In addition to those gorgeous Meyer lemons I received from Melissa’s Produce recently, also in the box were these beautiful mini plums!
I hadn’t the slightest idea what to do with them since usually I just eat plums as is. We were having a BBQ that weekend with my friend, Laura, so I decided to do something with them. I started thinking about how much I love plum sauce (the one you use for dipping in Chinese food) but I decided to make a simpler version and pair it with pork chops instead of the traditional apple sauce.
I chopped up the plums, leaving the skin on, and added lemon juice. I cooked this over medium heat and stirred occasionally. I added a few handfuls of sugar since the end result was a little tarter than I wanted it to be. You don’t need to add water since the fruit releases it’s own juices while cooking.
The end result is this bowl of wonderful goodness on the left! It has a bright, beautiful color from leaving the skin on and it thickens up all on it’s own. The lemon juice helps perk it up a little and a the sugar adds a little extra sweetness.
This was our whole spread for the BBQ: potato salad, steamed corn, the pork chops and plum sauce plus fresh watermelon.
I actually ended up adding a lot more sauce on top since it tasted so nice with the pork. It’s a very simple sauce but it allows the flavor of the plum to really shine through. You could totally add additional spices to this to perk it up though if it seems too plain. I had enough leftover to put it on a bagel the next day for breakfast and I think it’d also taste great on top of vanilla ice cream. A very simple, but delicious sauce!
I can’t believe it’s almost August already and that we’re halfway through summer! It’s going by too fast! I haven’t even broken out the mini grill that I bought (intended for more beach grilling that we haven’t even done yet, sheesh).
Here’s the recipe, though I don’t really think you need one for this sauce!
- 12 mini plums (or 5-6 large plums)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
- Dice plums, leaving the skin on and removing the seed.
- Juice one lemon. Add zest as well if you're feeling fancy.
- Add all items above to the pot. Cook over medium to medium high heat. Stir and break up the plums while cooking. Cook and simmer for 15-20 minutes until thickened. Serve hot with pork chops or store in the fridge for other uses. Lasts about 1-2 weeks in the fridge.
Wow don’t think I’ve ever had real plum sauce but I like the stuff that comes in bottles. I imagine this tastes a lot less sweet than the bottle kind? I bet it’d be so good with duck!
Hi J.S. – Yeah, this one is more fruity. The ones in the bottle taste more like a concoction of ingredients and spices haha. This one is the plain and simple kind that just features the fruit. I read recipes that added additional ingredients (like Chinese 5 spice, soy sauce and other stuff) but I wanted to just keep it simple. It is a lot less sweet, too, which I liked. You can better control the sugars this way.
Haha I ate all the plums and the grapes in the box so fast that I didn’t even get a chance to think about what else to make with them… XD All your summer posts makes me tempted to buy a grill!
Hi Jinxi – The real beauty of living here is that it’s grilling season all year long, haha. You must get a grill! I’m hoping to break in our new mini grill this weekend! I didn’t do anything with the grapes but eat them!
Very nice that you made your own plum sauce!!!
Whenever I have porkchops, I am reminded of the classic Brady Bunch episode where Peter Brady uses a Humphrey Bogart accent and says, “Porkchopsh and applesaush”!!!
Hi CC – The plum sauce was so easy, too! I don’t really like applesauce with my pork chops haha. I remember that episode! Did you link to it recently? I feel like you did…
haha, I might have linked to it in a past post, but don’t remember for what and when! for the record, i’ve never had applesauce with pork chops either. the thought of it just grosses me out.
OMG!!! I love this!!! That sauce looks delicious and easy to make. I didn’t think it would ever be that easy to make. Did it taste similar to the plum sauce they give you for the roast pork?
Where did you the the pork? What’s your trick for grilling them without drying em out?
Hi Faye – My plum sauce was a lot less sweet and didn’t have any extra spices so it doesn’t taste quite like the one they give you with roast pork. You’d need to add extra spices and stuff to make it taste more like that sauce – but it’s still good. It’s more “pure” haha. For the pork, I actually brined them in a solution of sugar and salt with lemon and lime juice and the rinds for one hour. Helped keep them moist on the grill + just a quick cook – 5 minutes on each side over medium high heat.