You need these Grilled Pork Chops with Georgia Peach BBQ Sauce in your life. It’s peach season in Georgia, so peaches are on the menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I grew up in Peach country in middle Georgia and love, love, love me some sweet Georgia peaches.
This issue also shares
- The Best Life Living Tip: Eating with the Seasons
- The Self-Care Technique: Treating News Blues
- Ideas and Inspiration: Family Matters
Read on for more — including how to quick-brine pork chops to ensure they are perfectly cooked, not dry. And, you will LOVE this ginger-kissed deliciousness for the Pork Chops with Georgia Peach BBQ Sauce.
Best Life Living Tip
Eat with the seasons! Food tastes better, is healthier for you, and is often more affordable.
- Peaches are packed with natural goodness, including vitamins A, C, and potassium.
- Peaches are also a good source of the pigment beta-carotene, which gives them their deep yellow color. (Beta carotene is a powerful antioxidant that may help slow the aging process and reduce the risk of some types of cancer.)
- Peaches are an excellent and filling source of fiber.
- One peach is less than 60 calories, cholesterol-free, and fat-free.
- Peaches also provide natural plant compounds called flavonoids, powerful antioxidants, which research suggests may help prevent cancer and heart disease.
How to Pick and Store Peaches
- Ripe peaches are soft to the touch. When cut, look for creamy gold to yellow flesh. The red or blush color on the skin is a characteristic of the variety, not ripeness.
- Avoid green or shriveled peaches.
- Use your nose. Choose peaches with a typical “peachy” scent, slightly sweet and flowery.
- Never squeeze peaches!
- If your peach purchase needs ripening, set them in a single layer on the counter, not stacked, and allow them to ripen for a day or so at room temperature. Once ripe, transfer them to the refrigerator and use within a week.
Self-Care Technique
Do you struggle with the “News Blues?” I know I do. The news has been dreadful. It’s terrifying, and it makes us feel untethered. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless. Here are a couple of things to help you both cope and be productive.
- Know that headlines and media stories are designed to make us click to read more. Media sources and social media platforms want us to stay tuned in.
- Make sure you are reading from trustworthy sources, not clickbait or AI.
- Step away. Delete the app. Turn off the TV. Set up a timer. Do whatever you need to do to keep from doomscrolling.
- After you consume news, do something that energizes you or makes you happy – go for a walk or do some crafting. Be intentional with play and joy.
- Do something. Join a group that aligns with your values, attend a peaceful political event or demonstration, donate, and contact your representatives.
Ideas and Inspiration
I’ve LONG been a fan of Pearson Farm peaches (and pecans!) Check out this longer piece on peaches in Eating Well for more information and recipes.
The Pearson family has been farming in Middle Georgia for five generations, more than 135 years. If you need peaches, give them call or check out their website. I had a friend pieck up a case for me yesterday, and I’ll be making jelly this weekend! Give them a call — you won’t regret it.
Please check them out and make sure to give them a follow on Instagram at @pearsonfarmga
Good and Good for You™Living Spotlight
I wore my “Healthy and Strong” cap this week to an ortho appointment. I kinda second-guessed myself, then thought, “Well, heck! WHY am I worried about wearing my own cap?! If I am reticent about wearing my own gear, then why would I want someone else to wear it?
You have to be your own biggest cheerleader. Only you can do it.
After years of wanting to be skinny, I know what is best and right for me is to be healthy and strong, inside and out. Being healthy and strong inside and out means exercise for physical and mental fitness. You can do it!
How to Brine Pork Chops
Brining—soaking meat, poultry, and shellfish in a saltwater solution—is the key to a juicy, tender result for these Pork Chops with Georgia Peach BBQ Sauce.
Salt causes the food proteins to form a complex mesh that traps the brine so the muscle fibers absorb additional liquid during the brining period. Some of this liquid is lost during cooking, but since the meat is juicier to begin with, it cooks up juicier at the end. Think of a cup filled “over the rim.”
There’s no hard-and-fast rule for brining. But keep in mind that the more concentrated the brining solution and the smaller the piece of meat, the shorter the brining period. Common sense dictates that a turkey is going to take more time to brine than a pound of shrimp.
It’s fairly easy to plan an overnight brine for a holiday turkey, but who has time to do the same for the main course of a weeknight supper? For smaller pieces of meat, my philosophy is to use a strong brine that takes an hour or less as with these pork chops!
Thanks so much for reading! Please follow me on IG @virginiawillis for more best life tips, self-care techniques, ideas and inspiration, and healthy recipes. I hope you like the recipe for Pork Chops with Georgia Peach BBQ Sauce!
Remember, as long as you’re doing what’s Good and Good for You™ more often than not, you’re on the right track. 🙌🏻 You can do it!
Bon Appétit, Y’all!
Virginia Willis
Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Georgia Peach BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 cups boiling water
- 3 cups ice cubes
- 4 bone-in pork loin chops (about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds)
- nonstick cooking spray (EVOO)
- 1 medium Vidalia onion finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 one-inch piece ginger peeled and grated
- 1 ½ cups no salt reduced sugar ketchup
- ½ cup peach jelly
- 2 ripe peaches peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In medium heatproof bowl, dissolve salt and sugar in boiling water, stir in ice cubes to cool. Add the pork chops, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate to marinate, about 30 minutes. Remove from brine, rinse well, and dry thoroughly with paper towels.
- Using a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add the oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 45 to 60 seconds.
- Add the ketchup, peach jam, and peaches. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce thickens, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar, season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, set aside to cool.
- Pour half the barbecue sauce into a shallow baking dish, reserve remaining sauce. Add pork chops, turning to coat both sides.
- Prepare a medium-hot grill or grill pan. Grill chops until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, basting chops with barbecue sauce. Remove from grill, let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve with the remaining sauce.
Nutrition
