Serves
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
- Brine
- 1½ quarts water
- 6 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
- 1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
- Handful of thyme sprigs
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed with the side of a chef's knife
- 4 bone-in pork loin chops, about ¾ inch thick
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 large freestone peaches (such as O'Henry or Elberta), halved and pitted
Procedure
Grilling gives peaches and other stone fruits a flavor boost, bringing their natural sugar to the fore. Use freestone peaches so that you can easily twist the halves off the pit. Baste them with butter, honey, and bourbon as they grill to give them a sheen, then serve with a juicy pork chop, brined for a full day to season it all the way through.
To make the brine, in a medium saucepan, combine all
the ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to
dissolve the salt. Set aside until completely cool.
Put the pork chops in a container that holds them
snugly in a single layer. Add the brine, which should
cover them. Cover with plastic wrap. Alternatively, you can
put the port and its brine in a 1-gallon heavy-duty resealable
food storage bag. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
About 1 hour before cooking, remove the pork chops
from the brine and set them on a wire cooling rack at
room temperature to dry.
Prepare a moderate charcoal fire for indirect grilling
or preheat a gas grill to medium (375°F),
leaving one burner unlit.
Combine the butter, bourbon, and honey in a small
saucepan. Set over moderately low heat, stirring until
the butter melts and the honey dissolves. Keep warm.
Pat the pork chops with paper towels to remove any
remaining surface moisture. Set the chops directly over
the coals or gas flame and brown on both sides, turning
once, for about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to indirect
heat, cover the grill, and cook until the chops offer some
resistance to the touch but are still springy, not firm, about
4 minutes longer. If you are unsure of doneness, measure
the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer,
inserting it horizontally into a chop; it should register about
150°F for medium.
Once you have moved the pork chops to indirect heat,
you can grill the peaches. Brush them all over with the
butter-honey mixture and place, cut side down, directly over
the coals or gas flame. Cook until they are nicely charred,
then turn, baste again, and cook just until they are tender
and juicy. The pork chops and peaches should be done at
roughly the same time, but if not, move whichever is done
first to a cooler area of the grill to wait. Serve each pork chop
with a grilled peach half alongside.