This particular visit followed two weeks off work, two birthdays and a vast amount of food and alcohol. Therefore the aim of the game was finding relatively healthy ingredients which was mostly successful until we hit the meat aisle. There we stumbled upon some cheap and cheerful pork chops, not a real favourite even though pork is but like I said, they were cheap.
As soon as I was home, shopping unpacked and slippers on, I put them in a bag and into a marinade. I was feeling unusally traditional so steered clear of the more exotic flavours and went with comforting honey and mustard. I cooked them the next day with some oven chips, a little whiskey and honey sauce and served with a salad.
Honey mustard pork chops with whiskey cream sauce.
Serves 2
Marinade
2 pork chops, fat scored
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp oil
1 tsp English mustard powder
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder or a crushed clove
Pepper to season
Sauce
A good glug of whiskey or bourbon
Splash of double cream
1 tsp honey
Pinch of salt
Put the chops and all the marinade ingredients in a freezer bag or a bowl, give them a good mix around and leave for a few hours or over night.
When ready to cook, take a good ovenproof frying or griddle pan and get it very hot on the hob. Add the chops and cook on one side until a lovely golden brown, flip over and cook for 3 more minutes then pop in to a preheated 180 degrees oven. Depending on the thickness of the chops leave them in for 5 to 10 minutes until they are firm and not pink inside. Don't over cook!
Once done, remove from the pan and leave to rest. Put the pan back on the hob, add the rest of the marinade if there is any left over, leave to bubble and then add the whiskey. This is called deglazing the pan and gets all the good meaty flavour off. Add the cream, honey and salt to taste. Serve!
