Lavender Pork Chops

Mar 15, 2023 | Recipes

Lavender Pork Chops

with Caramelized Pears

This a savory dish where dried culinary lavender is used in the marinade and toasted cumin seeds add our favorite flavor to the delicious pork rub.

Not everyone in our family is a fan of pork, but everyone loved this tasty recipe! 

This recipe is perfect for winter or anytime of year and comes from The Lavender Cookbook by Sharon Shipley.

Not all lavender can be used for culinary purposes and not all lavender is food-grade, so make sure you are using a culinary dried lavender. Feel free to contact us if you have questions about the lavender you are using.

In this recipe, you will definitely need a spice grinder to very finely grind the lavender and other spices.

Note: Anise seeds are not the same as star anise pods. 

Ingredients

  • Mustard Spice Rub (recipe below)
  • Lavender Marinade (recipe below)
  • 12 pork chops (1 inch thick)
  • 4 Anjou pears, peeled and cut into wedges
  • 1/2 cups (75 g) soft dried figs
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
  • 1/3 cup (2.6 fl oz) pear or apple juice
  • 1 tsp (0.9 g) dried thyme
  • 1/4 cup (17.5 g) sliced almonds, toasted

Mustard Spice Rub

  • 1 tablespoon (6 g) cumin seeds, toasted
  • 2 tablespooons (22 g) brown mustard seeds
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (21 g) coarse sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon (7 g) black peppercorns
  • 3/4 teaspoon (2 g) anise seeds
  • 5 or 6 (9 g) juniper berries

Lavender Marinade

  • 1/2 cup (4 fl oz) port wine
  • 1/4 cup (2 fl oz) lavender or white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon (6 g) lemon zest
  • 1/4 cup (2 fl oz) fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon (6 g) orange zest
  • 1/4 cup (2 fl oz) fresh orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon (15 g) Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup (13 g) finely chopped shallot
  • 1 tablespoon (6 g) grated fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon (5.62g) dried and finely ground culinary lavender
  • 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 1 bay leaf

For the Mustard Spice Rub, toast the cumin seeds in a pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Transfer toasted seeds and the rest of the rub ingredients into a spice grinder. Finely grind. 

Season both sides of each pork chop with the rub. Place in refrigerator for 1-4 hours. 

For the Lavender Marinade, mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. 

Set aside and refridgerate 1 cup of marinade. Season pork chops in remaining marinade and place back in refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight. 

Once meat is ready to cook, preheat oven to 375F. 

Arrange pork chops, pears, and figs on roasting pan and place in oven for 20-25 minutes. 

Once cooked, pour pan juices in a container and set aside. Cover pork chops with foil. 

For sauce, place sugar in a pan and melt over medium-high heat. Try not to stir sugar too much as it melts and browns. 

Add pan juices, pear/apple juice, thyme, and reserved marinade. Stir for 10 minutes until sauce thickens. 

Pour sauce over pork chops and garnish with toasted almond slices. 

Serve, enjoy, and make sure to tell us what you think!

 

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