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What do you do when you have a couple of pork chops, some cherries, and some radish greens you aren't sure what to do with? You throw in a little bacon, or maybe a lot of bacon, and you make Cherry Balsamic Pork Chops. The flavors in this dish may not seem to go together at first blush, but they complement each other quite well.
I had seen some recipes floating around the net with similar ingredients, but I decided to take a page from a chef who taught us in a cooking class recently to use what you have. That's what I did here. The cherries along with the radish greens came from a recent grocery delivery. I don't use cherries much, but I thought I would get them and try them in something. Be careful when pitting the cherries as cherry juice and bits will end up all over you and your workstation. Seriously, it will look a bit like a cherry bloodbath took place.
The radish greens were completely new to me, and they taste just like radishes. Very interesting and a nice little bite to go with the sweetness of the cherries. You could use any bitter green, like arugula, in its place. The rosemary came from my little kitchen garden on my patio, and the bacon needs no explanation. I mean, it's bacon!
The brine for the pork chops was inspired by another cooking class I took last year and was employed mainly because I fear overcooking my pork and leaving it dry and tasteless. Brining is sort of insurance for your pork chops. Try it you will see what I mean.
Cherry Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops
Ingredients
1 pound fresh dark cherries, pitted
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 boneless pork chops
3 slices of bacon, cut into lardons or strips
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt & pepper, to taste
For the brine:
4 cups water
4 tablespoons salt
1 large or 2 small dried bay leaves
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon dried sage
Basic brine tips:
Use one tablespoon of salt per cup of water. If you choose to add a little sugar, add about 2 teaspoons per cup of water. Do not leave your meat in the brine too long or it will taste salty. Make sure your meat is submerged in the brine. You can brine your meat ahead and wrap it in plastic in the fridge until you are ready to cook it.
Bring the 4 cups of water, 4 tablespoons of salt, bay leaves, black peppercorns, and sage to a boil in a saucepan. Simmer until the salt is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Place the pork chops in the cooled brine and allow them to marinate for 30 minutes up to 2 hours. The pork chops I used were about an inch thick and took about 1 cup of brine each to cover the chops completely. I left them in the brine for about 1 to 2 hours.
When done brining, remove the pork chops to a paper towel lined plate and pat them dry. Set them aside until ready to cook.
For the sauce:
Add the balsamic vinegar, cherries, and rosemary to a saucepan. Add a pinch of salt and a few turns of the pepper grinder, maybe ¼ teaspoon or so of pepper. Bring it to a simmer. Simmer until the cherries have released their juices, stirring occasionally. Allow the sauce to reduce a bit while you cook the pork chops.
For the pork chops:
Render.the fat from the bacon by cooking it over the lowest heat possible. Start this early as it will take some time to render all the fat from the bacon. Remove the bacon from the pan. Leave about 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pan.
Smear the mustard on both sides of the pork chops. It should be just enough to barely coat the pork. We don’t want the mustard to compete with the other flavors too much. Add some pepper to both sides and just a touch of salt. Be light with the salt as the pork has been sitting in a salty solution for awhile.
Heat the pan with the bacon fat to medium heat and add the pork chops. Cook for several minutes on each side until the internal temperature reaches 145 with a meat thermometer. Set the pork chops on a plate to rest for a few minutes. They will continue to cook as they rest.
Plate the chops by placing them on top of some greens, like the radish greens showing in the picture. Spoon the cherries and cherry sauce over the pork chop. Garnish with some of the cooked bacon bits.
Now that’s yumtastic!
