Peachy Blueberry Salsa with Grilled Pork Chops – to celebrate fresh peach season

Fresh southern peaches have arrived in our markets and that’s always a reason to celebrate at our house. Peach season is relatively short, so we try to incorporate fresh peaches into as many dishes as we possibly can. The recipe I’ve featured today is, for me, all about the fresh peaches.

Sweet juicy peaches combined with fresh blueberries and hot pepper jelly make for a sweet and spicy condiment for grilled bone-in pork chops, but would also be excellent on a cheese tray spooned over goat cheese or creamy Brie and served with a crisp white wine.

You've probably noticed that I use spicy fruit salsas often in my kitchen and although I've talked about it in the past here, I thought new readers might be interested in how that came about. I fell head-over-heels in love with spicy fruit salsas  when they were served with a fresh tuna roll at Little Moir's Food Shack, a very popular fish joint in Jupiter, Florida. I had never tasted anything like it before - the salsas were sweet, spicy, and hot all at the same time and burst in my mouth with fabulous new-to-me flavors. Mike Moir, the owner of The Food Shack, says his food is "a simple twist of taste," but I call it falling in love with incredible flavor combinations. Spicy, sweet, and hot salsas are a "party in your mouth." I hope you'll fall in love with them as much as I have.

I’ve broken down today's recipe into three parts – peachy blueberry salsa, grilled pork chops, and the all-purpose pork brine because all three recipes are worthy of standing-alone.

But first the peachy blueberry salsa – my favorite part of this meal of course.

Peachy Blueberry Salsa
Adapted from Southern Living, makes about 3 cups
Printable Recipe

1 large peach, or 2 small peaches
1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons hot pepper jelly (I used red)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 small shallot, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Peel and dice one large or two small peaches. Coarsely chop half of the blueberries and leave the remainder whole. Set aside with the diced peaches. Combine the hot pepper jelly, olive oil, zest and juice of 1 lime in a large bowl and mix well. Add the peaches, blueberries and remaining ingredients and stir carefully. Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 24 hours. Best in my opinion served immediately. Salsa is perfect as a condiment for grilled pork chops or chicken and also excellent on a cheese tray with goat cheese or Brie.

Grilled Pork Chops with Peachy Blueberry Salsa
Adapted from Southern Living – serves 4
Printable Recipe

4 - 1 ½” thick bone-in pork chops (about 3 ¼ pounds total)
All purpose pork brine, recipe below
1 tablespoon oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Peachy Blueberry salsa, recipe above

Place chops and brine in a large zip-lock plastic freezer bag and chill for 8 hours. It’s smart to place the freezer bag in a shallow dish to prevent spills.

Remove the chops from the brine and discard brine. Let pork come to room temperature, about 30 minutes, and pat dry. Light one side of the grill, heating to 350 to 400 degrees F (medium-high), leaving the other side unlit. Brush pork chops with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place pork over lit side and grill, covered with grill lid, for 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to unlit side and grill, covered with grill lid, 8 to 10 minutes on each side or until meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 150 degrees F. Remove from heat and let stand 4 minutes. Arrange pork on serving platter and top with peachy blueberry salsa. Serve right away.

All-Purpose Pork Brine
Adapted from Southern Living, yield 1 ½ quarts
Printable Recipe

1 ½ quarts hot water
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons freshly ground (coarse) black pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 bay leaves
½ of large lemon, sliced

Stir together all of the ingredients in a large stockpot until salt and sugar dissolve. Let stand 1 hour.

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, and Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes.    

Have a great weekend everyone.