SETH: Chef.

JOANCARLO: Hey, Seth, how you doing?

SETH: Doing pretty well.

And look at this beautiful pork chop right here.

What's this going to make today?

JOANCARLO: Well, this is going to be the start to our signature dish here at La Famosa.

It's the Chuleta Kan-Kan, or at least our interpretation of a Chuleta Kan-Kan.

So we're going to start off with a beautiful piece of a Berkshire hog, frenched, nice fat cap still on it.

We use a technique called sous vide, using an immersion circulator.

And we actually cook the pork chop in a water bath, at a constant temperature of about 165 degrees, for a little bit under two hours.

What that's going to allow that the chop is going to be cooked evenly throughout, while still retaining a lot of moisture.

And then, right now what I'm going to do, Seth, is I'm going to break down and give you a signature Mohawk, which you find on all Chuleta Kan-Kan, whether it be my version here, or on the island.

And the whole reason the Chuleta Kan-Kan is named Chuleta Kan-Kan is because it's supposed to resemble the flared dress of a can-can dancer.

SETH: Ah, okay, okay.

JOANCARLO: Okay?

SETH: A pork chop with a Mohawk, I think.

JOANCARLO: A pork chop with a Mohawk, right?

It's a little punk, it's a little edgy.

SETH: So punk.

It maybe help, when you cook it, some of the fat also render out.

But, hopefully, hopefully there'll be some left over when you're done.

JOANCARLO: There will be.

There will be.

SETH: And so, what are some of the other things that will go with the Chuleta?

JOANCARLO: This will be plated with arroz and habichuelas, which are rice and beans, and then fried plantains, called tostones.

So this is a green plantain, starchy, sugar hasn't been built up in it yet.

Okay?

So once it's peeled, it looks like this.

We're going to take it, we're going to fry it once, smash it, and this is basically the start of a tostone.

This will be fried once again, and this will also be an accompaniment to the Chuleta Kan-Kan. SETH: So, yeah.

So we got a pork chop, and some tostones, and rice and beans.

This is just some good, kind of, comfort Puerto Rican cooking right here.

JOANCARLO: Correct.

And pork, being an island, for whatever reason, whether it be Puerto Rico or Hawaii, we're very pork-centric.

SETH: Got it.

And so now that this has been cooked sous vide, what's the next step for this pork chop?

JOANCARLO: Next step is we're going to put it into a double fry basket.

Now, we cook it Mohawk side down, so we get the chicharrón nice and crispy.

Actually, it'll be a partial cook there.

Okay.

And we'll drop it fully into the fryer to complete it, and get it all nice and golden brown.

And then we'll drop the tostones to accompany it, and then we'll plate.

SETH: Well, Chef, thank you so much for showing me the kitchen.

I see what looks like maybe some Puerto Rican rum right here?

JOANCARLO: Yeah, you can drink the Puerto Riki-Tiki, made with Don Q. SETH: The Puerto Riki-Tiki, well, cheers to that.

Oh, wow.

You were not kidding about that Mohawk.

JOANCARLO: Yeah.

It's topped off with a little bit of of our mojo Criollo, which is just garlic, slowly simmered in olive oil, salt, pepper, some spices.

SETH: Get a little bit of the chicharron with this bite here.

Mm.

JOANCARLO: Good?

SETH: That's dynamite, Chef.

That mojo on top, and that crispy texture, but the meat inside is still so tender.

It hasn't dried out at all.

That's an excellent, excellent bite right there.

JOANCARLO: That's the great thing about technique, you know.

If you do it right, you'll keep that moist, juicy, flavorful pork chop and it'll just crisp up that skin and that chicharrón.

SETH: I'm guessing this is a little different than how it would be prepared if we were, say, back in Puerto Rico?

JOANCARLO: Yes.

So in Puerto Rico, the traditional Kan-Kan is going to be huge.

It's going to be almost like a foot and a half chop.

And so imagine the Mohawk going from here to here.

I've kind of realized that, for the consumer here in D.C. and slightly more Anglo palate, the lean meat to fat ratio had to be a little bit different.

And so we started working on this version, or this option, for Chuleta Kan-Kan, and we're really proud of it.

SETH: It's weird, because it doesn't have the acidity that maybe you get, like with a vinegar, to cut the fat, but yet, like the garlic, it plays so nicely with that fat.

JOANCARLO: Yeah.

So you've got that allium family action going on there, it's going to help kind of cut the richness.

And that's why garlic plays off of it very well.

SETH: And I got to try one of these tostones, as well.

Got a little more of the garlic mojo on it.

Mojo Criollo?

JOANCARLO: Mojo Criollo.

SETH: Mojo Criollo.

Mm.

JOANCARLO: Puerto Rican french fry.

SETH: And the mojo plays really nicely with the plantains.

I know, for a long time, kind of Caribbean food around here, maybe people just kind of lump all the islands together, but do you feel like maybe people are now kind of seeking out, kind of, authentic Puerto Rican flavors?

JOANCARLO: I think people are definitely open to more authentic, or I guess regional and sub-regional flavors.

I think that, you know, over the last 10, 15 years, D.C. had always, a good representation of what Latin American cuisine is, but it was very frequently kind of mashed up together, El Salvadorian, Guatemalan, Mexican, kind of all in one spot.

I encountered it once in a while, you know.

Someone would come over and say, "Hey, do you have Pico de Gallo?"

And I could take it two ways, right?

I could be super, super upset and offended, or I can just take it as people haven't experienced this type of cuisine yet.

And we're happy to introduce it to them, but we definitely want to bring what the cocina criolla is, and that's what we call the cuisine of Puerto Rico, cocina criolla.

Obviously, it's my own take, so once in a while I get a little pushback that it's not like Abuela used to make.

But, you know what?

At the end of the day, it's like what my abuela used to make, so I feel okay about that as well.

SETH: Like I said, dynamite cut of pork, best I've had in a long time, so thank you so much.

JOANCARLO: My pleasure.