Makes 1 serving
Equipment: Small mixing bowl, 8-inch skillet, extra plate, wooden spoon
2 tablespoons jam, any flavor
2 tablespoons mustard, preferably Dijon or any stone-ground mustard
1 center-cut, bone-in pork chop, about 3/4-inch thick
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 to 3 tablespoons vinegar, preferably white-wine (plain white vinegar, cider vinegar or sherry vinegar would all be fine)
Mix the jam and mustard in a small bowl, with a fork. Season the pork chop with salt and pepper on both sides.
Preheat a small, heavy skillet over high heat until it is hot enough to make a droplet of water dance or evaporate on contact. Add the oil, swirl around to coat, and immediately add the pork chop. With the heat still on high, brown on one side, about 3 to 5 minutes, and turn over. Spoon the jam-mustard mixture onto the browned side of the pork chop. Lower the heat to medium and cover with a plate or lid while the second side browns, another 4 or 5 minutes.
Remove the lid, raise the heat to high, and turn the pork chop a few times to coat evenly. (Since cooking times can vary widely with pork chops, you may want to cut into it with the tip of a knife to check; the meat may be pink but not rosy; moist but not soft).
Remove the pork chop to a plate. Scrape jam mixture off although it's fine if a bit of glaze clings to it. With the heat on low to medium, keep cooking down the jam and mustard a little more, scraping with a wooden spoon, until the mix is very dark and concentrated and quite dry. If it burns a little, that's fine.
Lower the heat to medium, add the vinegar, and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to release any delicious brown bits. You may need to add a little more vinegar to achieve a heavy, smooth sweet glaze.
Put the pork chop, along with any collected juices, back in the pan and raise the heat to high while you turn the chop with a fork to finish glazing it.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.