Recipe: One-Pan Honey Bourbon Pork Chops with Roasted Pears

Yield: 4 servings

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

This one-pan dish is full of earthy fall flavours. It’s the perfect comfort food to cozy up to when the evenings start to get cooler. When buying pork chops, look for ones on the smaller side so that four can fit together in the skillet, or else buy three bigger ones and plan on slicing them up before serving.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp grapeseed or avocado oil
• 4 bone-in, centre-cut pork loin chops
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 3 to 4 firm pears, halved, pitted and stems left on
• ¼ cup clover honey
• ⅓ cup bourbon

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet or oven-safe frying pan over medium-high until very hot. Pat pork chops dry and season generously all over with salt and pepper. Add pork to skillet and sear, undisturbed, until golden brown on bottom (about 4 to 6 minutes). Transfer pork to a plate.

Reduce heat under skillet to medium and add shallot and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until tender (about 1 minute). Remove skillet from heat and immediately add in butter, vinegar and pears, cut side down. Place pork chops browned side up over pears and add any juices that accumulated on the plate. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until pork registers 145°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat (about 6 to 10 minutes). Transfer pork and pears to a serving platter.

Return skillet to stovetop and stir honey and bourbon into any pan juices. Turn heat to medium and bring mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly, until reduced slightly and syrupy (about 2 minutes). Remove skillet from heat, taste sauce and adjust seasoning as desired with additional salt, honey or vinegar. Spoon sauce over pork and pears and serve.