Grilling season is well underway. Switch out your usual steaks for these Grilled Pork Chops with Bourbon Berry BBQ Sauce!
Hey-o! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Ours was pretty low-key which is exactly what we needed. Last week was Louisville Burger Week and Matt and I are pretty big burger fans. It’s put on by the great people at the Ky Beef Council, and dozens of local restaurants participated in creating their very own burger which was being sold for $5. What a bargain! After much deliberation, we decide to go to 8up Elevated Drinkery and Kitchen on Friday, which has an amazing rooftop bar and equally as amazing service and food. I would highly recommend it if you’re visiting Louisville. The burger that they were serving consisted of a ground brisket burger, country ham, bechamel, Fresno chili hot sauce, gruyere, and tomato on a brioche bun. It was incredible! Equally as incredible was the house-made kimchi ketchup that they served with their fries. I might dream about it, tbh.
Saturday, we bummed around for most of the day, until we went for dinner and margaritas at one of our favorite spots, Galaxie. Then, we headed off to see the Louisville City FC beat the NY Red Bulls! We are huge soccer football fans, and it has been so fun getting to cheer on our hometown team for the last 2 years. The attendance at Saturday’s game was over 10,000 which is amazing! They’re actually building their first stadium close to our house and we couldn’t be more excited.
Sunday was V lazy, as you can probably imagine. More bumming was done, but we did go to the gym and to the grocery, so you could say we were productive in that sense. BUT the most exciting part of any summer Sunday is, of course, GAME OF THRONES! How awesome was this week’s episode? Spoiler Alert: The Bran and Sansa reunion was so awkward, the John Snow and Daenerys meeting was electric, the revenge of Cercei was ruthless, and the taking of Highgarden was so shocking. I’m already jazzed for this Sunday.
Now, what does that all have to do with these Grilled Pork Chops with Bourbon Berry BBQ Sauce? Not a thing. But OMG these are so good! I mean I could kind of see some Wildlings eating these chops, sans utensils, of course. I love finding new ways to help out pork chops because they’re so cheap and flavorful. The pairing of the juicy chops with the sweet and spicy bourbon berry bbq sauce is ridiculous. Please try it. Maybe while you watch GOT with a big glass of ale.
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for oiling the grill
- 1 cloves of garlic, smashed
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup blackberries
- 1/2 cup raspberries
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 chipotle in adobo sauce
- 1 tbsp butter
- Two 8-ounce bone-in center cut pork chops
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- To make the bbq sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, cumin, and coriander. Toast, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes. Carefully add the bourbon, and cook until reduced, about 1 minute. Add water, berries, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, chipotle, and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 20-25 mins, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Taste, and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Meanwhile, preheat your grill or grill pan to medium high heat. Pat the pork chops dry and season each side liberally with salt and pepper. Place the pork chops on the grill over the direct-heat area and sear, turning once, until nicely grill-marked on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Move the chops to the indirect-heat area and cover the grill. Cook until the chops are somewhat firm to the touch or until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into the center of a chop, away from the bone, registers 145°F, about 15 minutes more for medium.
- Transfer to a plate, cover with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Serve the pork chop smothered with the bbq sauce.
