Lpink, I think it is because for many non observant jews pork is a factor in not eating kosher. My uncle loves bacon every time he eats out, his wife on the other hand still does not have a taste for pork. My boys and I love it. Weed's Dijon Pork is also a great easy way to cook it. Her recipe calls for pork tenderloin but i have always used boneless chops. -Robin p.s. While I do know that Jessy does not cook pork, sometimes she pops in on the non kosher threads just to say that she won't have any suggestions. LOL Weed's Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Dijon Sauce Serves: 2 Prep time: 15 min Cook time: 15 min 1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 2" slices Seasoned flour 2 Tbl. butter, divided 2 tsp. canola or olive oil Sauce: 2 green onions, sliced (coin shape), white and green parts separated 1/3 cup white wine or dry vermouth 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 tsp. Dijon mustard (or more to taste) salt and pepper to taste Preheat oven to low, about 170 degrees. Lightly pound pork medallions to 1" thick. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tsp. oil over medium high heat. Dredge pork in seasoned flour. Add all at once to pan and saute 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and hold in the oven while finishing the sauce. (pork will be a bit underdone but will finish in the oven.) Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter to pan. Add white part of onion, saute for 1 minute. Add wine or vermouth, simmer until syrupy and reduced to about 3 tablespoons. Add cream, simmer 2 - 3 minutes until thickened.* Stir in Dijon, add salt and pepper to taste. Return pork to pan to coat with sauce. Serve over rice or pasta, garnishing with the green part of the onion. *If sauce ends up too thick for your liking, add a little water or milk, but no more than 1/4 cup. ** you can double the sauce ingredients so there is enough to pour over white or brown rice  yum!

I agree, the pork steaks have more fat marbling which yields a moister and more tender piece of pork. As LindaC and others noted, today's pork chops are from much leaner pigs, and so overcooking will yield you a tasteless, dry and tough piece of shoe leather that doesn't resemble a pork chop at all in either flavor or consistency. I don't like rare pork, so mine gets cooked all the way through but I'd far rather have a pork steak or pork roast than a chop. Heck, I don't even have Carl cut chops when I have a pig butchered because neither of the girls ever liked them either. And, as Rita noted, they are mostly full of "flavor enhancers" which are really only salt and water, so if you're watching your salt intake it's gonna jack that up there. I do brine loins in apple cider based brine and it adds a nice flavor but it also adds even more salt. Cook them for a much shorter time and they'll be better but they won't ever taste like a pork chop "used to". It's a different variety of animal altogether nowadays, nearly all commercial pork is from Yorkshire or Hampshire hogs, long and lean animals with good feed conversion rates. You can still get "heritage breeds" from local farmers, and you'll get the flavor and texture you used to get, but the small scale raising of hogs is expensive and labor intensive so it'll cost you more and the meat will be fattier than most people have come to expect. Annie

Okay here it comes...with a qualifier. The pork loin roast(actually two that had been bound together) was double freezer bagged in the downstairs freezer since last year's holiday time. I had forgotten all about it and when I unearthed it and there wasn't a bit of freezer burn so I thought I could still use it. Now maybe it did suffer, or maybe not, but the texture wasn't right and the meat was dry, even with the middle a slight pink. It took every bit of an hour and 40 minutes to get up to 140. I let it rest, but cripes it was nearly 8 pm! My parents ate it and I tried to, but DH just refused after his second bite and grabbed some salami and cheese! The compote was good, not garlicky, and the addition of some honey crisp apple slices was great! I'd make the compote again, but I'm sticking with pork tenderloin or Diana's brined chop recipe, they were both much better! One last thing, I don't have fresh herbs on hand so I used my Penzy's dried ones. That could have made a flavor difference, but for $1.89 a package that would have been close to $8 in fresh herbs for a few sprigs. Oh well, it's a good thing that my parents were the "company" tonight. The remainder of the pork is in the trash can and the kitchen is closed!

Fori, I made the cornbread recipe from the back of the Quaker box. Used half the cornbread for the stuffing and served the rest the following night with Chili. It's quite good! Easy Corn Bread 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup Quaker or Aunt Jemima corn meal 1/4 cup sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) 1 cup skim milk 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 egg whites or 1 egg, beaten 1. Heat oven to 400° F. Grease 8 or 9-inch pan. 2. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil and egg, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. 3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown and wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm. Servings: Aproximately 9 servings I think the stuffing would be great in a chicken or turkey, too. I usually don't care for fruit with meat, but this is one exception! Linda