My wife and I have a subscription to a company called Blue Apron. For $60 a week they send three meals for two people (for the math challenged that is $10 per meal per person). We like it because there is no waste and the recipes are outstanding.
Why am I posting? I just unpacked this week’s meals and one of them entitled “Oktoberfest Pork Chops” has hops as an ingredient! I have never seen that before. There are three dishes in the meal: the pork chops, German potato salad, and hops-braised cabbage.
They do not say what hop variety. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
I’ve seen hops used as an ingredient a few times on TV cooking shows. The general consensus is that it just add a kinda vegetal quality. Looking forward to what you have to say.
Ok we had the above meal last night. The “Hops-Braised Cabbage” was good, not great. It was interesting/unusual. and it went perfectly with the pork chops and German potato salad.
In case you want to try it for yourself, here are the details (for two servings):
1 med. red onion
3/4 lb. green cabbage
1 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar
2 hop cones (these were from a relatively small cone variety)
Core an thinly slice the cabbage. Peel, halve and thinly slice the onion.
In a large pan heat 2 tsp. of olive oil on medium high until hot. Add the onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally 2-3 minutes, or until softened and fragrant. Add the cabbage; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1-2 minutes, or until slightly wilted. Stir in the honey, vinegar, hops and 1/4 cup of water. Loosely cover the pan with foil and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer 12-14 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.