I'm trying to perfect my seared and roasted pork loin chops, and I'm hitting a bit of an obstacle. Part of my recipe involves a very light dusting of smoked paprika after being seared, prior to going into the oven. That seems easy enough, but it turns out to be quite difficult to sprinkle a very light, and even dusting of it on the chops. I'm holding the paprika back because it gets a tad bitter on a very hot skillet, needed for searing.
Because paprika (smoked or otherwise) is so finely ground, trying to release an even amount from pinched fingers far above the chops results in too much (or a blot) landing on the chops randomly. This is quite difficult to fix post-sear, as the chop is on its way to the oven; paprika has a very distinct and immediate color.
I have tried very fine mesh strainers, cheese cloth tapped with a spoon, and I still can't manage to get a very light and even coating of it.
Normally, I'd just combine it well into whatever seasoning I was applying for the sear, which distributes it pretty evenly, but how can I manage the spice on its own in a manner that doesn't create random tiny dots where there's much more of it? What ends up happening is it concentrates in flavor on random bites, and fixing that means ruining presentation to an extent.
I thought of holding back some salt that I'd normally season the chops with before searing, and mix the paprika with that, but I end up with a selectively permeable sear where the salt just collects and alters the taste negatively.
What else can I try?
Best Answer
I use a 3 inch Tea Infuser Ball and hold it at a good distance above my cookies when dusting powdered sugar so that it will spread out even further. It will most likely work for paprika as well.