Pork Chops with Cherries and Bourbon is an elegant yet simple dish — exactly the kind of recipe I love. When our farmers market vendors warned it was the last week for cherries, we stocked up and ended up with more than we could immediately eat. This recipe is a perfect way to use those extra cherries.
Pork Chops with Cherries & Bourbon: Quite tasty.
The method is straightforward: sear the pork chops, finish them in the oven, and quickly make a pan sauce from shallots, cherries, bourbon, and butter. The result is a balanced, savory-sweet sauce that pairs beautifully with pork.
I seasoned the pork with ras el hanout, a warm Moroccan spice blend whose name means “head of the shop.” It adds a lovely depth, but the recipe works well with different seasonings if you don’t have ras el hanout on hand.
Seasoning options:
- Make a homemade ras el hanout-style blend from spices you already have.
- Use another spice mix you enjoy with pork — a BBQ rub, garam masala, or curry blend would all be good choices.
- Or keep it simple: salt and pepper on the pork are enough, since the cherry-bourbon sauce is very flavorful.
If you find yourself with an abundance of cherries, try these other cherry-forward recipes (titles listed for idea purposes):
- Cherry Berry Sangria
- Chocolate Cherry Almond Biscotti
- Paleo Nut-Free Cherry Clafoutis
- Brown Butter Peach & Cherry Cobbler
- Cherry Bomb
Pork Chops with Cherries & Bourbon
5 from 2 reviews
- Author: zenbelly
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20-24 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: pork
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless pork chops, about 1 1/2 inches thick
- 1 heaping teaspoon salt (I use kosher pink salt)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ras el hanout (see note)
- 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
- 3/4 pound cherries, pitted
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 4 tablespoons bourbon, divided
Instructions
- Up to a day before cooking, season both sides of the pork chops with salt and ras el hanout. If seasoning more than two hours before cooking, cover and refrigerate.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the skillet.
- Sear the pork chops about 3–4 minutes per side, until browned. Transfer to an oven-safe dish and roast until the internal temperature reaches 145ºF, about 8–10 minutes depending on thickness.
- Reduce the skillet heat to medium. Add the shallots, cherries, and a pinch of salt. Sauté 6–8 minutes until shallots are golden and cherries soften. Add 3 tablespoons of bourbon and stir until mostly evaporated. Add the remaining tablespoon of bourbon, turn off the heat, and stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter.
- When the pork reaches 145ºF, return the chops to the skillet to coat with the cherry-bourbon sauce and serve.
Notes
Alternatives to ras el hanout:
- Create your own spice blend from what you have on hand.
- Use another blend such as garam masala or curry powder.
- Or simply season the pork with salt and pepper — the sauce carries plenty of flavor.
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