Juicy, bone in pork chops seared on a cast iron skillet, with a pan glaze made from sweet peaches, basil and sherry. A match made in heaven.
I love a savory and sweet flavor combination, and really like a fruit and meat combo. I've never met a pair I didn't like. This pork chops and peaches recipe is such a great summer time dinner. When you are dealing with combinations like these, you really don't need much else. This recipe takes only a handful of ingredients, and takes minutes to make. It's light and fresh, but also packed with so much interesting flavor.
I use bone-in pork chops because they are juicier, and more flavorful, in my opinion. Searing them on high heat, in a little bit of butter and a couple cloves of peeled garlic (no need to even mince it), to get a nice caramel crust on them not only seals in amazing flavor, but it also primes the skillet for what will eventually be a saucy glaze. Once that nice dark crust is on both sides, remove them from the pan and set aside on a plate. They will go back in at the end to finish fully cooking.
With the pork chops set aside, it's time to get saucy. All the stuff that's left in the pan from searing the chops--leave it. That's flavor lookin at you. All you want to do is pour in a bit of sherry to loosen it all up and reduce the heat slightly as it simmers away, along with balsamic vinegar.
Once you see that its reduced in volume by about half, and thickened up slightly, toss in the sliced peaches and freshly torn basil leaves. Give them a nice toss around in the sauce, then nestle the pork chops back in the pan to finish cooking through.
It won't take long at all, about a minute or two on each side, so don't go too far away. 145 degrees is what you want to aim for, for a juicy pork chop. 160 degrees will get you well-done, but it will also lean towards a dryer piece of meat, and it's really not necessary to go over 145 degrees. I find using a meat thermometer is the only way I'm able to make sure I don't over do it, although some people are pretty good judges of doneness. But I don't speak meat, so I always take their temperature.
When you are happy with the internal temp, remove them from the pan immediately, onto a cutting board, or plate. Do not cut into them, they need to rest and let the juices distribute before cutting in and this will also help to ensure juiciness.
Remove the peaches and sauce from the heat also, although they can remain in the pan.
Once the pork chops have had their resting time, top with a big scoop of the peaches, and a spoonful of the saucy glaze, and dig in!
Pork Chops with Peaches
Ingredients
- 4 thick cut bone in pork chops (set to room temp for 20 minutes)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 garlic cloves smashed, peeled
- 1 cup sherry
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 peaches pit removed, sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves torn
- coarse salt and coarse pepper
Instructions
- Let thawed pork chops come closer to room temp by setting out for 20-30 minutes before cooking. Salt and pepper both sides generously.
- In a roomy heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, fully heated to medium high heat; drop in butter and garlic and spread evenly over the bottom of the skillet. Arrange pork chops evenly in one layer in pan, and let sear, undisturbed. Cook for 2 minutes on first side, flip and cook another 2 minutes on the other side. Do not disturb while they are searing, to get a nice, thick crust.
- Remove chops from pan, set aside on a plate.
- Deglaze pan with sherry, add balsamic vinegar, simmer and reduce by half. Add peaches, pork chops and basil and cook for another minute on each side, spooning sauce over peaches and chops as you go.
- Immediately remove pork chops from skillet, to a resting plate, let rest 5 minutes. Remove sauce and peaches from heat while pork chops rest.
- To serve, spoon peaches over pork chops, and spoon on extra sauce. Garnish with more fresh basil.
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