Pork Ribeye Steaks with Wine-Macerated Dried Cherries
The pork ribeye steaks used in the video above are essentially pork rib chops. You can use bone-in or boneless chops, slicing to serve as they do at Sorrento’s, or you can serve the chops whole. The restaurant serves the pork over a bed of sautéed asparagus, which you can do as well. Plan ahead for the few hours needed to soak the dried cherries in red wine.
The chef uses two types of seasoned butters, one with fresh herbs, the other with citrus juice and garlic. You can make either in larger quantities to have on hand for tossing with steamed vegetables or topping steak or fish. The butters should be refrigerated and used within a week, or frozen for a month or two.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup dried dark cherries
- 3/4 cup Barbera or other robust red wine
- 2 thick-cut pork ribeye steaks or pork rib chops
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons minced shallot
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/3 cup veal demiglace or beef stock
Herbed Compound Butter
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 teaspoon minced chives
- 1 teaspoon minced flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon minced thyme
- Pinch salt
Hotel Butter
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
- Pinch salt
- Couple grindings black pepper
Directions
- Combine the cherries and red wine in a small bowl. Set aside to macerate until the cherries have plumped, about 2 to 3 hours, depending on how dry the cherries are. Drain the cherries and put them in a small bowl, reserving the wine as well.
- For the herbed compound butter, combine the butter, herbs, and salt in a small bowl and stir until thoroughly blended. For the hotel butter, combine the butter, juices, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and stir until thoroughly blended (if you have a hard time incorporating all the juice into the butter, don’t worry; simply pour extra juice into the skillet when adding the butter). Refrigerate until needed.
- Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper. When the skillet is hot, add the oil, then add the pork and brown well, about 2 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to medium and add the herbed compound butter and the rosemary sprig. Use a spoon to baste the meat a few times as it cooks for 2 minutes longer, turning the pork once.
- Add 1/2 cup of the reserved maceration wine to the skillet and baste the meat with it, cooking until the wine is nearly reduced to a syrupy consistency, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the pork and add the shallot and garlic, stirring for about 1 minute. Add the demiglace and reduce for about 2 minutes, turning the pork halfway. Add the hotel butter, stirring until it is fully melted. Check the pork for doneness, minimum 145°F in the center or just light pink when cut into, cooking a bit longer if needed (add a bit more demiglace or stock if not much liquid left). Transfer the pork to a plate, cover, and set aside for a few minutes.
- Add the drained cherries to the skillet with any accumulated soaking wine in the bowl and simmer gently to heat through for 1 to 2 minutes. The sauce should have a nice coating consistency, simmer a bit longer if needed. Remove the rosemary and taste the sauce for seasoning, adding more salt or pepper to taste.
- To serve, cut each of the pork chops into slices and arrange them on warmed plates, or serve the pork chops whole. Spoon the cherries and sauce over, and serve right away.
