Pork Chops With Brandied Cherries Recipe (2024)

I always brine pork chops for at least 4 hours (overnight is better) in equal parts of salt and sugar plus water and juniper berries. They are always juicy.

Great dish. I don't have room for anymore single-use gadgets, so I tried various cherry-stoning methods, including the paper clip and the chopstick/wine bottle idea. Clear winner is the latter. was able to pit 2 cups of cherries very quickly. Use a chopstick with a wide, squarish tip, like the wooden kind you get with Chinese takeout. I first tried it with a fancy, more tapered chopstick, and this point was too narrow to apply enough pressure to the innards of the cherry. Remove stem first.

This is a wonderful recipe but beware of using very sweet cherries.
I used Ranier and some of them burned in the bottom of the pan...too much sugar I guess. The flavor of the dish is divine.
After grappling with an "upscale" cherry pitter, I dug around in my utensil drawer and resurrected my ten year old Westmark Kerner which now sells for about eight dollars. It "oupits" all of the new fangled devices.

I don't think it matters that much. I've cooked with both expensive and inexpensive brandy with success. If you have any brandy at home, just use that. Even if it's expensive, you only need about a half a shot. I would avoid extremely cheap stuff, though. It should at least smell appetizing when you sniff the bottle.

Outstanding. First, alternate recipes for sweet vs. sour cherries is (again) pure Melissa Clark genius, as is the long-overdue advice to cook this pork only to 130-135. Check temp often, as it climbs fast. I found that slightly longer sear at slightly lower temp, followed by shorter (4-5 min) finish in simmering cherries worked fine. Used 2T brandy plus 1T or so of cranberry liqueur - it seemed to deepen and smooth out the cherry sauce. Any fruity liqueur would work I think.

I love this recipe during cherry season. I macerate about two cups of pitted cherries in 1 cup of brandy for at least 12 hours in the fridge. I strain off the liquid, and at the end, flambé until all the alcohol is burned off. I also add about 1 tbsp of grated fresh ginger with the garlic. This recipe never fails to please!

A keeper! But I must confess I cheated on the cherries. I used dried sweet Montmorency cherries. I usually don't like things on the sweet side, but this recipe works. Next time I may add sautéed shallots to the mix for savory balance.

Mike, maybe because it asked for pork chops.

Two chops, four servings. Who serves half a chop?

Made this with pork tenderloin in a deep skillet and it was perfect.

The chops must be 1.5" thick. It helps to use cold chops, so they don't fully cook too fast. Use an instant-read digital thermometer. If the chops reach 135 interior, take them out of the pan, let them rest. Then sear the other side. Pork is done at 140 and starts drying out at 145. Pork from the US is free from trichinosis and safe if cooked to 140 degrees F.

I thought my husband was going to lick his plate. I used boneless pork chops because that was what I had and threw in a little chicken broth as the sauce was cooking down. I also had some American Spoon brandied cherries on hand and used that instead of fresh cherries. Dessert was the NYT's cherry clafoutis. As my little grandson would say, "Wow" and "Yay!"

This will sound blasphemous to the purists, but I used bottled cherries. Morello cherries, the ones I use in Manhattans. I’m in Minnesota, it is minus 13 and I didn’t want to wait to taste summer. The substitution was elevating. I promise to try with fresh cherries in July. The flavors of this dish, with roasted Yukon potatoes, will get me there.

This was absolutely incredible. One of the best dinners I've ever made, hands down. This recipe makes me excited for the next time cherry season rolls around!

Bought and used the Oxo cherry pitter recommended by the Wirecutter. What a game changer! Beats any other method of pitting the cherries and I have tried them all! Made for two, with thinner pork chops, which really only needed searing and rewarming. First you have to cook the cherries for about 4 minutes. Served with roasted small potatoes and steamed broccoli sautéed in oil it’s garlic and finished with lemon juice.

Served w Christopher Kimball's Milk Street "Sweet-and-Spicy Ginger Green Beans. Market fresh pork, sour cherries, green beans. Life is good in rural North Central Pennsylvania where we are blessed with a multitude of markets and meat purveyors.

Fabulous. Folks should note that the brandy is likely to ignite when added, especially if one cooks on a gas range. Be prepared!

It was quite good. Used sweet cherries picked last summer and frozen. I got distracted by a hungry husband, so forgot to do Step 5. It was still delicious and since we'd fried some polenta in butter to go with it, I didn't mind having less butter on the plate! Would cook again!

Being it is Loquat Season in Bermuda, I substituted Loquats (aka Japanese Plums) from my garden’s trees for theCherries & it was divine! So will do this again in May with Peaches from our tree, being another stone fruit.

I used cherry jam as didn’t have cherries.

Wow seems like a great recipe, definitely on our todo list …. with what sides does it go well … can also be another recipe… any pointers , hints very appreciated

I never comment on recipes but this was ***** fire! I didn’t have garam masala so I improvised the spice mix with a homemade recipe using chili powder and extra coriander for the cumin. I used sweet cherries and balsamic vinegar with a little extra butter, and I added a teeny bit of Dijon mustard! I temped the pork after the sear which was a good call because it definitely didn’t need the full seven minutes. It was amazing… warm and spiced, with a wonderfully smooth buttery savory cherry sauce.

Loved this recipe - so much flavor for such a simple recipe. I used montmorency cherries, which were perfect. I didn't have brandy so I subbed a full flavored beer and it was phenomenal. I ate two servings - couldn't stop!

Any ideas on what might be good to substitute for brandy? I don't have any on hand..but do have Bourbon or Sherry or Port? Any other ideas? Thanks!

I made these last night. So delicious! I will definitely be making these again! I made a simple brine and brined the chops for 24 hrs, roughly. I love the spice combination and the sauce!

Cranberries are an excellent substitute for the cherries

Absolutely delicious. So fast and easy to make. Highly recommend it.

I will use this cooking method again for pork chops. I dry brined the chops for about an hour at room temperature before cooking. The chops were super juicy and well cooked. My only comment is that the spices were overwhelming for the cherry sauce. All I could taste was the all spice and garam masala. Next time I would tone both down. This is also great for adapting to almost any summer fruit like plums and nectarines as well.