[Sca-cooks] pork chops

[Johnna Holloway]

OED lists pork chop as
1. A thick slice of pork, esp. one adjacent to a rib and usually  
served with it (cf. CHOP n.1 2b).

?1752 S. MASON Narr. Life & Distresses 70 He had some Pork-chops drest  
for him and his Friend.
   1789 J. O'KEEFE Little Hunch-back I. iii. 12 I'd rather eat even a  
pork chop here below, than partake of the finest feast that was ever  
prepar'd above for Mahomet's table.

If one looks up chop, you find
  b. spec. A slice of meat, usually mutton or pork, including  
generally a rib, intended to be cooked and served by itself.

a1640 MASSINGER City Madam III. i, A chop of mutton, Or a pint of drum- 
wine.
1663 PEPYS Diary 9 July, Had a chop of veale.
1693 W. ROBERTSON Phraseol. Gen. 417 A cut or chop of meat.

So you might look for recipes that features slices or ribs of pork.

Something like this from the 1675 The Accomplish'd lady's delight  
might work although this deals with a leg and not the ribs.

187. To broyl a Leg of Pork.
Cut your Pork into slices very thin, ha|ving first taken off the  
skinny part of the Fillet, then hack it with the back of your Knife,  
then mince some Thyme and Sage exceeding small, and mingle it with  
Pepper and Salt, and therewith season your  Collops, and then lay them  
on the Grid-Iron; when they are enough, make sauce for them with  
Butter, Vinegar, Mustard, and Sugar, and so serve them.

Collops can be
2. A slice of meat fried (frixa) or broiled (carbonella); a slice for  
frying or broiling. Still dial.

c1440 Promp. Parv. 88 Colloppe, frixitura, in frigo, assa,  
carbonacium, carbonella.
1468 Medulla Gram. in Cath. Angl. 72 Frixa, a colop, or a pece off  
flesch.
1583 STANYHURST Æneis I. (Arb.) 24 Soom doe slise owt collops on spits  
yeet quirilye trembling. 1611 COTGR., Griblettes, Collops.
Or
  b. Without any reference to mode of cooking: A slice of meat.

1577-87 HOLINSHED Chron. II. 19/1 If a man, saie they, had eaten a  
collop of Adam his leg, he had eaten flesh.

Johnnae


On Sep 6, 2010, at 8:59 PM, Stefan li Rous wrote:
> Are pork chops a modern cut of meat? Or just something we haven't  
> discussed before. Doing a search on "pork chop" in the Florilegium  
> turns up no recipes, either period or redactions.
>
> Does anyone have a favorite medieval recipe using pork chops? These  
> are often relatively cheap at times.
>