Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and bags of cranberries have made an appearance on 9th Street. There will be cranberry orange relish, and breads, and pies – but last night there were brined pork chops and cranberries layered in a baking dish and they were magnificent!
- 4 pork chops, cut a 1/2 inch thick from the loin and brined
- 1/4 cup kosher salt (do NOT use table salt)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 12 oz. fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
- In one quart of water, dissolve 1/4 cup of kosher salt. Place pork chops in a gallon sized ziplock bag and pour in the brine. Let sit in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350º. Rinse the pork chops and dry with paper towels.
- Heat the butter in a sauté pan until hot, browning the pork chops on both sides. Remove from pan, and season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon a third of the cranberries in the bottom of a small baking dish that will hold the pork chops in two layers. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of sugar over the cranberries, and lay two pork chops side by side on top on the cranberries. Cover pork chops with half of the remaining cranberries and 1/4 cup of sugar. Top with the two remaining pork chops, the rest of the cranberries and sugar.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the cranberries, then cover tightly with foil. Bake for one hour, spoon cranberry sauce over the pork chops and serve.
Yum!