Cranberry Pork Chops

Cranberries are an underutilized fruit. We may drink cranberry juice cocktail. We may serve cranberry sauce along with turkey on Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas. But is it possible to have cranberries with something other than turkey? Is it even legal?

Not only is it perfectly legal, it’s delicious! This recipe creates a delicious taste combination – pork and cranberries. It turns out that pork is a great cranberry partner.

You have options with the cranberry component of this recipe. You can make your own cranberry sauce; the easy recipe is on the bag of fresh cranberries. Or you can use canned whole cranberry sauce, like I suggest here. But do not use jellied cranberry sauce; it is not a good substitute.

Serves 4

½ teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
½ teaspoon dried sage, crushed
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 boneless pork chops, ¾ inch thick (about 1 to 1 ¼ pounds total)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (16 oz.) can whole cranberries
¾ cup orange juice
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Combine thyme, sage, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub over pork chops, coating each side evenly.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add seasoned pork to the skillet and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until just barely pink in the middle. Remove from the skillet and cover to keep warm.

Combine the cranberries, orange juice, cinnamon and ginger in the skillet and stir together. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Boil gently for about 2 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened. Spoon some of the sauce over the pork, and serve the remaining sauce in a gravy boat or small bowl along with the pork