grilled pork chops with fig glaze
This recipe is really about the importance of brining your meat! If you treat your meat to a good brine, you can do almost anything you want to it and it will be moist and delicious. I was in the mood for something sweet, so I took beautiful Heritage Pork chops from the farm and grilled them with an amazing fig jam that I picked up too.
If you are really in a cooking mood, you could grab fresh or dried figs, add liquid and honey and boil down to creat your own jam. Since I was not in that space, the jarred version made my life easier and still resulted in an amazing creation.
Below you can find a traditional brine I use for most of the meats that need this type of preparation. The only thing I change are the herbs. I find different meats call for different flavor profiles. For Pork I like to use Thyme.
I paired this protein with my Wild Rice recipe and a green salad and had a meal that most certainly could be used for entertaining, or a weeknight meal…your choice, either way there won’t be any disappointed faces!
A tip when brining, some recipes ask you to boil the liquid and pour over ice before adding your protein. I skipped this step this time and had the same results. It’s up to you whether you want to take the extra time. A good brine needs to sit at least 24-48 hours and up to 1 day, plan accordingly when making this recipe.
INGREDIENTS
8 center cut boneless pork chops (preferably Organic)
1 jar Fig jam of choice
Salt & pepper
Basil to finish
For the Brine
6 cups water
1 Tbs. dried thyme
3 Tbs. salt
2 dried bay leaves
1/4 cup Coconut sugar
2 Tbs. black peppercorns
1 Tbs. dried minced onion
Place all ingredients in a heavy ziplock bag along with protein and refrigerate for up to 24 hours
DIRECTIONS
When the brining process is complete, take protein out of the liquid and pat completely dry with a paper towel
Season pork with salt and pepper, put aside
Empty contents of chosen jam into a small saucepan, add a few tablespoons of water to loosen and incorporate into a spreadable glaze for extra spice, add 1 tsp. red pepper flakes for a kick.
Warm on low heat until it is heated through
On a hot grill, place pork chops
When first side is lighly charred, flip and brush on a layer of glaze, repeat this again when turning pork for a second time
Pork is finished grilling when it reaches an internal temperature of 145° ( Make note that there is carry over cooking and I I like to take mine off the grill at 133-135° and let rest before eating
Top Pork with fresh basil and serve