Thursday, June 23, 2011

Grilled Pork Chops with a Savory Lager Sauce

Luxury to me is sitting outside, sipping a cocktail, listening to music, visiting with friends, grilling, and eating outdoors...one of life's most appreciated gifts.  My family gets really happy when the weekend rolls around because they know were are cooking outside pretty much the whole weekend. 

Do you know what makes grilled beef, pork or chicken even better?  A dipping sauce!  Just gotta have sauce and not just any sauce, but a richly flavored savory sauce.

So come along children, let's get started:

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 medium-sized red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic pressed through a garlic press or minced
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon blackberry preserves
1/2 cup beef broth
1 cup lager
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
3 to 4 center cut pork chops
Kosher salt and and freshly ground black pepper





Squeeze the lime juice in a small bowl, whisk in the ketchup, mustard, beef broth, and Worcestershire sauce; set aside.




In a small pot over medium to medium-high heat, melt the butter and saute the onion and garlic until softened, season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in the lager to thoroughly combine.



Add in the preserves and the reserved ketchup mixture.  Bring to a bubble, but not to a rapid boil.  Then simmer until sauce is reduced to about 1-1/2 cups, about 30 minutes.



Thought I forgot about the cayenne, didn't you?  Okay, this where you add in the cayenne.  If 2 teaspoons of cayenne seems a bit much, it really isn't but you can be prudent and use 1 teaspoon.


Remove the pot from the heat and allow to slightly cool.  If you're anxious like me, dip in a potato chip or six in for a quality check, but beware of what happens when you do this and forget to put the meat on the grill...just saying.  Not that it happened, but it could.  Okay, it kinda did a little.




Preheat the grill to medium. Pour 1 cup of sauce into a bowl for serving and dipping at the table and put the rest in a container for basting.  Season the chops with salt and pepper. Grill steak about 3 minutes per side.  Brush the sauce on one side of the chops, close the lid and cook for 3 more minutes.  Flip and repeat.  Plate the chops and allow to rest for 5 minutes and serve with sauce on side.


8 comments:

The JR said...

I luv grilled food. Lucky for me, my husband luvs to do the grilling. I get to enjoy the eating!

Marjie said...

Dipping sauce is good, because then everyone can use whatever amount they want!

Unknown said...

Katherine, these look delicious. I am craving dinner right now too and haven't put anything together yet and I might just chose to make this.
yumm.
ahealthyjalapeno.com
thanks for sharing :)

Donna-FFW said...

I love the sound of that sauce!

pam said...

Like the preserves in this one!

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

Say YES to the dipping sauce!

Living in KC, home of slatherd sauced meat, I so much appreciate the idea of sauce on the side. Let the meat speak and the sauce accent

great post

Dave

Big Dude said...

LOL about the come on children - I can just hear you saying it. The sauce looks like a definite keeper.

Chris said...

That sounds great and perfect to go with pork. It would be great for pork kabobs in an appetizer serving too.