• 4 T-bone pork chops (10 ounces each)
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 5 juniper berries
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 4 sage leaves
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 head garlic

1. Combine 1 gallon water with salt, sugar, allspice, juniper berries, peppercorns sage leaves, bay leaves and garlic in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool. Place chops in the brine and marinate, refrigerated, overnight. 2. One hour before cooking, remove chops from bring, pat dry and place in the refrigerator to air dry.

3. Broil or grill pork chops for 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve warm with onion confit (recipe follows).

Onion Confit

1 teaspoon olive oil or butter
4 cups onions, white, yellow or red, thinly sliced
1 cup red wine
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
1 teaspoon chestnut honey
Plain honey, as needed
Salt and ground black pepper

1. Heat oil or butter in a 2-quart stockpot and add onions. Cook for 2 minutes, then stir and continue to cook gently, stirring occasionally to keep onions from coloring.

2. When onions are wilting and beginning to give up their juices, add the wine, molasses and both honeys. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until onions have absorbed most of the moisture but are still juicy, about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.