Apple and Onion-Stuffed Pork Chops with Orange Gravy
What a mouthful of a title, huh? And the sad part is, there are a lot more ingredients than that to complete this dish! The recipe was inspired by Sunny Anderson from The Food Network, which I happened to stumble across while searching for a stuffed pork chop recipe. Her recipe actually calls for Orange-Pineapple Gravy, but we didn’t have pineapple juice on hand, so we tweaked it. We also didn’t use bacon, and instead used ham. This is more of an intermediate-level recipe that requires a little bit of skill in the kitchen (hence, that’s why I have Daniel).
Moving forward with this and our future posts, we will be including a link at the end of each post that will have the entire recipe in an easy-to-read format that you can print out. This will save you time from copy & pasting from our blog.
Begin by sauteing the stuffing for about 10 minutes: 2 slices bacon (we used ham), 1/2 chopped onion, 4 sprigs of chopped thyme, and 1 tsp fresh sage leaves.
When complete, put the sauteed mixture in a bowl and add 1 diced apple, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp pineapple-orange juice (we used just OJ), and 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon. (We also added cheese!) Season with salt and pepper.
With your 1-inch thick pork chops, cut pockets by slicing horizontally in the side. Stuff each chop with apple mixture. Make sure to season the chops with salt and pepper (we used our 'fleur de sel' salt sample on this one!)
To keep the pork chops closed and the stuffing from falling out, we used toothpicks to hold them in place. You can also use skewers.
Over medium-high heat, add enough oil to coat the pan and sear both sides of the chops until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Then add 1 cup pineapple-orange juice and 1/2 onion cut in wedges around the chops (we only used 1/4 cup of extra juice because we only used 3 chops instead of 4 for this recipe. Too much juice will braise the chops!). Season with salt and pepper. Finally, put the skillet in a 350-degree oven for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chops. Baste 2-3 times with the juice.
To go along with the pork chops, we cut some swiss chard in the backyard and sauteed it with olive oil, garlic, and some turkey stock.
After the chops are done, remove them from the skillet, and add another 1/2 cup of pineapple-orange juice and scrape up the brown bits. Bring the liquid to a simmer and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add some lemon zest and parsley (optional), and pour this sauce over the pork chops.
So there you have it - an interesting twist on stuffed pork-chops that has a ton of flavor and texture. It's nice to go out of your comfort zone and try something completely different.
To view or print-out this recipe, click here: Apple and Onion-Stuffed Pork Chops with Pineapple-Orange Gravy
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