Double Cut Pork Chop with Cherries
Sous vide delivers a perfect, evenly cooked hunk of pork that you can quickly sear into one of the best meat dishes you've tasted. Add a sweet/sour au jus with cherries, and you've got something worthy of inviting some guests, yet it's quick enough to make for a special weeknight birthday celebration. For those that don't have a sous vide setup, I have added an additional roasting method in the instructions.
Yield 2 servings
Ingredients
1 double-cut pork chop
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig thyme
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Special Equipment:
Sous vide setup
| 1 | Set sous vide to 130°F. |
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| 2 | Salt and pepper pork chop on all sides. Seal in a vacuum bag or use the displacement method |
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| 3 | Sous vide for 1 hour, 15 minutes. |
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| 4 | Meanwhile, rehydrate dried cherries: soak in very hot water to cover. |
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| 5 | Drain cherries, reserving soaking juice. Place cherries, 1/4 cup of soaking liquids, and sugar into a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring often. If mixture gets dry, add more of the soaking juice. You want a very juicy, not-quite-jam consistency. |
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| 6 | When time is up, remove chop from sous-vide. Remove from bag and use a paper towel to dry chop. Season with onion powder and garlic powder. |
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| 7 | Place a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and butter. When it is just starting to smoke, add pork. Place rosemary and thyme off to the sides of the pork. Sear for 3 minutes until very deep golden, then flip. When that side is seared, briefly sear the edges of the meat. Remove from pan and keep warm. |
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| 8 | Add cherries and red wine vinegar to pan and reduce heat to medium. Add a few tablespoons of soaking juices to pan, scraping up brown bits. When you have a nice sauce consistency, remove from heat. Remove thyme and rosemary sprigs. |
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| 9 | Place pork on a serving platter, then top with cherry sauce. If desired, you can cut into 2 chops by slicing between the bones, then place on platter with sauce. |
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| * | For sear and roast method (no sous vide): |
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| 1 | Season pork with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. |
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| 2 | Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare cherry sauce according to steps 4 and 5 above. |
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| 3 | Place oven-proof skillet (cast iron is perfect) over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and butter. When it is just starting to smoke, add pork. Place rosemary and thyme off to the sides of the pork. Sear for 3 minutes or so, until very deep golden, then flip. When that side is seared, briefly sear the edges of the meat. Place pan in oven and roast for 10-15 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 138-140°F. |
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| 4 | Remove from oven and place chop on serving platter. Add cherries and red wine vinegar to pan and reduce heat to medium. Add a few tablespoons of soaking juices to pan, scraping up brown bits. When you have a nice sauce consistency, remove from heat. Remove thyme and rosemary sprigs. |
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| 5 | Pour cherry sauce over pork. If desired, you can first cut into 2 chops by slicing between the bone, then place on platter with sauce. |
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