Pork Chops with Onion Peach Marmalade

So this night I decided I was going to make pork chops; when I decide to buy a pack of pork chops, I always lean toward center cut thick chops.  I recently got into brining & absolutely love what it does to my meat so I decided I would try brining my chops.  I also knew that I did not want your ordinary, run-of-the-mill pork chops; I wanted something different.

BRINE:

1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 tsp black peppercorns
7 cups water
Ice

Trust me the salt does not affect the taste of your meat ever and will not make it salty; I promise.  In a large pot, bring 7 cups water to a boil. Remove from heat and add salt, brown sugar, rosemary sprig, and peppercorns; stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Add ice cubes and chill until cold; I used 2 cups of ice to chill it down. Place pork in brine and set a plate on top to keep meat completely submerged. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Make sure the pork chops are emerged and do not rise out of the water

Ingredients:

1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1-1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
2 bone-in center-cut pork chops
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 cups sliced white onions (1 lg onion)
1 cups chopped peeled peaches (approx 1-1/2 peaches)
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbs sherry vinegar
1/2 ts fresh cracked pepper
1/4 tsp ground sage

Sherry vinegar is really hard to find, or at least it was for me.  I actually finally found it at Central Market.  I will warn you that it is a bit pricey, but it is a nice size bottle and has a wonderful flavor so it is worth ever penny. 

Preparation:

Heat 1 Tbs oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until transparent and start to caramelize, about 10-15 mins. Reduce heat to low; add peaches, sugar, vinegar, and peppercorns. 

Cook, stirring often, until everything is caramelized and sticky, about 40-50 minutes; I used the back of my plastic measuring cup to mash all my peaches to make more like a marmalade.  Stir in 1 tsp. salt and rosemary; set aside.

Heat remaining Tbs of oil in saute pan over medium high heat until the oil just begins to smoke.  Remove pork from brine and pat dry.

They even have a nice "seasoned" color after brining

Season both sides with 1/4 tsp salt, fresh cracked pepper & ground sage.  Add to hot pan and cook for about 7-8 min to form a nice golden crust, flip and cook for another 7-8 for medium well chops.  If you like your pork chops on the medium rare side, cook about 5 min on each side. 

***HOWEVER if you like a well done pork chop, I would cook for approx 20 min today since these chops are really thick.  Cook for approx 6 min, then flip and cook for another 6 min.  Reduce the heat to just below medium and continue cooking for another 4-6 min, flip once more and cook for another 4-6 min.  Reducing the heat will ensure you do not char or burn your chop nor dry it out***

The difference a great quality stainless steel pan makes!  

Transfer pork to a platter, tent with foil, and let rest 5 to 10 minutes. 

I served this with saffron rice and some kale salad with cranberries, pepita seeds & almonds; they all complimented the pork chops wonderfully.  The pork chops were cooked perfectly and were extremely succulent and flavorful.  The peaches complimented the pork in such a way that our taste buds were dancing around in our mouths, lol!  Christopher even told me that I was not allowed to ever make pork chops in any fashion with brining them first!  Matter of fact, the pork chops brined for nearly 24 hrs; I think the longer, the better.

I hope you will give this dish a try and that is as huge a success as it was in our household!

Until next time, Happy Eating!!