So happy we got to fit in another camping trip this summer. We decided to head back to our favorite spot, Blackhawk Memorial Park.
Not a lot of other campers during this trip so we ended up having 4 huge campsites all to ourselves. Sadly, that meant the mosquito’s only had 1 target….our camp site……and those little bastards were out for blood.
On Saturday morning we all discussed what we wanted to do during the day. We were hoping to hike but the heat and the bugs were making things a bit crumby, so we decided on the next best thing……tour the local New Glarus Brewery!
New Glarus is approximately an hour north of Blackhawk so it’s a great choice for an afternoon activity. As we rolled up to the brewery we were met with rows and rows of hops growing along the brewery entryway. It was a beautiful site. The brewery offers free, self guided tours that I recommend. After the tour, I HIGHLY recommend taking part in their beer tasting. For $3.50 you get to sample 3, 3 oz beers while walking around the brewery grounds. As you sip (or in my case, guzzle) beer you can explore the charming property. Actually, charming doesn’t do the brewery justice. Enchanting and majestic come to mind as you drink in the scenery….and the beer. The backyard of the property has stone steps that lead down different gravel pathways. Along the pathways you’ll find little standing stone structures (where they serve more beer) along with crumbling stone structures you can explore. I felt like a drunken Disney Princess strolling hand-in-hand with my drunken Prince Charming husband, as our beer drinking wishes came true.
THEN!!! I DOUBLE HIGHLY recommend stopping in the brewery’s storehouse to purchase some beer before you go. You can get a case, six-pack, ect, of your favorite New Glarus beer. You can get all the same kind or mix-and-match to your liking. All and all it was a wonderful time and I’m looking forward to going back.
After a nice day of walking and touring the brewery, we arrived back at the campsite and promptly made cocktails and a campfire. Fall camping equals warm bourbon and apple cider drinks in my mind, but the weather didn’t offer the fall weather I was hoping for. It was hot during the day…..real hot…..and even though it was cooler at night, it wasn’t cool enough to warrant warm cocktails.
Since we had an abundance of bourbon and apple cider, we wasted no time making it into a wonderful sauce for our pork chops!
I knew I would be cooking the chops over the campfire, but I decided to start the chops in the same pan I would be making the sauce, so I could get some good pork choppy goodness into the apple/bourbon sauce.
So I started out by searing the pork chops, on both sides, in a pan over a butane stove. Note, you are only looking to color the chops, you do NOT want to fully cook them, that is what the campfire is for! Of course, I will not judge you if you want to finish cooking the chops in the pan. It’s all good in my opinion.
Once I seared the chops I finished cooking them over the fire. Nothing beats cooking meat over a campfire.
While the chops were cooking, I started the sauce in the same pan that I seared the chops. The pork chop drippings gave the sauce extra, amazeball, flavor!
- 2 bone in, fresh pork chops
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup apple cider
- ¼ cup bourbon
- 1 shallot, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Bourbon Scotch Beer Jelly (optional, or use a tablespoon of honey, optional)
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 1 small beef bouillon cube, or half of a large one (optional)
- Few drops of hot sauce (optional)
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- salt and pepper
- Build a good sized fire until you have red hot coals beneath the wood. Let the fire die down enough where a campfire grill can be placed over the flame. This can take over an hour so be sure to start the fire a couple hours before you plan to cook.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops. and drop them in the skillet. Brown the pork chops on both sides. Important: you are not cooking the pork chops all the way through. The sole purpose of browning the chops in the skillet is to add extra flavor to the sauce.
- Once the chops are browned on both sides, place them on the grill over the fire until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degress. (145 is medium which is perfectly safe), which should take 5-20 minutes (it depends on the heat of the fire) otherwise you can grill them until you reach the temp you desire. Once the chops are finished, place them on a plate and tent them with foil and set them aside.
- While the chops are on the campfire grill, start on your sauce. Heat another drizzle of olive oil in the skillet.
- Add the garlic and shallot and cook for a minute, stirring constantly (you don't want the garlic to burn).
- Now add your bourbon. The pan will sizzle like a crazy beeotch, that's normal. Give it a stir.
- Now add the apple cider, soy sauce, mustard, a few drops hot sauce (if using) and jelly (if you are using). Whisk it all together so the sauce is nice and smooth.
- At this point, I tasted the sauce for seasoning, I added additional soy sauce until I reached the level of saltiness I wanted.
- Turn down the heat to medium low and let the sauce reduce by half, should only take 5-10 minutes. Before you are ready to serve, add a tablespoon of butter and whisk into the sauce.
- Spoon the sauce over the cooked pork chops and enjoy!!
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops. and drop them in the skillet. Brown the pork chops on both sides. Important: you are not cooking the pork chops all the way through. The sole purpose of browning the chops in the skillet is to add extra flavor to the sauce.
- Once the chops are browned on both sides, put them on cookie sheet lined with tin foil, and bake them in the oven until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degress. (145 is medium which is perfectly safe), which should take 5-10 minutes, otherwise you can bake them until you reach the temp you desire. Once the chops are finished, tent them with foil and set them aside.
- While the chops are in the oven, start on your sauce. Heat another drizzle of olive oil in the skillet.
- Add the garlic and shallot and cook for a minute, stirring constantly (you don't want the garlic to burn).
- Now add your bourbon. The pan will sizzle like a crazy beeotch, that's normal. Give it a stir.
- Now add the apple cider, soy sauce, mustard, a few drops hot sauce (if using) and jelly (if you are using). Whisk it all together so the sauce is nice and smooth.
- At this point, I tasted the sauce and thought something was missing. I ended up using my citrus zester and grated the beef bouillon cube, into the sauce, a little at a time. I did end up using the entire cube (which was small). If you don't have bouillon cubes available, add additional soy sauce or salt until you reach the saltiness you desire.
- Turn down the heat to medium low and let the sauce reduce by half, should only take 5-10 minutes. Before you are ready to serve, add a tablespoon of butter and whisk into the sauce.
- Spoon the sauce over the cooked pork chops and enjoy!!
Delicious and easy! Used the oven method, and boneless thick pork chops, so go by internal temperature, not time. Used 1/2 the amount of garlic and it was plenty for us.
Awesome! I’m so very happy you liked it!!! Have a Happy New Year!