Dinner Tonight: Pork Chops with Cherry Sauce Recipe

By
Nick Kindelsperger
Nick Kindelsperger is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Nick Kindelsperger
Nick Kindelsperger is a food critic at the Chicago Tribune.  His food writing appears in The Washington Post, Newsweek, Epicurious, Baltimore Sun, Serious Eats, Grub Street, New York Magazine, and Tasting Table, among others.
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Updated August 09, 2018

I don't exactly know how I found this recipe for cherry sauce. It wasn't until I started tossing ingredients into the pot that I realized it was from the Washington State Fruit Commission website. Not a site I frequent often, but all I know is there was a pound of fresh cherries from the farmers' market to use, and pork chops lying around, so it sounded like a good idea.

I didn't strictly follow the recipe verbatim. It said to add cornstarch to thicken the sauce, a technique I try to avoid. So I just let the mixture reduce down for a few more minutes, and the success kind of surprised me. Most cherry sauces are too syrupy, yet this one had a wonderful acidic kick, and not much sugar at all.

Recipe Details

Dinner Tonight: Pork Chops with Cherry Sauce Recipe

Cook 15 mins
Total 15 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cherries, pitted
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1/4 cup dry red wine
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon thyme leaves, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
  • Salt
  • 2 pork chops
  • pinch of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions

  1. Toss the cherries into a small pot and pour in the water, red wine, red wine vinegar, honey, thyme leaves, mustard, and a pinch of salt. Bring to simmer and cook for about 10-15 minutes, smashing the cherries with a wooden spoon about half way through.

  2. Meanwhile, pour the canola into a large skillet. Sprinkle salt on both sides of the pork chops, and a pinch of sugar on just one side. Place the chops, sugar side down, in the cold skillet. Turn the heat to medium and cook for about five minutes. Flip the chops, turn the heat to low, and cover. Cook for four minutes or so, or until the inside measures 140° F.

  3. Plate the chops, and pour on the sauce.

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