In the middle of summer here in Ohio, fresh peaches start making their way from down South. I love using them for sweet, baked dishes and incorporating them into savory dinners. If there’s one meat peaches go beautifully with, it’s pork – especially a well-seasoned pork chop that has a little heat to it.
In this recipe, we’ll use peaches two ways. First with a tangy marmalade that adds great balance to the grilled, sweet peaches. You can certainly do this dish without the marmalade but it’s totally worth the time. Not only for what it adds to the pork but using the leftovers on a bowl of vanilla ice cream! Plus, it’s easy to do in advance a day or two.
As for the pork chops, I look for as thick a cut as I can get and definitely bone-on, loin chops. There are two ways I like to cook chops like this that results in a really juicy, tender steak. If I’m cooking them over fire such as charcoal, I want to brine them the night before. This ensures you don’t end up with a dry chop, especially when they’re thick. I find the sous vide (water bath) method easier however, finishing with a nice crisp sear in a cast iron.
The seasoning adds a nice touch of floral heat from the Habanero rub as well and is important as you need some boldness in the chop to balance the sweet and tangy components on the plate. I’ve also included the Summer Corn salad as a great side dish. But you could also do some roasted potato wedges as well.
And this recipe is easy to to double-up if you want to impress a few friends with an unforgettable summer dinner!
Ingredients
- 2 thick Pork loin chops - Bone-in
- Dulce Diablo rub - Dusting
- Cracked black pepper
- Kosher salt - Light!
- Smoked Kosher salt - Dusting
- 2 sprigs fresh Thyme
- 2 whole Fresh peaches - sliced into wedges
Pickled Red Onions
- 1/2 Red onion - thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1 TBSP sugar
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 10 whole Black peppercorns
Peach Marmalade
- 3 whole Peaches - ripe
- 1/2 Orange - flesh
- 1/2 Orange peel - zested
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 1 TBSP Lemon juice
- pinch Kosher salt
Instructions
Pickled red onions
- In small pot, heat all ingredients except onions until sugar is fully dissolved. Allow to cool slightly.
- Slice onions thinly using mandoline. Pack into a medium Mason jar.
- Pour mixture into onions, let cool then refrigerate 1 hour to 1 week.
Marmalade
- Bring medium pot of water to boil. Place whole peaches in water for 90 seconds. Allow to cool.
- Using your hands or a paring knife, remove skins from peaches.
- Over a small bowl or pot, crush peaches into small bits using your hands, discarding the pit. Add chopped orange flesh and zest to pot along with other ingredients. Bring to simmer over MED heat then lower heat to LOW. Cook, stirring often for 20 minutes until you have a nice, thick consistency.
- Allow to cool, add to Mason jar and refrigerate.
Pork
- You can brine your pork overnight and cook them on the grill. I find it easier to season the chops with the salt, pepper and spice rub, seal them in a Foodsaver with a spring of thyme and sous vide at 136F for 1.5-2 hours. Remove from bag, add a sprinkle of additional seasoning and sear in super hot cast iron for 1.5 minutes per side. Let rest 5-6 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 ears Sweet corn - open flame charred
- Full handful Baby arugula - stems plucked
- Full handful Baby greens - assorted
- Small handful Pea shoots
- 1/4 cup Red onion - thinly sliced
- 12 Grape tomatoes - sliced half
- Small handful Parsley leaves - plucked from stems
- 1 handful Crumbled Feta cheese
Champagne Honey Vinaigrette
- 2 oz Champagne vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1.5 TBSP Honey
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 6 oz EVO - quality!
- 1 pinch Kosher salt
- 3 grinds Black pepper
Instructions
- Roast corn over flame until slightly charred. Allow to cool. Slice kernels off in strips over medium bowl.
- Add rest of ingredients cut accordion to instructions.
- Make vinaigrette. Add all ingredients except EVO into mason jar. Using immersion blender, run until frothy. Slowly add EVO with blender running and thick emulsion occurs. Refrigerate before and after use.
- Right before serving, drizzle small amount of dressing over salad, tossing lightly. Add more to taste. Final crack fresh pepper and dusting of more feta.
