Pork Chops with Cherry Sauce

 Brine:

4 cups water

¼ cup salt

¼ cup brown sugar 

Sauce:

4 tbsp butter

2 tbsp minced shallots

1 16oz bag of frozen pitted cherries, drained

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup Portlandia or other Oregon Pinot Noir

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

½ tsp dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

Pork

4 boneless pork chops

1 tbsp olive oil 

For your brine whisk all ingredients together until salt and sugar dissolve. Add pork chops, cover, and let marinate 6 to 8 hours. (Overnight is ok too!)

When ready to cook pre-heat oven to 450°F. Remove pork from marinade and pat dry. Heat oil in a cast iron, or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops to skillet and sear a couple of minutes on each side, you want a nice crust to form.  

Move pork to an oven safe dish but keep your skillet on the stove (we will use that later). Roast the pork chops in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until they reache 140°F internal temp. Let pork chops rest 5 minutes before serving to preserve juices. 

While pork is resting melt butter in your reserved skillet. Sauté shallots over medium-high heat until they are translucent. Add cherries, brown sugar, pinot noir, balsamic vinegar, and spices. Simmer for 5-6 minutes, stirring and scraping the good pork bits off the bottom of the pan as you go. Sauce will thicken and reduce. 

Serve pork chops with cherry sauce on top and a side of mashed potatoes. 

Sommelier Wine Pairing: Pinot Noir is notorious for having juicy black and red cherry flavors so how could I choose anything else to complement this dish? The Portlandia Pinot Noir also has flavors of cranberry and pomegranate that really popped with this sauce.