I adapted a recipe that I read in Cuisine at Home to inspire some of the flavors and techniques that I love. Cinnamon Bourbon such as firefly and espresso sugar add great punches of flavor when married with the citrus and brown sugar brine.
Ingredients
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup kosher salt
2 cups hot water
4 cups ice
Juice and peel of 2 large navel oranges
Juice and peel of 2 key limes
1 shot cinnamon or regular bourbon
4 bone in pork chops
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch cumin
½ teaspoon espresso sugar
For fruit sauce:
2 Tablespoon butter
2 Braeburn apples-cored and sliced
1 sweet potato pooled and diced
2 plantains- very ripe, peeled and sliced
½ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 small orange seedless segmented or ½ can mandarin oranges drained.
1 fresh pineapple, cored and diced
Directions
- For the brine: Dissolve sugar and salt in hot water in bowl. Stir until completely dissolved. Add ice, oranges and limes and the peels and shot of bourbon.
- Place pork chops in resealable brining bag and close tightly. Turn so all meat is covered. Place in refrigerator overnight.
- Preheat grill or grill pan for pork chops. Remove from brine when ready to cook and pat dry to remove excess moisture.
- Rub spices on pork chops and let rest for 15 minutes before grilling.
- In a large sauté pan add butter and melt. Add apples, diced and peeled sweet potato and peeled plantains, sauté about 3 minutes. Deglaze pan with vinegar. Stir in orange segments and pineapple. Add 1 shot bourbon and cook about 1 -2 more minutes.
- Plate pork chops and serve with warm apple-plantain- sweet potatoes.
