Grilled Pork Chops with Balsamic Caramelized Pears

For dinner tonight I tried out a new Pork Chop recipe I have been really excited to make. They turned out SO good I had to post the recipe before I forgot! I actually just found it online and made some minor changes. I was told it tasted like something you would order @ a restaurant! I think thats a pretty good indicator of how good these were! We love pears in this family so I wanted to try using them in a main dish.... Let me know what you think!

GRILLED PORK CHOPS WITH BALSAMIC CARAMELIZED PEARS

Ingredients:

1 1/2 quarts water

4 TBSP kosher salt

2 TBSP sugar

6 pork loin chops, 1/2 inch thick

1/2 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 TBSP fresh rosemary, minced

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 TBSP butter

1 TBSP olive oil

2 vidalia onions, each cut into 8 wedges

2 pears, cored and each cut into 8 wedges

1 tsp. salt

Directions:

In a large bowl stir together kosher salt, sugar, and water. Add pork chops to this brine and let soak for no more than 1 hour (I did 40 minutes). Drain and discard brine. Pat pork chops dry with paper towel.

In a shallow dish or ziplock bag, stir together the olive oil, garlic, and rosemary. Place pork chops in the marinade and turn to coat. Marinate in refrigerator for @ least 1 or 2 hours.

Pour balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. When the vinegar cools it should be the consistency of syrup.

Melt butter and olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and pears; quickly brown, being careful to keep the pear wedges intact. Once the onions and pears are browned, reduce heat to low, and cook for an additional 7 minutes, or until tender. Stir in the reduced vinegar and salt. This can all be prepared to this point ahead of time.

Pre heat grill to medium high.  Cook pork chops for about 3 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. Remove from grill and serve with onion/pear glaze on top of pork. Num, Num, Num.

I served these with garlic mashed red potatoes and pan fried asparagus. It was a great meal!