Cherry Cabernet Glaze for Meat

Cherry Cabernet glaze.... Pretty darned awesome!

Written Method

Peel the garlic, dump all the ingredients into a saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 10 - 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the garlic clove and thyme springs. Transfer to a serving bowl, and serve warm, or room temperature. Sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.

Season pork chops.  Allow them to come to room temperature before grilling.

Peel a clove of garlic, but leave it whole.

"With a name like Smuckers, it HAS to be good!" 1 cup of cherry preserves.

1 cup of Cabernet.  I know... hard to part with!

4 sprigs of fresh thyme.  Do not strip them.  Leave whole so you can fish them out later

Simmer and reduce.

Transfer to a serving dish.  This step also speeds the cooling.  The cherries are like little rubies of goodness in a silky, burgundy liquid gold.

Allow the grilled pork to rest for a few minutes to allow all the juices to redistribute so you'll have juicy meat!

This gives you time to play with your favorite tot while things are simmering and such...

Either spoon the glaze over the meat, or serve in a dipping bowl along with it.

Food notes:

So here is my take on it.  

• The flavors are THE BOMB!!  Sweetened, but complex.  Notes of thyme and garlic are just in the background...lingering on the palate but not boldly upfront or overbearing.  The cherries complement the grape'i'ness (can that be a word today) wonderfully. The spice of the freshly ground pepper was a perfect balance for the sweetness.
• My only criticism, is that it is not as thick as I would ideally have liked.  I don't particularly want my sauce to run over my plate.  I want it to "stick" to the meat where I put it!  (Control issues?)  So next time, I think I'll add a thickener to it or let it reduce longer.  
• The solution du jour... I put some of the sauce in a small condiment bowl and used it as a dipping sauce.  Voila! Problem temporarily solved! :-)