So, I'm gonna put these onto the rimmed baking sheet, and then I'm just gonna quickly wash my hands.

So, this is one of those barbecue sauces that I sort of want to just take a bath in because it's so good.

It's obviously made with butter.

-Mm-hmm.

-So you can't go wrong with that.

But it's not a super-thick sauce.

It's one of those that's made with vinegar, and this butter is gonna go from golden to brown in about 4 to 5 minutes.

-Oh, so, we're browning the butter?

-We are.

And right now, as you can see, I'm just swirling the pan constantly.

And, again, this will take about 4 to 5 minutes, and you're gonna know that it's ready when you start to smell that nutty aroma.

And it does have a tendency to go quite past that point pretty quickly.

Don't walk away from brown butter.

-Mnh-mnh.

-I've done that too many times.

So I'm gonna be babysitting this for a few more minutes.

Alright.

So, as you can see, we've got some beautiful brown butter.

So, while this cools just ever so slightly, I just want to quickly make our spice blend.

So, we have 2 tablespoons of kosher salt, 2 tablespoons of cracked black pepper, 1 tablespoon of paprika, and 3/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

So, I'm gonna transfer 2 tablespoons of the spice mixture to this bowl here.

This is gonna be the seasoning coating for the chops.

Now I'm gonna add the remaining spice mixture into our brown butter and just stir this for about 30 seconds until fragrant.

Now, right now, I am blooming those spices.

They're oil-soluble, which means that they're really gonna come alive in the fat.

Alright.

And the last finishing touch for our sauce is 1/2 cup of white distilled vinegar.

-That smells really good.

-Alright.

I brought that back up to a simmer, and now I am going to remove the sauce from the heat.

And let's finish the chops.

-Alright.

-Alright.

So, here I have that reserved spice mixture.

And here is 1 tablespoon of cornstarch.

Add that into the spices there.

And the cornstarch is a key ingredient.

It's going to help promote browning on the chops, and that's because, as I mentioned earlier, the chops are very quick cooking.

They're only gonna be on there for just a handful of minutes, so we needed something to give it that dark-brown exterior.

So, now I am going to evenly distribute the spice mixture onto all the chops and onto both sides.

And just rub it in.

Alright.

I'm gonna wash my hands, and it's time to head outside to the grill.

-Alright.

-Alright.

So, the grill has been heating for about 15 minutes with all the burners set to high, and now it's time to oil and clean the cooking grate.

-Alright.

Ooh!

-Oh, yeah.

-It's smoking.

-It is smoking.

Get any bits of char off.

Using a wad of paper towels and these long tongs, I'm going to run them over the grates.

And thanks to this oil, it's gonna help create a really nice non-stick surface.

So, let's get grilling.

So, I'm gonna put these on.

So, I'm gonna cook these until well-charred on the first side, and it's gonna take about 3 to 5 minutes.

You want to make sure that you don't touch them or move them 'cause they will stick to the grill.

I'm gonna cover the grill.

It's been 3 minutes.

Let's see if they have a real nice char on them.

Oh, yeah.

-Oh-ho-ho!

Beautiful!

-Come to mama.

-Those look perfect.

-They do.

Alright.

So, I'm gonna continue to cook them until they register at 140 degrees, which will take about 3 to 5 minutes longer.

-Alright.

I also want to point out how flat they are.

-Mm-hmm.

-And that's because you snipped those tendons in the middle of the chop so they didn't make those pork chop bowls that you sometimes get.

-Yes.

Okay.

Let's check for doneness.

Again, we want an internal temperature of 140 degrees.

-Perfect.

-And we got that.

Alright.

-Alright.

I'm gonna hold this here so you can get the chops off the grill easily.

-Thank you very much.

-Mmm!

-Oh, yes.

Alright.

While the chops rest, they are going to absorb that sauce that we made earlier.

-Aha.

Ooh-ho-ho-ho-ho!

-Look at that.

Alright.

Now flip them so that they get nice and evenly coated.

So, I am going to tent these pork chops with some aluminum foil and let them rest for 5 minutes, but halfway through, I'm just gonna go right back through and flip all the chops one more time so that they get one last bath in that beautiful sauce.

-Alright.

5 minutes till eating time.

-5 minutes till eating time.

I'm excited.

-Me too.

We ready to eat?

-I'm ready to eat.

-Alright.

-Let's tuck in.

There you are.

-Thank you.

-We will transport ourselves back to Monroe County.

-[ Chuckles ] -Add a little bit more.

-Oh, yeah.

Don't -- Yeah.

Feel free to add a little extra.

-That sauce.

-Mmm!

Mm-hmm.

-Mm-hmm.

The vinegar, the nuttiness from the butter, paprika, the cayenne, the salt, pepper.

-It doesn't taste like a grilled pork chop.

It tastes more like barbecue with the char and the spices and that vinegary sauce.

-Mm-hmm.

-Ashley, this is delicious.

Thank you!

-Oh, you're welcome.

-So, if you want to try this unique Kentucky-style of barbecue, start with 1/2-inch-thick pork chops cut from the loin.

Using scissors, cut right through the center of those pork chops to make sure they don't curl while you cook.

Make a quick sauce using browned butter, a handful of spices, and some white vinegar.

Season the pork chops with some of those spices mixed with a little cornstarch, and grill them over a hot grill for just 6 to 10 minutes before letting them rest in the sauce.

So, from "Cook's Country," an authentic recipe for Monroe County-style pork chops.

I really like these.

-Are you ready for another one?

-Yep.

-Okay.

[ Laughter ] -It slices, it lifts, and it serves.

It's a pie server.

At least, it should do those things.

So, Adam's here.

He's gonna tell us which pie server won our testing.

-You know, Bridget, baking a pie is an act of love.

Serving a pie neatly is an act of folly.

-Courage.

-I have mutilated and maimed more than my fair share of defenseless pies in my day, and usually, I put the blame on a subpar pie server.

This time, we're gonna find the right one to use.

We have this lineup of six different pie servers.

The price range was $6.95 to $35.95.

There were six different types of whole pies the testers used these on.

Three of them were homemade.

That was a North Carolina lemon pie, a double-crust apple pie, and a chocolate cream pie with a graham-cracker crust, so you have different filling textures and crust textures going on there.

They also tried them on three different store-bought pies -- another double-crust apple pie, a pecan pie that had that hard layer of nuts across the top, and a pumpkin pie that was sort of a custard pie.

The first thing the testers decided is, if you want to just use one utensil to cut through a pie... A lot of people will pick up a knife and use that and then a separate server.

-Sure.

-But if you just want to use one utensil, it's got to have serrations on the side of the pie server like this.

Doesn't matter what type of serrations, but without serrations, you are not gonna cut neatly through a top crust or a layer of pecans.

-Sure.

-Now, I want you to give this one a try.

-This one?

-Yeah.

Would you serve us a piece of pie, please?

-Alright.

Got a nice apple pie here.

-That is beautiful.

-And thank you for taking that first slice out.

-I wanted to make things a little easier for you.

-Nobody wants to take the first slice of pie out.

-It's always a disaster.

-Alright.

So... -Oh, my God.

That is looking good.

-There we go.

-That is looking really good.

-Not bad.

-Not bad at all.

-I've got a couple pieces of apple in there, but not too bad.

-Yeah, a little bit.

Not too bad.

Why don't you try this one and see if you notice any differences?

-Alright.

Oh.

I see -- I see an issue here.

Yep.

-[ Laughs ] -Well...

So, this is a pie that you serve with a fork and knife out of the dish.

-And a lot of ice cream over it.

-At this point, I would just call it a cobbler.

-You know, the problem with this pie server, number one was the length of the blade.

It was 7 inches long.

-Mm-hmm.

-Most pie plates are 9 inches long, so all that length was not optimal for negotiating a 9-inch pie plate.

Number two, the width of the blade was only an inch and 7/8".

It was actually pretty narrow.

And testers found that it didn't always provide enough support to the slice of pie that you were transporting from the pie plate to the serving plate.

And then a big problem was the handle for a couple of reasons.

First, you can see that it's set at the same plane as the blade, and that really limited leverage for getting underneath that bottom crust, as you experienced.

-Totally noticed that.

It would not let me get all the way down in there.

-And that's the length and the handle angle going at you.

Also, the handle was metal, it was a little thin, it didn't provide quite as much grip.

Now, that first one fixed all of those.

This is the first one that you tried.

You can see the shape of the blade differs.

It's 4 1/2 inches long, 2 1/2 inches wide, so you get better support underneath your piece of pie when you're moving it from the pie plate to the serving plate.

Also, the handle is set at a different plane from the blade.

It's a little bit above, so you have better leverage for getting underneath the bottom crust.

And the handle is also just generally bigger, beefier, stickier, easier to hang onto.

Testers really preferred it, thought it was more comfortable.

-The offset is key because I think that's why I left half of that pie behind.

-I'll take care of that when we're done with this.

We'll clean up that little pile there.

This is the winning pie server.

This is the OXO SteeL Pie Server.

$9.99.

It's serrated, actually, on both sides, so whether you're a righty or a lefty, you can cut through nuts or a top crust without a problem.

It's got a well-dimensioned blade, the right kind of handle.

The one caveat with this pie server is that because of the serrations, this one, and any server with serrations, was not all that gentle on our favorite pie plate, which is non-stick coated.

-Because it's metal.

-Because it's metal.

If you're concerned about that, testers also recommended this.

This is the OXO Good Grips Nylon Flexible Pie Server.

It's $6.95.

It's got serrations.

It had a little tougher time getting through nuts or a top crust... -Mm-hmm.

-...but it was a lot gentler on a non-stick surface.

-Great.

So, no ruining your pie plate, and that means more pie on the table for us.

-As fast as possible!

-[ Laughs ] And you're gonna need a pie server for all those pies.

So, our winner was the OXO SteeL Pie Server.

It's $9.99.

Before the 19th century, coconut wasn't used too much here in the United States.

Well, until 1895.

A man named Franklin Baker, well, he owned a flour mill, and he received a shipment of coconuts as debt repayment from a Cuban businessman.

Mr. Baker learned how to process that coconut into shreds, and the shredded coconut started appearing everywhere, especially in baking recipes like coconut cream pie.

I've had my share of bad ones, but Christie's here.

She's gonna show us all a great one.

-Exactly.

Now, the problem with a lot of coconut cream pies is that they just don't taste like coconut.

-Imagine that.

-Right.

We decided that we were gonna try to put coconut into every aspect of this pie.

So, we'll start with the crust.

-One of my favorites.

-I have 2 cups of vanilla wafer cookies.

So, this is 4 1/2 ounces, which is actually 34 cookies.

I counted them myself.

-[ Laughs ] I'm gonna check your work here.

-Now, the other great thing about using a pressed crust is that we were able to get some coconut into the crust really easily.

-Okay.

-So, I have 1/2 cup of sweetened shredded coconut, and we're gonna put that right in here.

-So far, so good.

-[ Chuckles ] I also have 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Now, adding the coconut to the crust made it a little more moist.

-Okay.

-So I'm adding a tablespoon of flour just to make sure that it dries up enough.

And then I have 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Okay, so, we'll just process this until it's finely ground, about 30 seconds.

-Okay.

[ Whirring ] -That looks pretty well-ground.

Now it's time for the butter.

So, I have 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter that I've melted.

We'll just pulse this until everything comes together.

About six pulses.

-Okay.

[ Whirring ] -Okay.

Let's go put this together.

So, now we'll just press this into a 9-inch pie plate.

And I'm using my handy-dandy dry measuring cup to get a really nice even bottom and sides.

And go right up the sides of the pie plate so you have a nice edge.

Okay.

I think that looks pretty good.

Do you see any spots I missed?

-Mnh-mnh.

-Nice and even.

So, I've already heated my oven.

Middle rack.

325 degrees.

I'm gonna pop this in there until it's set and even more fragrant than it is right now.

About 18 to 22 minutes.

But then I'll make sure that I have a wire rack handy because I want to let this cool completely before we start making the custard.

-Okay.

-So, Bridget, the crust is cooling.

Now it's time to tackle the custard.

-Okay.

-We're starting out with 3 cups of whole milk all day.

-Okay.

-But I'm going to start by using 1/4 cup of it.

And I'm adding this to my bowl, and I'll end up dissolving my dry ingredients in here.

I'm also adding 5 large egg yolks and 5 tablespoons of cornstarch.

Now, a lot of custards will use flour, but we found that the cornstarch just gave a cleaner slice, was not quite so heavy and stodgy as flour can be.

-Okay.

-But we need the cornstarch in there so that it doesn't sog out the crust.

-Alright.

-I'm also adding 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

And we'll just whisk this together.

That looks pretty lump-free to me.

So, I'm gonna take the rest of my milk and add it to this large sauce pan with 1/2 cup of sugar.

-Okay.

-I want to bring this up to a simmer over medium heat.

We don't want to bring this to a full rolling boil, but we want to dissolve the sugar, and we want to get the milk nice and warm so the custard will come together quickly.

-Alright.

-So, the milk is at a nice simmer.

Remember, we didn't want it to be boiling.

And now we're going to add half of the milk to this egg mixture.

And that's just to raise the temperature of the eggs so they don't freak out when they hit the hot pan and curdle.

-We don't want scrambled eggs.

-No.

So, now this is all mixed together, so I'll add this back to my nice, hot milk.

This will move really quickly.

-Right.

-I'm going to constantly whisk it when it goes in there so that nothing sits too long against the heat.

-Mm-hmm.

-And what I'm looking for is 180 degrees on my thermometer.

30 seconds to 90 seconds.

So very fast.

-That's it.

-I think we're probably there, Bridget, 'cause this is already nice and thick.

180 -- that's the magic number.

-Looking good.

-Alright.

So, I'm gonna immediately take this off the heat.

And that means not just turning the heat off, but taking it off that hot burner so it doesn't continue to cook.

-Mm-hmm.

-See how nice and rich... -Rich and smooth.

-...and smooth that is?

-Buttery.

-Notice that we haven't talked about coconut yet.

-You said coconut in every pot.

Coconut in every step.

-I promised it.

I promised it.

So, we went back to what worked in the crust.

This is another 1/2 cup of sweetened shredded coconut and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.

We'll just mix this in.

-Alright.

So, Christie's using shredded sweetened coconut.

And it's a little bit flexible.

It still contains some moisture.

It's really good to eat right out of your hand, but sometimes, you might find something called dried or desiccated coconut.

This stuff is completely dry.

There's almost no moisture left in it, and it can be finely ground like this or sold in very fine threads.

Now, it's really difficult to exchange one for the other because, again, this contains almost no moisture, where the shredded coconut is still plump and juicy.

And we love using the shredded coconut because it's available and it's got a bit more flavor.

And I can do this.

-[ Laughs ] It gives really great flavor to this custard.

And we're adding it at the end so it doesn't really cook in the custard, so the flavor -- Just like we add vanilla at the end.

-Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

-So the flavor's nice and bright and fresh.

-Preserving that coconut flavor.

-And look at this texture.

See how nice and thick and smooth this is?

That's because we got it all the way to 180 degrees so that the eggs could thicken appropriately.

-Okay.

-We're all done on the stovetop.

Let's move over, and we'll put this in the pie crust.

-Great.

-So, I'll just pour the whole thing in.

-Mmm.

-It's just, like, the most richly divine pudding you'd ever want to have.

-It really is.

-So, we'll just smooth it out.

Now, we have to let this cool because it's kind of "squidgy" right now.

That's the technical culinary term that we use.

And we don't want it to stay squidgy.

We want it to set up so we have those nice slices.

And we don't want a skin forming.

So, I have a parchment-paper round.

-Mm-hmm.

-This is an 8-inch round.

We actually use this for lining cake pans.

-Sure.

-And I sprayed the bottom of it with vegetable oil spray, and I'll put that side face-down, flush against the top of the custard.

-Very nice.

-Now we'll just refrigerate this 3 hours to 24 hours.

The pie is ready.

-3 hours later.

-Yes.

But we can't have a really amazing coconut cream pie without a big ol' pile of whipped cream on top.

-That's the law, no?

-As I understand it.

Yes.

-Right.

Exactly.

-So, I have 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream, chilled, of course, so it will whip up more easily.

I'm also adding 3 tablespoons of sugar 'cause this is sweetened whipped cream.

-Yes.

It's dessert after all.

-[ Laughs ] A teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Now, we'll do medium-low speed for about a minute.

Okay.

That looks nice and foamy.

-Alright.

-So, now we'll go to high for 1 to 3 minutes.

So, we'll keep an eye on it.

We're looking for nice, stiff peaks.

-And it's a good idea to start the whipped cream on a lower speed because it really starts to incorporate air into it more readily, and also so you don't get splatters all over the kitchen.

-Okay.

That's a little under.

Just give it a couple whips.

-Yeah, great idea to finish it by hand like this.

That way, you can control exactly how fluffy your whipped cream is.

-And we are fluffed.

-And what are you looking for?

Stiff peaks?

-Stiff peaks.

-Perfect.

-Okay.

Now we have to remember to take the parchment paper off of the custard.

-Have you ever done that?

Left it on?

-I have not, but I imagine it would be a very different textural experience.

We're going to cover the whole pie with this, but you want to get a nice, big mound in the center and then kind of spread it out from there.

I'm just gonna finish this off with a kind of swirly effect... -Oh.

-...so it looks pretty.

-I want to go to there.

That looks beautiful.

-I promised you we would have coconut in every layer.

So, I have 1/4 cup of sweetened shredded coconut, but we toasted it this time.

-Okay.

-So, I just did it in an 8-inch skillet.

3 to 5 minutes on medium heat.

-Mm-hmm.

-Just until it gets nice and golden-brown.

Obviously, it sort of caramelizes the flavor a little bit, and it makes it crunchy.

-Yes.

-So now we have a different flavor and a slightly different texture.

Okay.

-Yeah.

I found that if I stare at the pie while you're doing it, it does not go any faster.

-[ Laughs ] Come with me.

I don't know if you've been incredibly patient, but I will reward you.

The first slice is always hard, and then you're looking at me and watching, and I can feel... -How's that?

Is that any better?

-[ Laughs ] No, because you're thinking about it.

-Aw, but it looks like that!

-Not too bad.

-No.

Not too bad at all.

-The first slice is the slice that you eat by yourself back in the kitchen.

-Mm-hmm.

-And then you give everybody else theirs.

-Just...amazing.

It tastes of coconut.

Coconut in every layer.

Coconut in every bite.

The texture is silky and heavenly.

-Mm-hmm.

I just really like that there are multiple textures.

With the crust and the toasted coconut on top, it's just like a perfect sandwich for the custard.

-It's true.

And the bottom crust, I love that you used a crumb crust because, "A," you got some coconut in there, but also it's just a really nice texture.

You're the coconut queen.

-Oh, Bridget.

-That's a -- That's a big deal.

-Coming from you, I really appreciate that.

-Well, for a pie with unstoppable coconut flavor, process sweetened shredded coconut with vanilla wafers, pulse in melted butter, then press into a pie plate and bake.

Make a custard by whisking milk and egg yolks and cornstarch.

Whisk in a mixture of hot milk and sugar, then cook on the stovetop until thickened.

Off heat, add in more coconut and vanilla, then pour into the crust and refrigerate.

Whip cream, then spread all over the pie and top with toasted coconut.

Slice and, of course, serve.

So, from "Cook's Country," the absolute coconut-iest coconut cream pie.

And you can get this recipe and all the recipes from this season along with tastings, testings, and select episodes on our website, cookscountry.com.

Dot coconut.

-[ Laughs ] -Let us help with dinner tonight.

Visit our website anytime for access to this season's recipes, taste tests, and equipment ratings.

Or to watch current-season episodes, log on to cookscountry.com.