Spirited Pork Recipe

Souvenirs from our journey last month included an assortment of fine Kentucky bourbons. It was time to restock the pantry, LOL! To commemorate the lovely trip to our neighbor state, we tried a new pork recipe for Christmas dinner. The recipe comes from Woodford Reserve. We thoroughly enjoyed the distillery’s special holiday lunch buffet during our visit, which featured a similar recipe. So we knew that this one should be tasty as well. We were right! The pork was so tender, we could cut it with a fork. Don’t forget to pour a little bourbon in a glass for sipping while dinner is cooking!


Woodford Pork

6 boneless loin pork chops, cut 1-¼ inches thick
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
6 shallots, finely chopped
½ cup fresh, sweet cherries, pitted
1/3 cup Woodford Reserve Bourbon Whiskey
6 Tablespoons butter
¼ cup chicken stock
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Melt one tablespoon of butter in a large heavy sauté pan; add pork chops and season with salt and pepper. Sauté over medium high heat until well browned (about 5 minutes); remove.

Add two tablespoons of butter to pan, and sauté shallots for two minutes. Add apples and cherries, stirring until fruit is just warmed through.

Return chops to pan of fruit, and add Woodford Reserve, taking care, as the alcohol will ignite. Cook until liquid is reduced to one tablespoon.

Add chicken stock and cook until there is one tablespoon of liquid remaining in the pan. Swirl remaining three tablespoons of butter in the pan with chops and fruit.

Place chops on a heated platter and spoon fruit and pan juices on top.

Serves four to six.