Brined Roast Rack of Pork with Apple Chutney and Sour Mash Sauce

Ingredients

• 6 cups water
• 1 container apple juice concentrate, thawed
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 Spanish onion, peeled and quartered
• 10 black peppercorns
• 10 mustard seeds
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 (3 to 4-pound) center cut rack of pork, Frenched and fat removed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups whiskey (recommended: Jack Daniels)
• 5 cups homemade chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus parsley sprigs for garnish
• Apple-Ginger Chutney, recipe follows

Directions

Bring the water, apple juice concentrate, salt, sugar, onion, peppercorns, mustard seeds, thyme and bay leaves to a simmer in a large stock pot and cook until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool completely. Submerge the roast in the brine by placing a plate on top, then cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Season the pork all over with salt and pepper and cook on both sides until golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the pork to a baking sheet and finish cooking in the oven until cooked to an internal temperature of 150 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10 minutes.

While the pork is roasting, add the whiskey to the saute pan that the pork was cooked in, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, and cook until almost completely reduced. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to a sauce consistency. Whisk in the butter, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the parsley.

Cut pork into chops, top each chop with some of the Apple-Ginger Chutney, and drizzle a little of the sauce around the pork chop and over the chutney. Garnish with parsley sprig.

Apple-Ginger Chutney:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 medium Spanish onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

1 cup fresh orange juice

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Increase the heat to high, then add the orange juice, brown sugar, and honey and bring to a simmer. Stir in the apples, allspice, and salt and pepper, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and cook until the apples are soft and the liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Serve with the pork.