A popular restaurant serves a "Jack Daniel's" pork chop that sounds better than it really is. The concept, however, sounded good enough that we wanted to perfect it at home.
For our Tennessee-Whiskey Pork Chops recipe, we started by making a whiskey-flavored marinade, then steeped the chops in it for at least one hour prior to cooking. The marinade also served as the base for the sauce. We cooked the chops in a hot skillet, then used the same pan to prepare the sauce to maximize flavor and save on dishes. The browned bits left behind by the chops in the pan added deep, meaty flavor to the sauce. Center-cut, bone-in pork chops were the best bet. The bone added valuable flavor to the meat and protected it from drying out. Allowing the cooked chops to sit in the pan in the finished sauce for a few minutes before serving ensured the meat absorbed the sauce. Bourbon tasted fine, but we think it's worth purchasing the real deal—Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey—for this recipe.