Emerald City Grilled Pork Chops with Blackberry-Apple Glaze
Thick bone-in pork chops dry-brined in Emerald City Rub, my alderwood-smoked salt and maple blend with lemon thyme, lemon verbena and pink peppercorn, grilled over two-zone heat and finished with a tart Northwest blackberry and apple glaze.
Why It Works
Emerald City Rub is mostly smoked salt and maple sugar, so it doubles as a dry brine: the salt seasons deep into the chop while the sugar builds a caramelized crust. The lemon herbs and pink peppercorn stay bright against the sweet-tart blackberry glaze. Two-zone grilling gets the sear without burning the sugar.
Notes
Starter recipe; adjust to taste. The rub is salty, so skip any extra salt in the brine. Works on pork tenderloin (grill to 140°F, about 15 minutes), ribeyes or chicken thighs. In a pan: sear in cast iron, then finish in a 400°F oven.
RECIPE CARD
Emerald City Grilled Pork Chops with Blackberry-Apple Glaze
Yield: 4 servings | Time: 45 minutes, plus 1–12 hours dry brine
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Ingredients
Pork chops
- 4 bone-in pork chops, 1¼–1½ inches thick (about 12 oz each)
- 2 Tbsp Emerald City Rub (Destiny Dust), plus more to finish
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
Blackberry-apple glaze
- 1½ cups blackberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 Honeycrisp apple, peeled and finely diced
- 1 small shallot, minced
- ½ cup apple cider
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Emerald City Rub
- 1 Tbsp cold butter
To finish
- Fresh thyme leaves and chopped chives
- Flaky salt
Instructions
- Dry brine. Pat the chops dry and season all over with the rub, about 1½ tsp per chop. Refrigerate uncovered on a rack 1–12 hours. The smoked salt seasons the meat and the maple sugar helps the crust.
- Make the glaze. Simmer blackberries, apple, shallot, cider, vinegar, maple, Dijon and 1 tsp rub over medium heat, mashing the berries, 12–15 minutes until jammy. Press through a sieve if you want it smooth. Off the heat, swirl in the butter.
- Set up the grill. Build a two-zone fire: hot on one side, no heat on the other. Alder or apple wood chunks on the coals are a nice Northwest touch.
- Sear. Rub the chops lightly with oil and sear over direct heat 2–3 minutes per side until well marked. Watch for flare-ups; the maple sugar can scorch.
- Finish indirect. Move to the cool side, close the lid and cook until 140°F in the center, 8–12 minutes. Brush with glaze the last 3 minutes.
- Rest. Rest 5 minutes; the chops will carry over to 145°F.
- Serve. Spoon more glaze over, then finish with thyme, chives, flaky salt and a light dusting of rub.
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Schossow Kitchen · schossowkitchen.com
