With summer waning in Chicago, today I'm hungry for fall foods and that usually means pork with apples. Last year I shared my recipe for Cider-Braised Pork Roast but cooking that is a relatively long affair, as it usually a pork shoulder/butt and needs to be slow cooked for the meat to tenderize.
Ingredients
Ground Spice Mixture
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Pork Chops and Sauce
1 1/2 pounds thin cut boneless pork chops
or substitute 6 4 ounce 1/2 inch chops
2 large apples, gala of fuji preferred
2 tablespoons butter
all-purpose flour, for dusting
10 sliced mushrooms
or substitute a small can of sliced mushrooms
2/3 cup apple cider (or hard cider)
or substitute 1/3 cup boiled cider reduction
2 tablespoons boiled cider reduction
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons corn or potato starch
2 tablespoons cold water
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon Calvados, apple brandy or Cognac
chopped parsley and/or chives for garnish
Instructions
Combine all of the ground spice mixture ingredients. Rinse and dry the pork chops. Season the chops with the spice mixture, setting aside about 1/2 teaspoon for later use. Place chops on a platter, cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
Peel, core and slice the apples, cutting each apple into 12 pieces. Over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet large enough to hold all of the pork chops. Add apple wedges in one layer and brown on one side, about 2-3 minutes. Turn them individually and brown on the other side for 1-2 minutes. Apples should be cooked through but still firm. Remove apples carefully from skillet to a bowl or plate and keep lightly warm.
Add remaining tablespoon butter to pan and swirl to melt. Dust pork chops with flour, and place in skillet and brown for about 3-5 minutes per side (thin chops 3 minutes, thicker 5 minutes). Adjust heat if necessary to keep pork from cooking too quickly. Remove chops and keep warm on a platter in a low oven. Wipe out the skillet.
Add the cider to the pan and place over medium high heat and reduce until thickening. (If substituting boiled cider reduction, skip this still and just warm it gently.) Add mustard and chicken broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Combine corn or potato starch with water in a small dish. Add to the sauce and stir in with wire whisk until the sauce thickens. Turn heat to low and stir in cream, remaining spice mixture and the Calvados (or apple brandy or Cognac) if using. Stir for 1-2 minutes until well combined.
Spoon the sauce over the chops, then spoon on the apples and garnish.
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This year I needed a recipe that would be much more quickly prepared. So I found this one from New York Times Cooking. I've made a few adjustments and switched it to thin cut pork chops, but you could use chops that are 1/2 or a bit thicker if you prefer.
Apples and pork go so well together. With the addition of apple cider or cider reduction (or even apple butter) you can amp up the apple flavor, which I've done in this recipe. I'm using ground spices but you can always grind your own if you prefer. I'm also using Calvados, which is an apple liquor that comes from northern France. You can substitute as noted or skip the alcohol all together if you prefer.
Ingredients
Ground Spice Mixture
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Pork Chops and Sauce
1 1/2 pounds thin cut boneless pork chops
or substitute 6 4 ounce 1/2 inch chops
2 large apples, gala of fuji preferred
2 tablespoons butter
all-purpose flour, for dusting
10 sliced mushrooms
or substitute a small can of sliced mushrooms
2/3 cup apple cider (or hard cider)
or substitute 1/3 cup boiled cider reduction
2 tablespoons boiled cider reduction
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons corn or potato starch
2 tablespoons cold water
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon Calvados, apple brandy or Cognac
chopped parsley and/or chives for garnish
Instructions
Combine all of the ground spice mixture ingredients. Rinse and dry the pork chops. Season the chops with the spice mixture, setting aside about 1/2 teaspoon for later use. Place chops on a platter, cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
Peel, core and slice the apples, cutting each apple into 12 pieces. Over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet large enough to hold all of the pork chops. Add apple wedges in one layer and brown on one side, about 2-3 minutes. Turn them individually and brown on the other side for 1-2 minutes. Apples should be cooked through but still firm. Remove apples carefully from skillet to a bowl or plate and keep lightly warm.
Add remaining tablespoon butter to pan and swirl to melt. Dust pork chops with flour, and place in skillet and brown for about 3-5 minutes per side (thin chops 3 minutes, thicker 5 minutes). Adjust heat if necessary to keep pork from cooking too quickly. Remove chops and keep warm on a platter in a low oven. Wipe out the skillet.
Add the cider to the pan and place over medium high heat and reduce until thickening. (If substituting boiled cider reduction, skip this still and just warm it gently.) Add mustard and chicken broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Combine corn or potato starch with water in a small dish. Add to the sauce and stir in with wire whisk until the sauce thickens. Turn heat to low and stir in cream, remaining spice mixture and the Calvados (or apple brandy or Cognac) if using. Stir for 1-2 minutes until well combined.
Spoon the sauce over the chops, then spoon on the apples and garnish.
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