Pork Chops with Orange-Ginger Glaze

Serves 4

4 bone-in, center-cut pork chops , about 1 inch thick
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 small onion , chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup juice plus 2 strips zest from 3 to 4 oranges
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

 

1. Pat chops dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chops and cook until well browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.

 

2. Add remaining oil and onion to skillet and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Stir in ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in juice, zest, broth, sugar, and hot sauce, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Cook until sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes.

 

3. Return chops and any accumulated juices to skillet. Simmer, turning once or twice, until sauce glazes chops and meat registers 145 degrees, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer chops to platter. Off heat, whisk butter into glaze and season with salt and pepper. Spoon glaze over chops. Serve.

 

We use a vegetable peeler to obtain the wide strips of orange zest.
We use Frank’s hot sauce in this recipe, which won our test kitchen’s taste test. If you’re using hotter brand, such as Tabasco, reduce the amount to just one teaspoon.