Cherry bourbon pork chops
Pork chops are a regular on the menu here at the Frias house. It is a rare occurrence that we do not have at least a couple packages in the freezer, waiting to be prepped for a weeknight meal. And what is better than pork with a sweet bourbon, cherry sauce? I daresay, nothing!!
We order kurobuta bone-in pork chops from a food delivery service called Crowd Cow. It is more expensive than running to the local grocery, but once we got a taste of these pork chops, they have remained a bit of a splurge. They are truly delicious!! The chops originate from a coalition of family farmers under the name True Story. In addition to being well marbled and tasty, they are also guaranteed to be humanely raised, which is always a good thing in my book. If you are a lover of a good pork chop, I 100% can recommend you check these babies out!
To brine or not to brine?
Brining is the infusion of salt and sugar into proteins in order to make them more tender and tastier, sometimes. This is achieved by dissolving salt and sugar into a liquid base, sometimes adding herbs or spices. Because these pork chops have beautiful marbling, they absolutely do not NEED to be brined. Simple seasoning will do the trick. However, I do brine on occasion, just to switch up the flavor profile. Also, if you order your meats from a company such as Crowd Cow or Butcher Box (also recommended), they come to you completely frozen. A trick that I use is to use the brine as a means to more quickly defrost the chops on the day that I want to cook them.
Because this recipe has bourbon and cherries to add natural sweetness, it would be perfect to simply season liberally with salt and pepper and save yourself some steps. If you decide to brine, my standby recipe for any pork chop, roast or loin can be found here below. If not, jump to the Ingredient list.
Simple Pork Brine
1 gallon cold water
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup white or light brown sugar
If desired:
1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
Small handful of peppercorns
2 star anise
small handful or coriander and/or allspice seeds
Rosemary or Thyme sprigs
Instruction/Notes:
Add ingredients into large bowl. Cover and brine for 1hour in refrigerator, if not frozen. If frozen, expect 3-4 hours of brining time.
The above amounts will cover 4-6 pork chops, based on size. If cooking fewer, reduce all ingredients in half.
Ingredients
This recipe was based on a Jamie Oliver recipe for Peachy Pork Chops. I changed it up a bit in order to try something new, replacing peaches with cherries and upping the Bourbon content. You can find the original recipe on the Jamie Oliver website. Note that there are many free recipes on his site and most, if not all, are worth trying.
2 bone-in pork chops, 2 sprigs rosemary, 3/4 pound of cherries, 1/3 cup bourbon, 1 garlic head, cut in half, leaving top intact (see pic), 2 tbsp. grapeseed or veggie oil, salt and pepper
Instruction
Halve and pit the cherries
If you have brined your chops, pat completely dry and pepper both sides. Do not add salt. If you have not brined, pat dry and salt and pepper generously.
If there is a large fat strip on the edge of your pork chops, score with a sharp knife to prevent the chop from curling up
Heat oil in the pan on medium/high heat (I prefer cast iron or HexClad) until shimmering and place chops into pan, away from you. Make sure they have strong contact with pan for best browning
Cook chops 4-5 mins on each side. Using tongs, turn the chops onto their sides to ensure the edges get browned. Remove and set aside. Internal temp should be 140-145 F
Reduce heat to medium. Add a bit more oil, if pan is dry. Add the cherries, rosemary sprigs and garlic (cut side down) to the pan. Sautee, moving cherries about until slightly softened
Return pork chops to pan. Add bourbon and carefully light with match to set the flambee. Be sure to step back as you light it. As you can see below, it can get a little wild! If you prefer not to light the bourbon, simply allow to burn off for a few mins until the smell of the bourbon is not quite as strong and it has reduced. If you do Flambee, allow flames to subside and plate up, allowing pork to rest approx. 5 mins. Allow each person eating to squeeze as much or as little garlic out of the garlic head, to add some buttery garlic flavor to complement the sweet bourbon and cherries! YUM!
Note that the flame shown below subsided immediately and no family members, animals or husbands were hurt in the making of these pork chops!
Perfect accompaniment
If you want to add some color and additional nutrition to your meal, when you add the pork chops back to the pan, include a small bunch of cleaned and trimmed asparagus. Once you remove the pork chops and cherries, check tenderness of the asparagus and allow to cook up to 5 minutes more until done to your liking. And, this adds a bit of nutritional balance!
Pro Tip
If you are new to the flambee situation, be sure to have someone who can not only take your pictures, but take action when the fire gets out of hand! So, thanks, John, for the backup!!
If you enjoy cooking and eating this recipe, take a look at my recipe for a quick and easy pork loin, plantain and veg dinner!
