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Grilled Pork Chops with Balsamic Caramelized Pears

Recipe By: OSORKIN   Photo By: SunnyByrd
The recipe transforms thin supermarket pork chops into an unforgettable-juicy-tender-flavor-packed-lip-smacking pork experience. A combination of brining, marinating, and saucing. All can be prepared ahead except for the last 5 minutes of grilling.
 
  • Prep: 2 hours
  • |
  • Cook: 6 Minutes
  • |
  • Total: 2 hours 6 Minutes
 
6
 
 
  • 1 1/2 quarts water
    •
  • 5 tablespoons kosher salt
    •
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
    •
  • 6 pork loin chops, 1/2 inch thick
    •
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
    •
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    •
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
    •
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
    •
  • 1 tablespoon butter
    •
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    •
  • 2 Vidalia onions, each cut into 8 wedges
    •
  • 2 pears, cored and each cut into 8 wedges
    •
  • 1 teaspoon salt
    •
 
  1. In a large bowl, stir together the water, kosher salt, and sugar. Add pork chops to this brine, and let them soak for no more than one hour. Drain and discard the brine. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels.
  2. In a shallow dish, stir together the olive oil, garlic, and rosemary. Place pork chops in the dish, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 or 2 hours.
  3. Pour the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by 1/2, about 10 minutes. When the vinegar cools, it should be the consistency of syrup.
  4. Melt butter with olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high or high heat. Add the onions and pears, and quickly brown being careful to keep the wedges intact. Once the onions and pears are browned, reduce heat to low, and cook for about 7 minutes, or until tender. Stir in the reduced vinegar and salt. The recipe can be prepared up to this point several hours before grilling.
  5. Preheat the grill for medium-high heat.
  6. Warm pears on a cool section of the grill (in the skillet), while placing the pork chops over the hot part. Cook pork for about 3 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. Remove to a serving plate, cover with aluminum foil and let rest for a few minutes. Uncover, top with the pear onion sauce, and serve.
NOTE

Try this recipe with our Bush's® Southern Pit Barbecue Grillin' Beans® - slow-cooked beans in a rich barbecue sauce. View Product Details Here


The nutrition data for this recipe includes information for the full amount of the brine ingredients. The actual amount of the brine consumed will vary.
Nutrition Information
 
 
More Reviews (52)
Reviewed By: Joi
This was sooo good. I didn't brine my chops, but I did marinate them in the olive oil and rosemary for about 30 minutes. I didn't have any pears on hand either, so I used apples and cooked them in my George Foreman Grill instead of outside. But other than that, I prepared the recipe as written. I agree with the other posts--next time I will make a double batch of the balsamic reduction. The sauce is what makes this dish!!! I made this for my best friend about a week ago and he's still raving about it.
Reviewed By: LADYJAYPEE
I used 4 pork loin chops (about 3/4" thick, so they definitely took longer than 3 minutes per side to grill), but I used the full amount of balsamic-onion-pear sauce. I browned the onions on their own (not sure why recipe states to be sure to leave onions in wedges; couldn't possibly happen at my house unless skewering them, and um...why?!); then at the end of the browning, I added the pear wedges so they wouldn't get too mushy. This worked great (thanks to reviewer, imvintage). The balsamic reduction did harden when it cooled, but a bit of heat brought it back to the syrup stage. I started the chops out on the grill, but I'm a little bit of a grill-wuss and had never grilled pork chops before, so when it seemed like there might be the potential for them getting too tough, I brought them inside and finished them off in a pan. They came out great; done, not tough, and still had that great grilled flavor as well as retaining the subtle rosemary flavor. I reheated the onion-pear sauce on the stovetop, rather than the grill. Thank you, Osorkin, for a good recipe!
Reviewed By: dgessner
I didn't have any pork so I used chicken instead. I think it would have been better with pork but it was still great with the chicken.