Alex Harrell – Modernizing Southern Food

When it comes to pork chops I typically always brine them. Pork loin and the rag are usually leaner cuts and to brining them helps to add flavor. It’s just a standard salt sugar herb brine that I'll put the chops in.

I love to smoke them and then grill them a little bit because it imparts a little bit of that kind of barbecue flavor from that Southern barbecue culture. And then after that, something really quick and bright because it's a delicate in my mind. Pork chops, even though they're very substantial, they're still kind of a delicate flavor profile. So I don't like to cover them in anything really heavy. 

We've got these beautiful baby spring onions and we simply grilled them and then chopped them up, and I made a real quick relish with a little aged white balsamic vinegar and some extra virgin olive oil. Or even something as simple as a bunch of bright fresh herbs right out of the garden for a salsa verde or something like that. So keep it pretty simple. I think if you pull from what's around, what's local, or what’s seasonal, then you can definitely add those little nuance, kind of southern southern flavors.