Chef notes
The smokiness of the bacon and toasty notes of the peanuts in the sauce are the perfect complement to the juicy pork chops. It's an unexpected flavor combination that will definitely impress.
Swap options: You can use chicken breasts instead of pork chops. If you're short on time, use store-bought jerk sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, toasted
- 1 teaspoon allspice, toasted
- 4 scallions, roughly chopped
- 1 ounce ginger, peeled
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper
- 10 sprigs thyme
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2¼ tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 8-ounce pork chops
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Jerk sauce (recipe above)
- 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
- 1/2 pound bacon
- 2 shallots, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1/3 cup pickle juice
- 1 cup red wine
- 1/3 cup bourbon
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped pickles
Preparation
For the jerk sauce:
Process all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
For the pork chops:
1.Preheat grill to medium heat. Rub pork chop with olive oil and jerk sauce.
2.Grill chops 8 minutes on each side on medium heat.
3.Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
For the peanut-bacon sauce:
1.In a dry pan, toast peanut on medium for 5 minutes tossing frequently. Remove and set aside.
2.In the same pan, sauté bacon until brown. Remove and set aside.
3.Add shallots, garlic and mustard seeds and sauté for 5 minutes.
4.Add thyme, pickle juice, red wine, bourbon and chicken stock. Let simmer for 20 minutes.
5.Whisk in butter, salt, pepper, chopped pickles, bacon and peanuts. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
To serve:
Slice rested pork chops and serve with peanut-bacon sauce on the side or drizzled over the top.
