A sweet glaze is a great way to enhance the taste of pork, poultry, sweet potatoes and other vegetables. Heating food coated with a glaze causes the glaze to begin caramelizing, resulting a glossy, flavorful finish.
Cider and maple syrup are “instant glazes,” needing only to be brushed or drizzled on to food nearing the end of its cooking time. Nearly as simple are glazes made with jelly or preserves diluted with citrus juice, vinegar or other ingredients to balance their sweetness. Here are some tips:
– To reduce cleanup when broiling jelly-glazed chops or chicken breasts, spray the broiler rack with vegetable cooking spray before broiling and add half an inch of water to the drip pan to reduce spattering.
– Any of the jelly glazes here complements pork chops. Pork chops placed 3 inches or 4 inches beneath the broiler take 5-7 minutes per side; the chops are safe to eat when they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
– The same procedure will give you beautifully glazed chicken breasts.
Jelly glazes
Use the following procedure for any of the glazes below:
Melt the jelly or other preserves over low heat or in a microwave oven. Then stir in flavoring ingredients. (Note: Chunky preserves melt more readily when they are first pureed in a blender or food processor.) Each glaze makes about 1/3 cup–enough for four to six chops or four boneless chicken breast halves.
– Red currant jelly glaze: good for pork, lamb or veal. Melt 1/4 cup red currant jelly. Stir in 2 tablespoons lime juice and 1 tablespoon slivered orange zest.
– Apricot jam glaze: good for pork, ham or chicken. Melt 1/4 cup apricot jam. Stir in 1 tablespoon Cognac or Bourbon.
– Marmalade glaze: good for pork or chicken. Melt 1/4 cup orange or lemon marmalade. Stir in 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar.
Jelly-glazed pork chops
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
6 loin or rib pork chops, 3/4-inch-thick
1/4 cup red currant jelly
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon slivered orange zest
1. Heat broiler. Melt jelly in a small saucepan over low heat, 1 minute. Stir in lime juice and orange zest; set aside.
2. Place pork chops on broiling pan. Broil 5 minutes; turn. Broil 3 minutes. Brush jelly mixture on top of chops. Broil, glazed side up, until instant-read thermometer placed in center of one chop reads 160 degrees, about 3 minutes.
Variation: For jelly-glazed chicken breasts, follow the same procedure as above, substituting 4 boneless chicken breast halves for the chops and using an apricot jam glaze: Melt 1/4 cup apricot jam. Stir in 1 tablespoon Cognac or Bourbon. Broil chicken until it reaches 170 degrees, about 7-10 minutes per side, depending on thickness.
Nutrition information per serving:
200 calories, 37% of calories from fat, 8 g fat, 2.8 g saturated fat, 55 mg cholesterol, 9 g carbohydrates, 21 g protein, 50 mg sodium, 0.1 g fiber
Spareribs with cider-Bourbon glaze
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
A mixture of cider and Bourbon gives spareribs a pleasing flavor and rich brown sheen.
4 pounds spareribs, cut in serving-size pieces
Salt, freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 cup Bourbon
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Arrange ribs in shallow roasting pan in a single layer, bone side down. Bake 1 hour; pour off all fat in the pan.
2. Blend cider and whiskey in a small bowl; drizzle or brush over spareribs. Return to oven; continue baking about 30 minutes, basting occasionally with pan drippings, until ribs are fork-tender and well browned.
Nutrition information per serving:
865 calories, 69% of calories from fat, 65 g fat, 24 g saturated fat, 260 mg cholesterol, 3.6 g carbohydrates, 62 g protein, 200 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
Maple-glazed sweet potatoes
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Maple-glazed sweet potatoes are good with bacon and eggs at breakfast or as a side dish with turkey or ham. The glazing ingredients used here also complement carrots.
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced 1/8-inch thick
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon each: salt, freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup maple syrup
1. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes; season with salt and pepper. Toss to thoroughly coat potatoes.
2. Lower heat, cover pan; continue to cook, tossing occasionally, until potatoes are just tender when pierced, about 10 minutes.
3. Add maple syrup; raise heat to medium. Cook, uncovered, 5-10 minutes more, tossing occasionally, until potatoes are evenly glazed.
Nutrition information per serving:
300 calories, 36% of calories from fat, 12 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 46 g carbohydrates, 2.7 g protein, 235 mg sodium, 2.8 g fiber
