Macedonian Pork Neck Chops with Potatoes (Χοιρινές Μπριζόλες)

Macedonian choirines brizoles are pork neck chops baked in the tapsi with potatoes, tomato, olive oil, garlic, and cumin until the meat is tender and the potato edges catch dark and sweet. This is not the thin, pan-fried chop that turns dry while you look for the salad. It belongs to the oven, to the family tray, to the northern Greek habit of making one good pan feed the table.

The cut decides the dish. Ask the butcher for laimo, pork neck chops with clear marbling, not lean loin. The neck has enough fat and connective tissue to soften during the long bake, so the meat stays juicy while the potatoes drink the tomato and oil. Lean pork browns before it becomes tender, and then you have paid for sadness.

I salt the chops early if there is time, then tuck them into the potatoes so everything bastes together. The cumin is small but not shy, the kind northern kitchens kept from the refugee and Politiki table. Good olive oil, and patience. The oven does the work.