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Tarragon and cherries??

post #1 of 4
8/7/06 at 8:42am
Thread Starter 
My husband's out of town so I'm trying to think up something a little special for dinner when he gets back this Friday. I was thinking about browning off some thick-ish pork chops, deglazing the pan with some tarragon vinegar, throwing in some dried cherries and adding some finely diced serrano chile; sort of going for a sweet/sour/hot kind of thing. Then, I'd finish the pork in the oven and use the reduced sauce to glaze the chops with. Or maybe stir a little butter into the sauce and then pour it over the finished chops. The question is: are the cherries and the tarragon going to be complimentary or are they going to be up in one another's face on the plate arguing with one another? Would I be better off using wine vinegar or even a lemon or lime juice as the acid component or..........what? Any/all ideas gratefully received.

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post #2 of 4
8/7/06 at 9:45am
I would venture to say using tarragon vinegar would be quite nice. The dish sounds good. When's dinner?
If you are tempted to use fresh tarragon too, be very careful and use only a little. I have some lovely tarragon running rampant all over my garden and boy, does it have flavor and then some! I can only use 1/2 teaspoon or so fresh in any dish as it really gets up in your face, as you say.
Pretty though, I put it in flower arrangements too.
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post #3 of 4
8/7/06 at 10:20am
The tarragon and dried cherries will work well together. The tarragon vinegar could possibly overpower though so I would probably go fresh. In the past when working with dried cherries, I have had good results using a combination of orange juice and port for deglazing. Another good possibilty would be cherry juice and rice wine vinegar. One thing I learned is to steep the cherries before using them in my sauce and to use the steeping liquid for deglazing. For the chile, a habanero has a wonderful fruity quality before the heat kicks, just be careful though because a little goes a long way. Just throwing out some ideas, I agree with foodnfoto, when is dinner?Let us know what you wind up doing.
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post #4 of 4
8/7/06 at 6:38pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, foodnfoto and cheflayne! Fresh tarragon it'll be--my plant's gone crazy this year, too, as has the rosemary and the Greek oregano. And I'll try the orange juice/port idea next time; it sounds wonderful!

I'd love to use habaneros, but I don't think Mike (or his stomach) would love me if I did. I really like to roast them to bring out that fruity flavor, but they're too hot for him even in small quanitity. Serranos, now, he can handle. Dinner will be whenever he gets home Friday, so which of you is bringing desert? ;)

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