By Frank E. Vaerewijck, The Firehouse Foodie
“Any firefighter should know how, a good firefighter knows why.” This quote from an unknown source rings true not only in the fire service but also in the kitchen. It’s not enough to know the stages of a fire but the reasons these stages occur; this helps us fight the fire quickly and effectively. It is the same with cooking: Knowing how certain items go together will heighten the senses and bring out flavors that you may never have realized before. Lemon juice is one such ingredient. It is used in many recipes, and in the correct measured dose you never taste it but the acid reacts with other flavored ingredients to release their flavors that may have been masked if not for the fruit.
Imagine, if you will, you are trained to fight fire and you understand the concept of putting the wet stuff on the hot stuff. However, with more advanced knowledge of how water, the wet stuff, reacts when introduced to heat, the hot stuff, you would know that water, with the help of that heat, turns to steam through the enthalpy of vaporization, which is the energy required to turn water into the gaseous form and that it increases in volume by 1,600 times. This change in volume allows us to use less water to put out more fires. When applied correctly, using training and knowledge, you can extinguish a small room-and-contents fire with just the water in a small water extinguisher carried on most fire trucks. Now this is not saying we need to stop putting hoses on the ground; it just says that through training comes knowledge, and knowledge is power.
Bored with the same old, same old thin-cut pork chops? Well, I set out to find something new. Using my training and the power of the Internet, I found many unusual recipes that combine pork chops, a little salt, some ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and Coca Cola to make a wonderful tasteful creation. Yes, you read that right, Coca Cola! Through my training in the kitchen and an understanding of what things are made of (knowledge), I understand that when the Coca Cola is reduced in the cooking process, the syrup creates a glaze. The ketchup and Worcestershire sauce combination only serves to intensify the taste of this dish. With a little crafting of my own, I present this week’s recipe, Coke Chops, and “That’s Bringing the Firehouse Home.”
Coke Chops
Ingredients:
8 to 12 pork chops, thin to medium cut
½ bottle Coca Cola (or Pepsi, your preference)
½ cup ketchup
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Natural Sea Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
4 cloves garlic, pressed
Directions:
1. In a large pan, sprinkle salt on chops and brown lightly on both sides with pressed garlic.
2. Mix remaining ingredients in bowl and, once whisked together thoroughly, add to the pan and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce to low heat, cover, and cook slowly for 25 minutes (be sure to cook meat through).
4. Uncover and continue cooking for a few more minutes to thicken sauce.
5. Plate chops, glaze with sauce, and enjoy. 
Frank Vaerewyck has had a passion for the fire service that has spanned 20 years. He has been a volunteer and career firefighter and is currently a firefighter/EMT with the Manassas (VA) Volunteer Fire Company. He has passed on his passion for the fire service through instruction and mentorship. That same passion he has for the fire service is shared with his love of food. In 2006, Vaerewyck won an Iron Chef-style competition sponsored by a radio station in Richmond, Virginia. That is where he also furthered his education by attending a Culinary Arts Program. As the Firehouse Foodie, he has been compiling recipes to be included in a cookbook that will give others the opportunity to see their hometown heroes not just as firefighters, but as the firehouse chefs they truly are.
