Grilled Balsamic Peaches and Pork
Peach season is still alive and well here in the Southbay. In most parts of the country it’s starting to wind down, but here, there’s a new peach every week. Last week were the August Ladies this week are the O’Henrys. I don’t know what next week will bring, all I know is they’re all delicious and they’ll be around for at least another month.
Sure, in the next few weeks they won’t be as sweet or juicy, but for now, they’re amazing. Right now they’re perfect. I just can’t get enough. While most people see peaches and tend to eat them straight or make a pie or something sweet, I tend to think of savory. That’s not to say that I don’t make pies or bars with the luscious fruit, but every so often I like to change things up and make something for dinner as opposed to dessert.
I’ve already made pasta and chicken. I’ve even made barbecue sauce. But this time I made a pork loin. What does pork loin have to do with peaches? Not only do they go well together, in this instance, they’re both grilled. I know grilling peaches sounds like an odd choice, but grilling fruit gives it a flavor until anything else. The flames from the grill bring out the fruit’s natural juices, making them even sweeter than they already are. It’s almost like eating fruity sugar. So, when you combine those extra sweet peaches with that savory, salty pork loin, you get an unbelievable combination.
I love the combination of sweet and salty. I’ll eat them together or go back and forth from the pork to the peaches and back again. It’s lip smacking amazingness. But then this recipe ups the ante by adding the smokey flavor from the grill. Now, not only do you have sweet and savory, you have smoke. That extra something that pushes this dinner over the top and turns a typical Wednesday night dinner into something really special.
Ingredients
- 6 large peaches, halved and pitted
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 (1-1/2 pound) pork tenderloin
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Place the peach halves, cut side up in a shallow dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon pepper and drizzle with the balsamic vinegar.
- Marinate for 15 minutes before flipping the peaches and marinating for an additional 15 minutes.
- While the peaches marinate, whisk together the remaining pepper, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, Chinese Five Spice, salt and garlic powder together in a small bowl.
- Rub the spice mixture over the entire surface of the pork loin and let it sit while you preheat the grill to 400 degrees F.
- Once the grill is hot, oil the grates and lay the marinated peaches, cut side down on the grates. Cook for a couple minutes, flip and cook for another minute or two until hot. Slice the peaches and set aside. Keep warm in a low oven while you cook the pork loin.
- Grill the loin over medium high heat, turning to cook on all sides, until a thermometer, when inserted, reaches 155 degrees F.
- Transfer the pork loin to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve with grilled peaches.
