Grilled Pork Chop with Blackberry Reduction

Woooo-eeee! That sure does sound fancy, don't it?

IT'S NOT.

It looks fancy, and it tastes fancy, but it is super easy to make! I promise! This legit takes about fifteen minutes to make.

Boneless pork chops are a great source of lean protein and make a nice change from chicken or fish. I never ate pork growing up (JEW) so it is my forbidden fruit....and speaking of fruit, pork goes great with it!

(Cue Peter Brady saying "Pork chops and applesaaaaaaauce")




In this recipe I grill my pork chop on my handy dandy Foreman grill, but you can use an outdoor grill if you'd like, or you can just cook it up in a pan (sear in a bit of olive oil about 3-4 minutes on each side til it's done.)

Enjoy!


Ingredients:

• 1 boneless pork loin chop

• 1 shallot. Shallots are great...sort of like a cross between onion and garlic, with a nice mild flavor.

• 1 tbsp. butter

• 3 tbsp. seedless blackberry preserves. You can also use raspberry or really any other kind of preserves, but blackberry pairs great with the wine and balsamic vinegar.

• 2 tbsp. red wine. Any kind will do....after all, we aren't snobs here!

• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar. This cuts the sweetness of the wine and preserves really well.

• 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, plus a few whole sprigs to garnish. You can use 1/2 tsp. of dried thyme if you'd like, but fresh is better!

You can also use this sauce on chicken or beef...it's just that versatile! Takes hardly any time to make, too.


Directions:

Turn on your Foreman grill to let it preheat, making sure to ignore the nasty crust I left at the bottom of my drip tray.

Peel your shallot and mince it up.




Heat a small saucepan to medium high and melt your butter. Add your minced shallot and cook until translucent.




Add your wine, balsamic vinegar, and thyme leaves. Stir and let cook for a couple minutes to let it reduce and thicken (you might wanna turn down the heat a bit so it doesn't burn).

This would be a good time to put your pork chop on the Foreman, as it will only take a few minutes!





Add your preserves and mix them thoroughly into the sauce, breaking up any large globs. Let it simmer and reduce while your pork chop finishes grilling.





Remove your pork chop from the grill. Don't cut into it right away! Let it "rest" for a few minutes while your sauce thickens...this helps the juices get back into the meat so it stays nice and moist (that's what he said?)

For presentation points, slice it at a bias (fancy term for at an angle) once it has rested.





Once your sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, it should be done! Drizzle it over your pork chop, garnish with some sprigs of fresh thyme, and go hog wild! (Get it? Har har har)