Last night husband Martin and I were feeling a bit restless--nothing that an ale at the Verdugo couldn’t fix. The Verdugo is our (somewhat) local bar. It has an awesome selection of craft beers on tap, and really, is there anything as good as a good beer on draught? Beer geeks LOVE this place – it has Pliny the Elder, Craftsman, Sour Beers, Belgians, stouts, meads – you name it – on tap. Dudes love the place because the bartenders are pretty, and there is a flat screen t.v. at the bar, where if you ask nicely, they will turn on the ball game. Chicks love the place because, er, the beer is so fine? Also, if you happen to have unenlightened friends who don’t appreciate fine beer, there is a full bar.
So last night perusing the beer list, we both fixed on Aprihop by Dogfish Head. We requested a small taste (they will let you do that!) and we both ordered a pint. Dogfish is an interesting brewery. It’s in Delaware and there was an entertaining article about it in the New Yorker a couple of years ago. Unbeknownst to us, Bryant Goulding, Dogfish’s West Coast Regional Sales Manager was sitting a few seats down, and we got to chat him up about the beer and brewery.
Aprihop, as the name implies, is brewed with fresh apricots and lots of hops. I don’t usually like fruit beers, they tend too sweet. I like my beer to taste like beer, and not sodie pop, but apricots are such a sweet-sour fruit, and the beer is subtly flavored with the more aromatic and tangy notes of the fruit, rather than the fruity sweetness. There is also a wonderful balance of citrusy hops. The brewery refers to Aprihop as a fruit beer for hop heads. Indeed! My only complaint: it’s their seasonal beer for Spring, not summer, and I would love to pair the beer with some grilled pork chops with apricots. I guess I will have to put a six-pack, I mean four-pack (Dogfish beers come in fours, so that you won’t notice how spendy it is), aside for a month or two.
Here is the recipe in case you want to do the same.
Grilled Pork Chops with Apricots
I like to use thin pork chops, because they cook quickly and you get more of the grilled herb and spice flavor per bite.
4 servings
4 pork loin chops, about 1/2-inch thick
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
6 ripe apricots, cut in half, pitted
Olive oil
Prepare the barbecue (medium heat). Rub both sides of the pork chops with 1 tablespoon marjoram, garlic and allspice. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Brush the apricots lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the pork until it is browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Grill the apricots until just tender, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer the pork chops to a platter; surround with the apricots. Sprinkle with remaining marjoram and serve.
Jeanne Kelley is an established food writer, recipe developer and food stylist based in Los Angeles, California. Integrating locally grown produce with globally influenced flavors, Kelley’s approach to cooking is both simple, festive and fresh. Her recipes can be found in her latest book is Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes: Recipes from a Modern Kitchen Garden