By Eric Kim
Updated Oct. 10, 2023
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- 4(140)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The bright, sweet-tart flavor of ripe plums comes through in this streamlined pork chop dinner. Cooking the juicy gems into a simple barbecue sauce leads to fun, fruity results. You could add your favorite spices, such as ground cumin, smoked paprika or fennel seeds, or let the vibrant plum aroma shine on its own. This would be great alongside wild rice, roasted potatoes or a big green salad.
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 8bone-in pork chops (½- to 1-inch thick)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Canola or other neutral oil
- 1pound ripe but firm black or red plums, pitted and thinly sliced (see Tip)
- ¼cup plus 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, plus more to taste
- 1small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2tablespoons chili sauce (such as Heinz) or ketchup
- 1teaspoon apple cider or rice vinegar
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
429 calories; 22 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 42 grams protein; 650 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Pat the pork chops dry, then season with salt and pepper. Generously coat with oil.
Step
2
In a bowl, toss the plums with 1 tablespoon brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Set aside to get juicy.
Step
3
Heat a saucepan over medium-high. Add 1 tablespoon oil and the onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium.
Step
4
Add the chili sauce and stir constantly until slightly darker in color, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and cook until reduced, just a few seconds. Add ½ cup water and the remaining ¼ cup brown sugar and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick, 3 to 5 minutes.
Step
5
Stir in the plums and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until the plums are tender and the sauce is thickened to your liking, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and add more salt, pepper and brown sugar as needed. (The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat before serving.)
Step
6
Heat an outdoor grill to high (or heat a stovetop grill pan over medium-high). Grill the pork chops until browned at the edges and no longer pink in the middle, 1 to 3 minutes per side for ½-inch-thick chops and 3 to 4 minutes for 1-inch thick chops.
Step
7
Let the pork rest for a few minutes, then serve with the warm sauce.
Tip
- Plum pits can be stubborn. The best way to pit a plum is to cut it in half lengthwise and twist it to separate the halves. One half should have the pit, and one half should be free. Cut the half with the pit in half again lengthwise and twist the two pieces apart. Do this one last time with the remaining piece with the pit — cut it in half — then twist the two pieces apart. The pit should now be easy to remove from the final piece.
Ratings
4
out of 5
140
user ratings
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Cooking Notes
Ray in Cleveland
I was leery about using plums in a savory dish, but this recipe is awesome! I added a heaping tablespoon of Chinese chili sauce which toned down the sweetness of the plums! A luxurious main course!
Jonathan
I used less brown sugar, just enough to counter the tartness of the plumbs. I peeled the plums, and didn't worry about slicing thinly; more of a chopping action. I made full recipe of sauce, but only a few chops; saved the sauce for some left-over rotisserie chicken.
Albert Macfarlane
The plum sauce from this recipe is too good to restrict to pork. Made with my diminishing bottle of Sriracha, it was delicious with roast chicken or salmon.
Tish
The sauce is fantastic, especially at this time of year when our NYC farmer's market is full of gorgeous plums. I've made it twice as written (easy to adjust the sugar if your plums are sweet), first time serving with pork chops. But then I served it with pan roasted duck breasts which was outstanding. No need to fuss with how you slice the plums and no need to peel them because they break down as they cook. And the more ripe the plums, the sweeter they'll be.
heather
Absolutely delicious and easy. Only scaled back the sugar a hair, otherwise perfect as written. Will definitely be making this again. Served with smashed baby potatoes and a green salad.
Magz
Delicious sauce! Used the mandolin to thinly slice, and the full amount of sugar. Wasn’t too sweet at all, but made sure to use firm plums that weren’t very ripe. Used mae ploy chili sauce. Great recipe
Heather
I didn't have any chili sauce so I used ketchup and added about a teaspoon of sriracha sauce. My daughter gave it a 10 out of 10!
Ferguson
This sauce is great. I'd make it again but use it on salmon or chicken thighs.
James Tatom
The only way this could have been better is with addition of kimchi to the topping, Nocomplaints about the way it is now!
Molly Fuller
delish
Portland
This sauce is outrageously good. Used some of my precious sriracha sauce for chili sauce. It was perfect amount of heat with sweetness from plums. Reduced brown sugar to 2 Tablespoons given comments from other home cooks. Otherwise followed recipe as written. Perfect with grilled pork chops, but would be great with almost any protein.
Drew
Plum sauce was excellent, a bit spicy for the kids when using Srihacha. Served with pan seared asparagus and baby air fried potatoes and paired with Pinor Noir, was a hit.
Jane S
The sauce is too sweet and doesn't pack the punch required to be a good foil for the pork. The answer I feel is to add more ingredients to create a BBQ flavor. I'm going to try this again, omitting the chili sauce, replacing the onion with a medium shallot, adding more apple cider vinegar, some molasses, tomato puree, less sugar, some garlic powder, and chili powder. Then we shall see!
donald
not 100% clear on what chili sauce is but I suspect it has nothing to do with chili, chiles, or Chile. a blander version of BBQ sauce, right?
Joan
Don't bother pitting or slicing the plums. Add whole plums in Step 4 along with all the rest of the ingredients, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove cover and simmer down until thickened. Remove loose stones and serve.
Michelle
A little too sweet, maybe reduce the brown sugar in the future. Also very one note- needs some umami. Char the pork, try adding some spices... mustard? Ours didn't look like the picture, as the plums cooked they released juice and we couldn't get the sauce to thicken much. But overall it was still pretty tasty and simple to make!
shoebender
We can’t remember when we last had pork, but this was an absolute winner all around. We had a bunch of plums and I was looking for something to do with them - this was a great answer. Made as directed with minor addition of a squeeze of sriracha at the end of cooking the sauce.
Laurel
Another great thing to do is to halve the plums and then grill them on an oiled grate for a few minutes. Let cool and then slice as noted.
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