Pork Chops with Balsamic Glaze

Pork Chops with Balsamic Glaze
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

I made this one tonight and was not happy with it. I felt they were dry and overcooked. I reviewed an article in Cooks Illustrated and found that the first stage browning was excessive and dried out the port chop. Since most of the color comes from the Balsamic Glaze its not really necessary to truly brown the chops. The second cooking stage I lost track of time and the chops got to 170. I will be working on this recipe and update the photos with better results soon.

4 center cut Rib Pork chops, pounded to 3/4 inch thick
1 tsp. salt
fresh ground black pepper
2 T olive oil
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. sugar

Trim fat from pork chops, and pound to 3/4 inch thickness. Season chops on both sides with salt, pepper. Starting with a cold pan, add olive oil, add pork chops and cook over medium heat (4) until lightly browned on both sides and cooked through, about 3 minutes total.

Remove pork chops to plate, lower heat slightly, and add vinegar and sugar and cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

Put pork chops back into pan with any liquid which has collected on plate, and cook about 5-6 minutes, (internal temp of 140) turning several times to glaze pork chops with sauce. Serve hot, with sauce poured over.

3/12/2008 Update

OK, I reworked this one today and followed the times and temperatures to the letter. What a huge difference. The chops were moist and with an excellent taste of the Balsamic Glaze. I will do this again real soon. Learned a lot about Pork Chops and how to cook them.