Apple Pork Chops

Hello loyal follower(s)

     March 25, 2011 Mr Nut blogged about Pork Chops with Vinegar and Sweet Peppers.  The results were very good, however Cyndy did not like the vinegar taste.  Mr nut in his infinite wisdom decided to modify the recipe by using apple juice and sliced apples.  At this point Cyndy said she had a good recipe for Apple Pork Chops.  Thus Mr Nut decided to use it along with the brining of the pork chops from the Pork Chops with Vinegar and Sweet Peppers recipe.
  Everything went smoothly, well almost, until the very end when the master chef stepped in to thicken up the liquid.

The master chef using Wondra to thicken up the liquid in the otherwise finished entrée.

The master chef was really concentrating here, because she knew she would have to eat it.

This wasn't very colorful, but it tasted great, with juicy pork Chops thanks to the brining.

The Sous Chef ready to eat: Pork Chops boiled red potatoes and a salad.



The recipe was easy, even for Mr Nut.



À bientôt,

Mr Nut

Recipe follows:

APPLE PORK CHOPS 

Blog of 4-12-2011 revised February 8,2012

Adapted from allrecipes.com recipe 

and Cook’s Illustrated Magazine: Published January 1, 2008

Serves four

THE 30-MINUTE BRINE. From Cook's Illustrated.  You might be tempted to skip the brining step when preparing pork recipes.  Center-cut chops are quite lean, and left untreated they will be very dry and chewy, even when cooked to medium (an internal temperature of 150 degrees). The salt in the brine changes the structure of the muscle proteins and allows them to hold on to more moisture when exposed to heat. Making the brine super-concentrated, with 1/4 1/4 cup of table salt dissolved in about one quart of water gets the job done in just 30 minutes. 
One exception: If you've bought enhanced chops injected with a salt solution, don't brine them. The injected solution will make the chops moist, even spongy, and brining will make the meat way too salty. 

Totals for this recipe:  84 g Carbs; 861 calories

BRINE INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup sugar for brine

1/4 cup Table or Sea salt for brine

4  loin pork chops, each 3/4 to 1 inch thick and 5 to 6 ounces

23 ounces water

Other INGREDEINTS:

2 tablespoons canola oil.     Carbs 0g; Calories 248 

1/2 cup chopped onion. Carbs  8 g; Calories 32

4 center cut pork chops. Carbs  0 g; Calories 275

1/2 teaspoons Sea salt

Ground black pepper to taste

2 apples - peeled, cored, and sliced. Carbs  56 g; Calories 212

SAUCE: 

2 tablespoons brown sugar. Carbs 18 g; Calories 66

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard. Carbs 0 g; Calories 3

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 cup hot water

Wondra to thicken liquid. Carbs  6 g; Calories 25

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375℉ (takes about 10 minutes)
2. In a small bowl, combine the 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1/8 teaspoon cloves and 3/4 cup hot water.  Set it aside; to be poured over pork chops later. 
3.   Peel and slice the two apples and set them aside (coat with Lemon juice to maintain color if you wish)
4.   Heat the 2 tablespoons Canola oil in large oven proof skillet. Sauté 1/2 cup onion in oil for about three minutes, or until tender, Remove onion and set aside.
5. Brown Pork Chops in the Canola oil, on both sides and set them aside. (about 2 minutes per side)   pepper to taste.
6. Cover the pork chops with the two peeled and sliced apples, the cooked onions and the contents from step 2 over the Pork chops.
7. Cover and bake for about 20 (internal temperature at 140℉) minutes. 

Key to cooking the pork (loin) chops:

 To avoid overcooking, remove the pork chops from the oven when they are just shy of fully cooked (about 140℉), (they continue to cook with residual heat),  and let sit until the pork chops internal temperature reaches 150℉.  After baking use Wondra to thicken the liquid right in the skillet around and between the chops and apples.