Apple Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops & Garlicky Parm Mashed Potatoes

This one was a hit with the whole family!  Even the kids!

Here's what you'll need:

3 or 4 pork chops (preferably thick cut but any cut will work, just adjust your cooking times)

A large cast iron grill pan if you're not cooking them on the grill outside  

Grilling is my preferred method, but at the last minute I discovered our Traeger grill was out of pellets and the Hubs wasn't home to mess with it.  By the way, I highly recommend the Traeger wood pellet grill.  If you're not familiar, you should be.  Check 'em out here.

Salt and pepper the chops and sprinkle with as much garlic powder as you like.  It's probably best to use granulated garlic which is less likely to burn and get bitter but I didn't have any on hand.  I also use kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  It's worth it for the taste and plus you get to feel like a real chef (haha).  Set the chops aside and let them get to room temp.  Now it's time to get your glaze started.

Glaze Ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

3 Tbsp brown sugar

2-3 Tbsp of your favorite bourbon whiskey, depending on your taste

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1.2 tsp salt

a good pinch of red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan.  I also poured in a dash (or three) of Woodchuck Summer Time Cider.  Mainly because it was in my hand and it sounded like a good idea.  Heat to medium high and then reduce and simmer, stirring and letting it reduce while you get your chops cooking.  

Here's how I cooked my chops:

Since I wasn't able to use the grill, I preheated the oven to 350 and also brought my cast iron grill pan up to medium high on the stove top.  I seared the chops for a minute or two on each side, just until I had some nice brown grill marks.  My pan wasn't big enough for all three chops, so I put my biggest stainless pan in he oven and tossed in 3 Tbsp of butter while the oven was preheating.  Once the oven was up to temp, I put my seared chops in the big pan and finished cooking them all the way through.  After about 4 minutes, I started brushing them with the glaze, flipping after another few minutes and glazing them on the other side until they were fully cooked and most of the glaze was used up.  If you're grilling, obviously you can skip all these steps and just start the glaze after the first flip.  The butter can probably be added to the glaze or you could also melt some butter separately and drizzle the chops with it as they cook.  Don't be afraid to experiment with different methods!

Onto to the side!  I thought these Garlicky Parm Mashed Potatoes went great with this dish.

Peel and chop 3 large russet potatoes.  Add to cold, salted water, and bring to a boil.  Boil until you're able to mash one of the cubes with a fork up against the side of the pan.  In the mean time, in a small pan melt two Tbs butter.  Crush or finely chop 2-3 garlic cloves.  On medium heat, saute the garlic until you can smell it - about a minute or so.  Don't burn it or it will be bitter and ruin your taters!!

Once the potatoes are done, drain them in a colander and add them back to the hot pan so the rest of the moisture can evaporate.  Mash, then add half a stick of butter, the sauted garlic, 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, and a heaping Tbs of sour cream for some tang.  Then just add as much milk as you want to your desired consistency.  I like to leave mine lumpy.  Partly because I like them that way, but mainly because it drives my husband nuts. ;)

I hope you enjoy this meal as much as we did, and as always, if you have any suggestions for a new recipe for me to try, you are more than welcome to leave it in the comments below!