Pork Chops With Sauteed Apples And Grits Recipes

PORK CHOPS WITH APPLES & CREAMY BACON CHEESE GRITS

Steps:

• In a heavy pot, cook bacon over medium heat for a couple of minutes to render fat. Add onions and cook with bacon for a few minutes, or until bacon is chewy and onions are golden brown. Add grits, chicken broth, and water. Stir together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover pot, and cook 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally and making sure the liquid level is okay. If grits begin to get dry, add a little more warm broth.After 30-40 minutes of cooking time, pour in cream. Cover pot and continue to simmer on very low heat for another 30 minutes, or until grits are done. Taste and add salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Remove from heat and stir in grated cheese. Keep warm and serve.

PORK CHOPS WITH APPLESAUCE AND GRITS

Steps:

• For the grits: In a large pot over medium heat, cook the bacon and onions until the bacon is chewy and the onions are translucent, about 1 minute. Pour in the grits and add the chicken broth. Stir together and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 40 minutes. Add the cream and cayenne, stirring them into the grits. Cover the pot and keep cooking over very low heat, stirring occasionally to keep them from sticking, until the grits are tender but still have a bite to them, another 20 to 30 minutes.
• Just before serving, stir in the cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• For the pork chops: Melt the butter with the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Add the pork chops to the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. (They'll finish cooking in the skillet later.) Remove the pork chops to a plate.
• Put the skillet back on the heat, add the Applesauce and pour in the wine and vinegar. Cook until the liquid reduces by half, about 5 minutes. Pour in the maple syrup, stir it in and allow it to come to a bubble. Add the pork chops to the skillet, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for another 20 minutes.
• To serve, spoon a generous helping of grits onto a plate. Lay a pork chop on top of the grits, and then spoon the apples over the top. Be sure to get a little extra pan sauce onto the plate.
• Throw the apples, apple juice and lemon juice into a pan and bring it to the boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat and simmer until the apples are soft, about 15 minutes. Stir through the sugar and mix until melted. Add the cinnamon and stir through.
• Puree the mixture in a food processor, blender or food mill. If not using right away, leave to cool and then refrigerate.

GRILLED PORK CHOPS WITH SAUTEED APPLES, ONION RINGS AND MUSTARD GREENS

Steps:

• There are rubs and there are brines. A brine is a slower process where the rub, sugar and salt are diluted to penetrate the protein and break it down so that the meat is juicy, flavorful and tender after cooked. I love brined pork and chicken, but if I am cooking late and didn't think about it the day before, I will have to do a nice rub on the meat, which is just more concentrated and expedited, and that's what I have here. Pork chops go with so many accompaniments but I do love the acidity of apples or an applesauce with pork chops and the bite of mustard greens. You can use mizuna, or arugula if you cannot find mustard greens. Also, you can put a schmear of hot mustard mixed with a little honey or molasses on the plate instead for the kick. I like onion rings, in general. My other favorite accompaniment to pork chops is kimchee tossed with some fresh fruit such as peaches or plums.
• To cook the pork chops: Grind all the spices together with the sugar and rub all over the pork chops. Set aside for 30 minutes to an hour at room temperature.
• Preheat the grill on high or heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat on the stovetop and preheat the oven to 375 degrees (Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan if cooking in cast iron).
• Cook the pork on one side for 4 to 5 minutes on the grill or in cast iron. Flip over and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes on the grill; if cooking in cast iron, flip the chop and transfer to the oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
• To cook the sauteed apples: In a medium saute pan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar, 1 tablespoon water and a drop of lemon juice. Cook until sugar caramelizes to golden brown. Turn off the heat and add the apple slices and star anise. Return the pan to medium-high heat, stir in the butter and remaining lemon juice. Saute, stirring, for 2 minutes, adding the brandy in the last minute of cooking with a pinch of salt. Simmer briefly to burn off the alcohol and thicken the caramel. Set aside.
• To cook the onion rings: Bring the canola oil to 360 degrees F in a large pot. Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour the buttermilk into a shallow dish or bowl. Dip the onion rings in the flour mixture to dredge, shaking off any excess. Dip in the buttermilk to coat, and then back into the flour mixture. Shake off any excess flour. Working in batches, fry the rings until light golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
• Serve the pork chops with the sauteed apples, onion rings and mustard greens.

PAN-SEARED PORK CHOPS WITH CARAMELIZED APPLES

Steps:

• Pat dry pork chops with paper towels.
• Brush pork chops with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and Italian seasoning.
• Allow the pork chops to rest while you prepare the apples as follows below. This brings pork chops closer to room temperature which will help them sear better.
• I used 2 apples (1 red Gala apple and 1 green Granny Smith apple, for presentation purposes). Core the apples and slice each one length-wise.
• Place sliced apples into a large bowl, add brown sugar, cinnamon, and mix. Let apples sit for about 10 minutes to release juices.
• In a large pan (I used a large stainless steel skillet), heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil on high heat. Add sliced apples (without juice at the bottom of the pan) and cook on high heat for about 3 minutes on one side, checking periodically. After 3 or 5 minutes, flip sliced apples to the other side, reduce heat to medium and cook the apples for another 3 or 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Cook the apples in a single layer, without overcrowding to get a slightly "roasted" appearance. That means you might have to cook apples in 2 batches. Use the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter for the second batch.
• Depending on how hot your stove gets, it might take you less or more time to cook apples, the key is to brown them or even get a slightly "burned" effect. But don't overdo it, remove the cooked apples from the skillet once the apples have this "roasted" appearance.
• Right after you remove the pan with roasted sliced apples from the heat, immediately add honey to the hot skillet - it will make apples sizzle and will caramelize them beautifully, off the heat.
• For best searing results, use a cast-iron skillet. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes to heat it through.
• Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil - the oil should shimmer. Add the pork chops, and cook them on one side for 5 minutes, without moving.
• Reduce the heat to medium, flip the pork chops over to the other side, and cook them on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Cook longer (depending on the thickness of your pork chops) until the pork chops are cooked through.
• Spoon the cooked apples, together with the sauce from cooking the apples, over the pork chops. Top with fresh thyme.

PORK CHOP WITH CIDER GRAVY, SAUTEED APPLES, AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Season the chop with salt and pepper. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the EVOO in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chop until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side, tenting loosely with foil once you turn the chop. Remove the cooked chop to a plate and cover to keep warm. Add the remaining EVOO and the onions and apples. Season with salt, pepper, and the thyme and cook until just tender, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Douse with juice of the 1/2 lemon and remove to the plate with the chop.
• Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to the skillet and when it melts, whisk in the flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, then whisk in the cider and stock. Season the gravy with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes to thicken.
• Serve the chop covered with apples and onions, the gravy poured down over the top, and the muffin alongside.

SMOTHERED PORK CHOPS AND GRITS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper; cook until browned, 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
• Add the red onions to the skillet and season with salt. Cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, stir in the flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bay leaf. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the vinegar, then return the pork to the skillet to warm through.
• Meanwhile, bring 2 1/4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the grits and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, until thickened, 5 minutes. Stir in the cheese.
• Remove the pork from the skillet; discard the bay leaf and stir the parsley into the pan sauce. Serve the pork with the grits. Top with the pan sauce and more parsley.

PORK CHOPS WITH APPLES AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Trim the chops of excess fat. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a 14-inch cast-iron skillet (if you have a smaller one, you'll need to work in batches) over high heat, and then swirl in the olive oil. Lay in the pork chops and don't move them for a few minutes, to assure a good golden sear forms. Turn and brown well on the second side for a total of about 10 minutes. Transfer the chops to a warm plate.
• Swirl the butter into the pan. Add the onion and apples. Saute until the onion slices are lightly caramelized and the apples have begun to soften, about 8 minutes. Stir in the beer or other liquid. Return chops to the pan.
• Cook until the pork is tender, about 15 more minutes (depending on the size of the chops), turning halfway through and covering the chops with the apple mixture. If the apple mixture needs a little thickening, transfer the chops to the warm plate again and simmer the mixture on high for a few minutes to reduce. Serve the chops over rice or mashed potatoes with a large spoonful of the apple-onion mixture over the top.

PORK CHOPS WITH APPLES

Steps:

• In a large skillet, brown pork chops in oil on each side. Season with salt and pepper; remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute onions and apple wedges until crisp-tender. , Combine mustard and brown sugar; brush over chops. Return to the skillet; cook for 4 minutes or until meat juices run clear.