I don’t prepare pork chops very often.  I am a big fan of pork tenderloin, but for some reason I avoid pork chops in the grocery store.  As part of my new recipe a week resolution, I thought I would give pork chops another chance.

It is surprising that we don’t eat more pork, considering the amount of bacon that we consume 😉

I took down one of my cook books from America’s Test Kitchen , because I figured if any cookbook would win me over on pork chops, it would be ATK.

As soon as I saw the title for this recipe, I knew it would be a winner.  When you start out with ingredients like port and cherries you know it is going to be good.

I have to admit, part of the reason I selected this recipe was because I had port and dried cherries in the pantry.  It is a nice surprise to stumble onto a new recipe when you already have most of the ingredients.

I have never cooked with port before.  Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed it on numerous occasions, but I have never thought to cook with it.  I have been missing out as this dish was delicious!  After making this meal, two realizations came to light:

1. I will make this meal again.
2. I will look for more recipes that use Port.

The rich flavours of port, cherries and rosemary transformed this ordinary piece of pork into an exquisite meal.

On a side note – we had leftover sauce, and served it the next day with grilled chicken – it was scrumptious 🙂

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Adapted from Healthy Family Cookbook                                                                                                     America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 3 boneless pork chops
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup ruby port
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 2 tbsp whole milk
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary

Directions:

1. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels and season with salt & pepper.  Heat the oil in skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Brown the chops well on the first side, about 3 minutes.
2. Flip the chops over, reduce the heat to medium, and continue to cook until the chops register 140-145 degrees on an instant read thermometer, about 5-8 minutes longer.  Transfer the pork chops to a platter, tent loosely with foil, and let rest while making the sauce.
3. Add the shallot to the fat left in the skillet and cook over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the broth, port and cherries, scraping up any browned bits.  Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 5 minutes.
4. Add any accumulated meat juice.  Whisk the milk and cornstarch together, then whisk the mixture into the simmering sauce and cook until the sauce has thickened, about 1 minute.  Off the heat, stir in the rosemary and season with salt & pepper.  Spoon the sauce over the pork and serve.
5. Absolutely Delicious!