Smoked pork chops with red wine gastrique

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Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeekNEWS

Smoked pork chops with red wine gastrique. Buy This Photo

Ingredients

•  (2) 12 oz. bone-in pork chops, frenched
•  2 teaspoon kosher salt, finely ground
•  1 teaspoon black pepper, finely ground
•  1 teaspoon onion salt
•  1 teaspoon garlic powder
•  8 oz. above-average red wine
•  8 oz. sugar
•  ¼ cup dried currants

Instructions

Pork:

• Pre-heat grill (or smoker) to around 350 degrees – probably a low to medium setting.
• Mix together kosher salt, black pepper, onion salt and garlic powder.
• Rub spice mixture over the pork chops and shake off any excess.
• Throw in dry wood pieces* (your favorite flavor is fine) and put them off to the side to create indirect smoke. Let it get going a bit before you put the chops on.
• Cook the pork chops over the wood smoke until an internal temperature of 145 Fahrenheit is reached.
• Remove from heat , cover, and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Gastrique:

• Heat up the wine to about 180 Faranheit, then add sugar and stir to dissolve.
• Add the dried currants, cover and remove from heat.
• Gently reheat before serving, spooning a portion of the currants along with the liquid.

NOTE: *I recommend chunks over chips. The larger size means less deterioration of the wood’s character and they won’t burn up nearly as fast. Also, since there’s no water, there’s no steam – which is not the same as smoke…so we avoid it.