How things taste to different people fascinates me. For this recipe of cherries and pork my husband and I had two different reactions to it. It makes me wonder how various foods made it on our list of ok to eat. If I had been the first person ever to try Brussels sprouts then it would have never made it on the list. I would have deemed it poison and moved on. Way too bitter to me. I’m not convinced it can have a nutty sweet flavour. And unless an onion fell into the fire before I tasted it I would have said the same about raw onions. Then again I love Marmite and my husband would be pleased to never have it in the house.
I was puttering about my pinterest boards and came across this recipe for pork chops with a cherry balsamic sauce. It sounded interesting but I made some changes to it as I felt solely using balsamic to reduce would be overpowering with the cherries. It took some tweaking to get the sauce right because the cherries were quite tart as well. This is a quick meal that is perfect for a busy school night or you just don’t feel like cooking too much.
In a skillet with olive oil brown both sides of some pork chops that have been seasoned with salt and pepper.
Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet put about 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan and add in about a cup of chopped cherries. Add some fresh thyme along with a cup of turkey or chicken stock and simmer for a couple of minutes.
The cherries were very tart and the balsamic was adding a similar note so I added a bit of honey then half an onion to counter the sweetness. It was very much an experiment to get the right balance! Once you have the right balance add the pork back into the sauce and simmer to cook the pork and reduce the sauce.
We served the pork with some corn and rice pilaf for a simple meal.
Now for the two different reactions we had. I felt the sauce was ok but not very exciting by itself but when I had it with the pork it really came alive. For my husband he enjoyed the sauce but felt the pork was gamey and fought with the sauce. I know he and I taste things differently as it’s proved out time and again when I’m trying to make something spicy enough for him. I’ll be on fire and he’ll be enjoying the mild flavour. 🙂 So I think at the end of the day this was a fun experiment but I may have to revisit it so both of us enjoy it.
It sounds quite tasty and the photos are lovely. I don’t understand how the pork could taste gamey as it’s not a concept I associate with pork, especially when compared to duck, venison, goose, etc.
Gamey is a descriptive word for when something is a bit off as well. :).
Delicious!
Thank you. 🙂
Marmite on toast with a steaming mug of tea. Food of the gods! You might have just inspired my next blog.
Makes for a fab breakfast. 🙂
Fresh cherries, eh? I make one using dried cherries to go over duck breasts that’s totally yummy and sounds a lot like yours. Or, switch the fruit and use dried figs…either way, it dresses up Plain Meat 🙂
Oh cherries on duck is wonderful.
Sounds great:)
Thank you. I’ll have to try it when the kids are with us.
Hmmm. It all sounds delicious to me!
Glad you like it. 🙂
What fun to experiment. Since I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, I generally don’t like to combine sweet and savory. I would be more inclined to pour the cherry sauce (even though they are tart) over some ice cream. The pork and sauce presentation is lovely, though.
This wasn’t really sweet though. I would put it in the savory category.
Cherries and pork. Now I’ve seen everything! And on duck, you say? Seems like I have some investigating to do…if I’m willing to spare a cherry, that is. As a fan of marmite, is it assumed that you like beans on toast and treacle? BTW, what sort of desserts do you use treacle. We need a treacle lesson, Virginia. 🙂 (Unless you already shared one.)
Oh cherries are very good with duck. 🙂 Yes I love beans on toast and treacle! Treacle is similar to molasses. I should do a post with this though. 🙂
I saw you added some honey and that would make it sweet for me.
It did but then I added onion to balance it out. It was just a dollop because the cherries with the vinegar was way to tart. But you could try it without the honey.