Make a port wine reduction sauce and it will be perfect spooned over pan seared pork chop recipes for a fancy dinner at home.
Cooking Method for Pan-Seared Pork Chop Recipes
First, the pork chops are pat dry and sprinkled with salt to set aside for almost an hour so the salt penetrates the meat, salting it from within.
The pork chops use a reverse-sear method, which is brilliant. You’re cooking thick pork chops in the oven. Then, they are seared in a skillet until well-browned, making sure not to crowd the pan. The pork chops are stood up on the sides so they get browned too. Then, the pork is transferred to a plate with foil tenting over the top so it stays warm while you make the sauce.
Port Wine Reduction Sauce
The same skillet that cooked the pork will be used for the port wine reduction sauce. Diced Golden or Mission Sun-Maid and Orchard Choice Figs get cooked in the port wine until syrupy. Using a wooden spatula, you’ll scrape up the brown bits, adding in broth and minced fresh rosemary, along with any pork juices that have accumulated in the tented plate. You’ll cook the sauce to a maple syrup consistency.
You can see this main dish comes together easily and makes a fancy winner of a dinner at home.
Fig Port Wine Reduction Sauce with Pan-Seared Pork Chops
Ingredients
Pork
- 4 bone-in rib loin pork chops 1 1/2 inches thick (about 12 ounces eac(see note)
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper see note
- 1- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Sauce
- 1/3 cup ruby port
- ½ cup chopped Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid California Figs about 3 ounces, stems removed
- 2/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
For the Pork:
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Pat chops dry with paper towels. Using sharp knife, cut 2 slits, about 2 inches apart, through outer layer of fat and silver skin. Sprinkle entire surface of each chop with 1 teaspoon salt. Place chops on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and let stand at room temperature 45 minutes.
- Season chops liberally with pepper; transfer baking sheet to oven. Cook until instant-read thermometer inserted into centers of chops and away from bones registers 120 to 125 degrees, 30 to 45 minutes.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat until smoking. Place 2 chops in skillet and sear until well browned and crusty, 1½ to 3 minutes, lifting once halfway through to redistribute fat underneath each chop. (Reduce heat if browned bits in pan bottom start to burn.) Using tongs, turn chops and cook until well browned on second side, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer chops to plate and repeat with remaining 2 chops, adding extra tablespoon oil if pan is dry.
- Reduce heat to medium. Use tongs to stand 2 pork chops on their sides. Holding chops together with tongs, return to skillet and sear sides of chops (with exception of bone side until browned and instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chop and away from bone registers 140 to 145 degrees, about 1½ minutes. Repeat with remaining 2 chops. Transfer chops to serving plate and loosely tent with foil while preparing sauce, at least 10 minutes.
For the Sauce:
- Set pan in which pork was cooked over medium-high heat; add port and dried figs. Boil, scraping pan bottom with wooden spatula to loosen browned bits, until liquid reduces to about 2 tablespoons, 2 to 3 minutes. Increase heat to high; add broth, rosemary, and any accumulated pork juices; simmer until liquid reaches consistency of maple syrup, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over pork and serve.