Easy Sweet and Sour Pork Chops

This recipe is the shining example of what a few well-placed ingredients and good cooking technique can do to a plain piece of meat.
Thick and succulent pork chops are seared, baked, then slathered with sweet glaze, and roasted until perfectly caramelized.
You see that glossy glaze?
It’s so easy to make you won’t even believe it.
There’s no starch involved; just balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, and few herbs. It reduces quickly to a thick, rich, sweet-tart, dark balsamic syrup.
Rosemary and oregano are the perfect accents for me, but I suspect thyme would work just as well.
I like to add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a bit of heat that goes nicely with pork chops.
But I’ll let you be the judge of that. This is a technique that begs for your own personal touches.
All in all these are super easy, uber juicy, and very tasty pork chops.
Perfect for a weeknight dinner!

Easy Sweet and Sour Pork Chops                                                                                                    Print this recipe!
Barely adapted from Giada De Laurentis’ recipe

Ingredients
Serves 4

4 pork chops bone-in (about 8 oz / 225 gr each)
1 teaspoon fine grain salt
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter

Glaze

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and place a rack in the middle.
Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Melt butter in a large cast-iron skillet (or other oven-proof skillet) over medium-high heat.
When sizzling, add pork chops and sear on both sides until golden, about 2 minutes per side.
Place in the oven and roast for about 6 minutes.
In the meantime combine all glaze ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook until reduced, about 5 minutes.
Remove pork chops from the oven, pour glaze over them, return in the oven and bake for further 4 minutes until caramelized.
Serve immediately!

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 215 calories, 13 grams of fat, 11 grams of carbs, and 13 grams of protein.