Pork Chops with Cinnamon-Pear IPA Sauce

Yes, you read that correctly. Odd combination, but I promise you, it works. It works really well, in fact. Publix had a huge sale on pork chops last week - lean pork chops were dropped to $4.99 a pound and were buy one get one free. I stocked up on them since that was a killer price, and I froze them in portions of two. However, this now means that I have a freezer full of pork chops, causing me to come up with some new pork chop recipes. Fortunately, pork is pretty versatile and can be made so many different ways.

I hadn't made the Stout-Glazed Pork Chops in awhile, and was thinking about those earlier, when I realized that I didn't have any stout beer in the fridge. I did have some IPA, which happens to be Mike's favorite. I figured I'd test drive something new, and started playing around with what I had on hand. As I was staring blankly into my cabinet, I noticed a bottle of pear-infused white balsamic vinegar. I was intrigued, so I mixed a little bit in a small Pyrex dish, along with some of the beer. Surprisingly, it was really good! It almost had a cider-like taste to it, so I added a dash of cinnamon, and I was sold.

Any kind of IPA will do. We had some of this from Trader Joe's, so I decided it would be my guinea pig, mostly because it was the cheapest bottle in the fridge.

There are so many different flavors of vinegars out there. If you have a favorite kind, give it a try! Just make sure you mix it up beforehand to make sure the tastes work together. I also mixed it with regular white balsamic, but there was something about the pear that gave it a much better flavor.

Pork Chops with Cinnamon-Pear IPA Sauce

- 4 boneless lean pork chops, about 1 inch thick

- 1 1/4 cups of IPA style beer

- 2 Tablespoons of pear infused white balsamic vinegar

- Small vidalia onion, thinly sliced

- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil

- 1 Tablespoon of butter

- salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

Season chops with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and add to the pan. Cook about 3 minutes per side.

Remove chops from heat and set aside. Cover with foil to keep warm.

Add onions to the pan and cook them, stirring often, for about 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan and add to the plate with the chops. Keep covered with foil.

Add the beer, vinegar, and cinnamon to the pan. Whisk for several minutes until the sauce begins to bubble and thicken up.

Once the sauce has thickened, add the onions and pork chops back to the pan. Cover and cook for 3 minutes per side.

As a side dish, I made this Tomato Vegetable Casserole from my Giada deLaurentis cookbook. It was SO good! Definitely a keeper.

As you can see, my sauce was a little thinner than it should be, but that's because I was being impatient. It was still super delicious. Next time, I'll give my sauce a few more minutes. It's definitely worth the wait :)