RECIPE: Sorghum-brined pork chops with cherry sauce

I picked up a couple of two-inch-thick heritage pork chops from Such & Such at Tower Grove Farmers Market. Brined in local sorghum and pan roasted, these chops are succulent and tender -- and perfect with a sweet-tart cherry sauce. Pair this dish with a bottle of dry Chambourcin, which will elevate the fruity aspect of the sauce and cut through the pork's rich fat.

Mathany Family Vineyards Chambourcin

Pair with: Fruity, dry Chambourcin
I paired my recipe for sorghum-brined pork with a Chambourcin from Mathany Family Vineyards, a sustainable winery located in the Ozark region of Missouri. With a richly complex pork preparation starring some beautiful heritage chops from Such & Such Farm, the fruit-forward nature of Chambourcin makes it a natural pair with pork and cherries. This medium-bodied red wine is fruity (think cherry) and earthy with soft tannins. Chambourcin, a French-American hybrid, is great on its own but even better with food. Pair with pork, burgers or red-sauced pasta. Top it off with mushrooms to bring out the earthiness of the wine.

Sorghum-brined Pork Chops with Cherry Sauce

Recipe by: Catherine Neville

Yield: 2 servings

  • 2 cups water

  • ¼ cup kosher salt

  • ½ cup sorghum

  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar

  • ⅛ cup mild vinegar, like apple cider or Champagne

  • 2 1-inch-thick (or thicker!) pork chops

  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 cup chicken broth

  • 1 ½ cups pitted, halved fresh cherries

  • Sprigs fresh thyme

| Preparation | Mix water, salt, sorghum, brown sugar and vinegar in a dish that will hold the chops in one layer. Add pork chops and turn to combine. Cover and refrigerate for an hour. Turn chops, recover and allow to sit another hour in the fridge. Remove from brine and pat dry. Season with a good amount of pepper (the pork is already salty from the brine).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large skillet (not nonstick) over medium-high heat. Swirl in a couple of tablespoons grapeseed oil. Sear chops until they are golden brown on one side. Flip and sear on the other, and then remove to another oven-proof pan and place in oven to cook through.

Turn burner on medium heat. In the skillet with remaining pork fat and fond, add sliced onion and sauté until just beginning to soften. Add in garlic and stir until fragrant. Deglaze with chicken stock, scraping the fond from the bottom of the pan. Add in cherries and thyme and cook until cherries are jammy and sauce is thickened a bit. When the chops are cooked through (145 degrees), remove them from the oven and place in the cherry sauce along with any accumulated juices in the pan. Allow to simmer in the sauce for about 5 minutes. Remove thyme stems from sauce. Plate chops and serve with cherry sauce spooned on top.

Catherine Neville