Wednesday, January 30, 2013

One of the great things about pork chops is that they can be both filling and delicious and can be prepared in a unique but simple way. Pork chops can be seared, fried, broiled or baked, and arranged with just about any side dish to make for a wonderful evening meal.

Southern style cooking, in particular, embraces an astonishingly wide array of styles when it comes to preparing pork, including this savory and delightfully flavorful recipe that incorporates a blend of spices, peaches, and bourbon:

Four, 4-oz boneless pork chops (center loin pork chops are the tastiest)
1 teaspoon of salt or no-salt seasoner
¼ teaspoon black pepper (ground)
¼ teaspoon of ground red pepper (or cayenne pepper)
Cooking spray (flavorless)
1 tablespoon of minced shallots
1 teaspoon of minced garlic (preferably in the bottle)
1 ½ cups of sliced peaches
½ cup of broth (chicken or vegetable)
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
2 sprigs of thyme
2-3 tablespoons of your favorite bourbon
2 teaspoons of butter

Use a clean pan or dish to begin to prepare the pork. Once pork is placed, sprinkle the meat with salt, pepper, and red or cayenne pepper. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and place on stovetop at medium heat.

Once sufficiently heated, add the pork and cook for 2 ½ minutes on each side (or until each side is browned). Remove the pork from the skillet and keep warm in oven or microwave turned off. This is particularly important since the additional cooking steps will require your pork meat left alone for at least four-six minutes.

In the same pan, add shallots and garlic and sauté for approximately 30 seconds. Add peaches and broth—and be careful!—the pan is likely to sizzle and smoke since it is already hot. Add in the sugar and thyme and cook for about a minute. Add the 2-3 tablespoons of bourbon to the pan along with the butter.

Cook until the butter melts completely and sauce has thickened. Turn off the stove top. Plate your pork chops. Remove the thyme from the skillet, and pour the peach-bourbon mix evenly over the pork chops on each plate. Serve with a tasty side dish like asparagus, broccoli, or mashed potatoes (which are especially great since they will soak up the excess bourbon-peach juice) and enjoy!

Angie Picardi is a staff writer at Nerdwallet.com

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