Pork Chops with Chipotle Cherry Sauce...and also Bourbon

Awhile back, I made some delicious bourbon cherries for a SRC assignment.  As much as I loved sneaking bourbon cherries out of the fridge in the middle of the day…I mean…what?

Right, so I felt like I should probably cook something with those cherries so I wasn’t the drunken mom at kindergarten pick up!

I thought about making a pie, but Hubs isn’t huge on cherry pie and I wasn’t about to eat and entire pie all by myself.

So, knowing that fruity sauces go beautifully with pork chops, I decided to make a cherry bourbon sauce for pork chops.

Need I say more?  It was delicious.  And oh so highly recommended.  Plus then you’ll have an excuse to sneak some bourbon cherries!

Pork Chops with Bourbon Chipotle Cherry Sauce

Inspired by Taste of Home

5 pork chops

Liquid from Bourbon Marinated Cherries, about 1/3 cup

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp onions, diced

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup bourbon soaked cherries

½ cup cherries (I used frozen)

½ cup water

1 tsp chicken base (powder)

1 tbsp dark brown sugar

Salt & pepper, to taste

¼ cup water + 1 tbsp corn starch (optional)

Place the pork chops in a zipper bag with liquid from a jar of bourbon cherries.  Set aside and allow to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the chipotle pepper and garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the cherries, water, chicken base, sugar and salt & pepper.  Cook for about 10 minutes or until the cherries are tender, using a spoon to mash them slightly.

If desired, add the corn starch mixture to the cherry sauce and cook until thickened.

To cook the pork chops, heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan.  Remove the pork chops from the marinade and season generously with salt and pepper.  Place the chops in the hot pan and sear on one side, about 4 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium-low and flip the chops, cooking until well done. 

Tent the pork chops on a plate with foil for 5 minutes.  Serve the pork chops topped with bourbon cherry sauce.