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Pork neck steaks with sage brown butter, roasted radishes, fried sage, and apples - Diversivore.com
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Pork Neck Steaks with Sage Brown Butter and Radishes

A 30-minute recipe that puts a spin on the classic pork & apple combination with neck steak, sage browned butter, Pink Pearl apples, and roasted radishes.
Course Main Dishes
Cuisine American, Canadian, Miscellaneous, North American
Keyword pink pear apples, pink pearl apple recipe, pork with apples and radishes, pork with apples and sage, roasted radishes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 2 people
Calories 681kcal

Ingredients

Pork and Radishes

  • 375 g pork neck steaks (see note)
  • salt
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper preferably freshly ground
  • 1/4 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/8 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 bunch radishes (about 225 g)
  • 1 tbsp sage leaves slightly bruised
  • 1 tsp chopped sage or very small sage leaves
  • 1 bunch radish greens

Apples

  • 1 pink pearl apple (see note)
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp red wine
  • pinch ground cardamom
  • pinch ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup red wine to deglaze the pan and finish the sauce
  • apple to garnish (optional)

Instructions

Pork and Radishes (Skillet 1)

  • Preheat your oven to 400° F (200° C). Salt the steaks liberally and set them aside for 5 minutes.
  • Clean and chop the radishes into bite-size pieces (make sure to clean the greens and set them aside too). Toss them with 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar and set aside.
  • Mix pepper, coriander, and cumin and thoroughly combine. Rub the mixture gently into both sides of each steak.
  • Melt the butter over medium heat in an oven-safe skillet. Once the butter is just melted, add the sage leaves. Saute until the butter is browned and the sage is crispy. Remove the sage with a slotted spoon and set aside (the leaves can be used to garnish later).
  • Add the steaks to the hot butter and cook until the steaks are well browned (about 2 minutes). Flip the steaks and brown the other side.
  • Once the steaks are nicely browned (but not cooked through), add the radishes to the pan, scattering them around the steaks as much as possible. Place the pan in the oven. At this point, you can start cooking the apples (see next set of instructions).
  • Cook until the pork reaches a nice medium cook (70 °C or 158 °F). How long this takes will depend on how long you seared the steaks and on the evenness/accuracy of your oven, but count on at least 4-5 minutes. I recommend using a temperature probe to make things easier.
  • Remove the pan from the oven and take the steaks out of the pan. Set them aside to rest. Add the radish greens to the pan, mix with the radishes, and return to the oven for about 2 minutes, or until the greens are soft but not mushy. Remove the pan from the oven again and set aside to cool.

Apples and Sauce (Skillet 2)

  • Combine apple cider vinegar, honey, 1 tsp of red wine, cardamom, and cinnamon. Set aside.
  • Cut the apple into medium (3/4 cm [1/4 inch]) slices. There's no need to peel the apples, but they can be cored/seeded if you like. Gently toss the apples with the vinegar/honey mixture and set aside.
  • Once the pork steaks are in the oven (see above), heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tsp of butter and melt, swirling to coat the pan. Remove the sliced apples from the vinegar mixture and carefully add them to the pan, taking care not to overlap them. Cook for about 2 minutes, then add the vinegar mixture and cook until the liquid is very thick and syrupy.
  • Use a spatula to carefully remove the apples from the pan (they'll be soft and will break easily) and set them aside. Increase the heat to medium-high. Pour the 1/4 cup of wine into the pan to deglaze. Once the wine is reduced by about 1/2, pour the brown butter from the other skillet into this pan. Combine the ingredients and continue to reduce for about 1-2 minutes, or until the sauce is thick, glossy, and rich. Adjust salt to taste if necessary and set aside. (Note: if your timing is a little off and you reach this point before the radishes are done cooking, just remove the apple skillet from heat and set aside until you're ready to start again. When you are ready, heat the pan again before adding wine).
  • Serve pork over a layer of apples and with a side of radishes and greens. Drizzle the sauce over all of the ingredients and serve with a few slices of fresh apple as well.

Notes

Pork neck steaks are not common in North America, but they’re pretty much what they sound like – a boneless cut from high on the shoulder in the neck area. It's an amazingly marbled, flavourful cut of meat, and it's easy to work with. Try asking a good butcher or local pork producer for it.
Pink Pearl apples are a beautiful, pink-fleshed apple developed in 1946. It's a hybrid of a conventional apple and a red crabapple, and it has a nice sweet/tart flavour. It can be very hard to find, but you can easily substitute any relatively firm, sweet/tart apple in its place.

Nutrition

Calories: 681kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 54g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 207mg | Sodium: 1087mg | Potassium: 1122mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 1250IU | Vitamin C: 34.7mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 4mg