This post comes almost a year to date from when we actually worked on this project. Yet, it is perfectly timed with the height of Summer produce as well as a freshly recorded Podcast with Marlo, my pastry chef. I’ve always really enjoyed using fruit in savory dishes. They bring a wonderful brightness and elegant sweetness to compliment proteins. In this particular instance, I’ve paired peached with a brined bone-in pork loin (chops). The sugar and acid from the peaches really go well with the salty and savory pork loin, which was brined over night in my mix of salt, apple cider vinegar, sugar, water and bay leaves.
The pork is all about the prep. Brining the pork overnight ensures moist and juicy meat that is tender and mouthwatering. Lightly seasoning the outside and letting it roast low and slow for a few hours is truly the way to go. It may take some time, but in fact it is very easy to do. I roasted this particular pork loin at 250* for 3hrs, until the internal temp hit 140*. After letting it rest for 10+ minutes, I then cut it into the chop you see in the photos. This is a great way to feed a lot of people with out a ton of work. If you don’t like bones, get Pork loin and do the same thing, just shorten your cooking time!
To elevate this dish a bit, I grilled the peaches. Its best to use peaches that aren’t fully ripe for this technique. I halved the peaches for the photos, but its best to quarter them and coat in olive oil before grilling. Be sure your grill is HOT. You want to get a good color on the peaches, but you don’t want to make them mushy. Grilled for roughly 1-2 minutes per side, just enough to soften and bring out all of that sugar. After pulling them off the grill, I let them rest for a bit in a large mixing bowl to continue cooking. To finish the dish, I added some fresh chopped tarragon and drizzled some white balsamic over the peaches. Both the balsamic and the tarragon help bring out the peach flavor as well as compliment the pork. Try this at your next BBQ and stun your guests!
All photos are credited to my dear friend Shea Evans. We set up a Summer Dinner Party photo shoot last year and it couldn’t have gone any better. Check out his full and mouthwatering portfolio at www.sheaevans.com. Thanks Shea!
