Pork Chops with Poached Peaches

Man, I really wanted to go all the way on the alliteration with this one. Pork… Portions? Pork Pieces with Poached Peaches? That’s just a tongue-twister, right there.

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First — I mean primarily, we poach the peaches. You can peel, pit, and partition a whole peach, or you can take a shortcut and use 8 frozen peach slices, like I did. Cover them with 1 cup of 100% apple juice. The best apple juices will come in a glass bottle and be a little cloudy, incidentally. That’s how you know it came straight from the apple to you.

Heat the pot to boiling, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes while you work on the rest of the meal.

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Liberally paint your pork pieces with pepper (plus salt) on both sides, then sautee them over medium heat in a pan with little olive oil.

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Don’t flip the pork chops until the underside is starting to brown. Around the time the second side is browning, they’ll be close to being done, but the best way to tell is with a meat thermometer. Pork is perfectly done at exactly 165 degrees. Do it the scientific way, and you’ll never be left guessing. Once they’re ready, pull them out of the pan and place them on a plate.

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Pour the extra liquid out of the pan, and place it back on the stovetop, keeping the heat on low. Pouring meat fat directly down the sink drain is not the right thing to do, but I’m justifying it by pretending that it’s mostly leftover olive oil rather than grease.

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Strain the peaches out with a slotted spoon, and put them on your waiting dinner plates.

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Now pour the peachy-apple liquid directly into the still-hot pork pan.

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It’s going to sizzle like mad for a moment, and part of that process will be prying up all those delicious brown particles from the bottom of the pan. You can help it along by scraping a bit with a wooden spoon, if you want. This is what’s known as “de-glazing” the pan, in case you’ve always wondered what those fancy TV chefs are talking about. Aside from creating amazing and deeply-flavored sauces to accompany whatever meat you just cooked, it helps reduce washing time considerably as well. Even if you’re not making a sauce with a particular meal, do yourself a favor and toss a quarter cup of water into your hot pan after you’re done cooking the meat, and you’ll have a lot less scrubbing to do after dinner.

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Now add 1 Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar (real balsamic vinegar, that is, never anything “flavored” like balsamic vinegar.)

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And also 1/2 teaspoon each of thyme, rosemary, and oregano.

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I actually measured the spices out beforehand and kept them in a little side cup, because I didn’t really have anything to do while the pork and peaches were cooking. Which is rare, let me tell you. I probably did have something to do, but was avoiding it. Some people cook with love, but I prefer the taste of denial.

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Spoon your sauce over both the peaches and the pork. You’ll be pleased with the payoff, I promise.

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Pleasant Partaking!

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Pork Chops with Poached Peaches

2-4 pork chops
1 peach, or 8 slices frozen peaches
1 cup 100% apple juice
1 TBS balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp oregano