Herbed Pork Chops With Raspberry Sauce

Ivy and Heather are on their way to Myrtle Beach for the first annual CREATE South Conference.  In the meantime, enjoy this blast from the past originally posted on 3/6/07.
Dear Home-ec 101:

I’m tired of the same food. The delivery place knows our order by heart.

Help!

~In a rut in Wheeling

Heather says:

This recipe will pop you out of that rut; it’s one of our favorites and tastes complicated enough for company. Thankfully it’s quite simple to make, but I write at length because I care.

Herbed pork chops with raspberry sauce

• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 black pepper
• 2 TBSP butter
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 clove garlic minced or pressed if you insist
• 3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam (for variety try strawberry, peach, or blackberry)
• 1/4 cup + 2 TBSP orange juice
• 3-4 TBSP balsamic vinegar (substituting white wine, cider, or white vinegar is OK)
• 6 – 8 boneless pork loin chops 1/2″ thick

Combine the thyme, sage, salt, and pepper and sprinkle liberally over the chops. You probably won’t use all of your herb mix, set a pinch aside. I like to let the meat rest a little bit before cooking, to give the salt a chance to do its magic. This does not mean leave the chops on the counter for an hour or two.

Preheat the oven to 200˚F and find a covered, oven safe dish, you’ll hold the chops in this while you finish the sauce.

Add the olive oil, butter, and garlic to a large skillet and heat over med-low to medium heat. Be careful not to burn your garlic. Golden= good, brown = bitter.

Brown the chops for 4 -5 minutes on each side.

The brown on the bottom of the pan is a beautiful thing, it’s the juices from the meat carmelizing and becoming full of flavor. *Novice tip* Brown is good, black is burnt.

Remove the chops and set in the oven to keep warm. Turn the heat under your skillet to low. To the pan add the jam, orange juice, vinegar, and reserved pinch of seasoning. Stir, be sure to scrape up all the browned bits, they’ll impart a wonderful flavor to the sauce. Slowly increase the heat until you bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and serve over the chops immediately.

We particularly like this dish with rice and a lighter vegetable such as zucchini.

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