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Pork chops in a blackberry sauce is easy enough for family and fancy enough for guests!
Fancy But Easy
Do you tend to make your pork chops the same old way every time? I’m guilty of that myself. It used to be Shake-N-Bake each and every time.
I wanted to get out of that rut, so for the past few years, I’ve been trying new ways to make pork chops. Since pork loins have been on sale for super prices, I really stocked up. When I buy a whole loin, I cut it up myself into a roast and then chops. So with all this pork, I was really looking for some new ways to make them.
This was one of the recipes I tried. It’s different and delicious. It only looks fancy–but it’s very easy!
Fruit And Pork
Fruit and pork is a marriage made in heaven.
There’s so many different fruits that pair well with pork besides apples. Berries are a perfect match.
Blackberries have a rich deep flavor and go so well with these pork chops. There’s a lot of blackberries in this recipe so if you can catch a sale, you’ll be golden. But if you’re like me, you might have some stashed in the freezer from previous sales. Yep, you can use frozen ones in here because most of the berries are mashed. The reserved berries are basically a garnish.
Use A Rich Wine
The original recipe calls for zinfandel. Zinfandel is a great wine to pair with anything spicy. Keep in mind this is the red zinfandel–not the white variety. However, you can use any full-bodied red in here. It will work just as well.
If you don’t use alcohol at all, then just substitute chicken stock for it. But I do recommend using the wine because it adds a great flavor to the sauce.
The Recipe
Blackberry Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 2 tbs chili powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 4 pork chops about 1-inch bone-in or boneless loin pork chops
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 tbs minced onion
- 1/2 cup zinfandel or medium-dry red wine
- 4 cups fresh blackberries divided
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 2 tbs sugar more, if desired
- 2 tbs unsalted butter
Instructions
- Combine the chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Rub into chops.
- Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chops and brown on both sides. Cover the pan and reduce heat to low and cook 5-7 minutes; remove chops from the pan cover and keep warm.
- Saute the onion in the same pan over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the wine and scrape up any browned bits.
- Add 3 cups of the berries, stock and sugar. Bring to a boil then simmer for 3 minutes. Coarsely mash the berries then simmer the sauce over low heat until it’s slightly thick—about 8 minutes.
- Stir in the remaining berries and cook until heated through; remove from heat and stir in the butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chops back to the pan and serve with the sauce.
Ron Daggett says
Why unsalted butter when you then add salt? Is 5 -7 minutes supposed to result in “well done” or “medium” doneness?
Judith Hanneman says
Unsalted butter is way better to cook with than salted. It doesn’t seem to scorch so easily. Salted butter varies in the amount of salt used in it–it’s not standard. Using the unsalted lets me control the amount of salt, which is especially important if you are watching sodium intake and many people are now. My chops were medium-well at this cook time.
Elyse says
How would you suggest making this removing the blackberry seeds?
Judith Hanneman says
That would be a tall order. What I’d do is not put in the last amount of berries–which are really just a garnish–and putting the sauce through a sieve/food mill. If you want to serve this to folks with dental issues, that’s what I’d do. You could try it with pitted cherries. It’d probably be just as nice.
William Schmitt says
When you call for 2 tbs of chili powder, what kind do you use? A blend that’s used for chili or, Ancho, cayanne,or some other type of chili?
Judith Hanneman says
I just used the regular kind (that’s in the general spice section at the store), but the ones you mention would be equally as good, if not better. I’ve used (not in this) chipotle chili powder and that’d be great here.
Amy says
Is there something you can use instead of the wine?
Judith Hanneman says
You could do a half and half combination of beef and chicken stocks–you know it won’t taste the same, but it should be good. Grape juice might be a good substitute too.