Recently when I was at the National Cornbread Festival I came across a booth that was selling Muscadine Juice. Not wine…JUICE! I was so thrilled…and then I tasted it. OhhhMyStinkinHeck, that is the best stuff I think I have ever put in my mouth. As a kid I can remember being at my grandparents house picking fresh muscadines off the vine, popping the whole thing in my mouth and sucking the fruit out of the shell. Once we would do that we would always such the juice out of the shell and just relish in that little bit of heaven. See, that was the best part. Don’t get me wrong, muscadines are great, but that little bit of juice left in the shell after you remove the grape, you just can’t get much better. And THAT is exactly what this juice tastes like! I came home with 4 bottles of it…and I know realize that wasn’t enough. You can read more about Post Muscadine Juice HERE, and no, this isn’t a sponsored post, it is just really that good. Anyway…a few days after I got home I was on the phone talking with my friend Chef Lewis and telling him about my find. As I was happily telling him that it is 100% Juice AND alcohol free and how all I had ever seen before was Muscadine Wine and I sure had missed Muscadines because A.) My grandparents both passed away years ago and I no longer have access to the vines and B.) I quit drinking 16 years ago so I don’t drink the wine variety…well, his wheels started turning and immediately went to food…as most of our conversations do. He said that I should find some Muscadine Jelly and make a reduction sauce out of it and some of the juice. Ohhh, what a genius idea that was…and I had to try it.
The juice is going to be hard to find, unless you scored some at a recent festival or live in Arkansas, but if you drink, you can use a muscadine wine and if you don’t you could just use grape juice. The jelly came from Delano Farms in Delano TN. Delano Farms in a community farm run by Mennonites and they have a market on site that you can buy their fresh grown produce, baked items, canned goods and handmade items. Along with the sweetness of the muscadines, add a little spice with some seasonings of your choice. I used Luzianne Cajun Seasoning.
Add a tablespoon or two of oil to an iron skillet, sprinkle the chops with the seasoning and brown on both sides.
While your pork chops are browning get your sauce reducing.
Once they chops are browned, reduce the heat to a medium low and baste with the Muscadine Glaze. Turning and basting several times until completely cooked through.
Plate and baste with any glaze still remaining.
Iron Skillet Pork Chops with Muscadine Glaze
Pork Chops (enough for your crowd)
Cajun Seasoning
Muscadine Juice or Wine
Muscadine Jelly
Season both sides of pork chops with cajun seasoning. Brown the chops in an iron skillet on medium-high heat. Once browned reduce the heat to a medium-low. Baste the pork chops with the muscadine sauce, turning and basting several times until the pork chops are cooked through.
Muscadine Sauce
1 cup muscadine juice or wine
1 cup muscadine jelly
Bring the juice/wine and jelly to a boil, then reduce heat to just a simmer. Allow it to simmer until it is reduced by half.
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