How’s that for a title?

If you remember, about a week ago I wrote that I was going to enter a local recipe contest. While I haven’t heard back from anyone yet (and am sort of doubting I will at all), this recipe is one that I submitted – it wins grand prize in my book! (OK, I’m a little biased…)

I’ve always loved “stuffed” anything – pork, chicken, peppers, cupcakes (?) – and I especially love it when the flavors are savory and sweet. This was an especially fun dish to create, because I was literally going through the fridge and pantry and randomly deciding what ingredients to put together. Have you ever made a dish like that?

In the past, I’ve made different sauces for pork that have things like apple juice, raisins, and cinnamon in them (that was one that my brother said he’d like to just eat – without the pork!), but I wanted to create something a bit different, and really go with that savory/sweet idea.

What ended up happening was just an amazing myriad of flavors that I was more than happy to serve up to my family, submit to the recipe contest, and of course, share with you!

Savory Apple and Onion Stuffed Pork Chops (E, N, GF)
makes 4 servings

– 1 tbsp. unsalted butter

– 2 ½ cups diced apples

– ½ cup diced yellow onion

– Salt and pepper, to taste

– Dash of garlic powder

– ½ cup reduced sodium chicken broth

– ¼ cup dry white wine

– ¼ tsp. dried thyme leaves
– 4 two-inch thick pork chops

– Salt and pepper, to taste

– 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
– 1 ½ cups reduced sodium chicken broth

– ¼ cup dry white wine
– 3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

– 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

Directions:

1. In a 5½-quart Dutch oven, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the apples and onions, and salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Sauté until softened, or for about 7 minutes.
2. Once the apples and onions have softened, add the broth, wine, and thyme leaves. Simmer over medium-high heat until almost all of the liquid has evaporated, or for about 8 minutes.
3. Remove the apple and onion mixture from the Dutch oven, and set aside.
4. Using a paper towel, pat each pork chop dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Using a paring knife, cut a pocket into the horizontal side of the pork chop. (If the chop has fat along one side, cut through the opposite side.)
5. Stuff each chop with about 2-3 tablespoons of the apple and onion mixture. (You will have about a cup of the mixture leftover.) Secure the opening of the pocket with a few toothpicks, so that the stuffing does not fall out. Meanwhile, melt the two tablespoons of butter in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
6. Once the Dutch oven is at medium-high heat, and all of the chops are stuffed, place them in the Dutch oven, and sear on both sides for about 2-3 minutes, or until each side is golden brown.
7. Leaving the chops in the Dutch oven, add 1¼ cups of the chicken broth and a ¼ cup of the wine.
8. Cover, lower heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until pork is cooked through.
9. After pork is fully cooked through, remove it (not the liquid, just the pork) from the Dutch oven to a plate, and set aside.
10. Increase the heat to medium-high, and add the apple cider vinegar and Dijon to the sauce. Whisk, making sure everything is well combined.
11. Simmer for about five minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Pour the sauce into a bowl through a mesh strainer, to remove any imperfections, and to create a smooth, silky sauce.
12. Pour the sauce back into the Dutch oven, and add the remainder of the apple and onion mixture. Remove the toothpicks from the chops, and add them back into the oven.
13. Serve the pork hot with a generous helping of the apple and onion sauce on top, and enjoy!

Other than the fact that it was a “create-as-you-go” recipe that turned out well, I loved it because I got to use my Dutch oven for all of the cooking.

However, if you don’t have a Dutch oven, I think this would work just as well in a deep skillet with a fitted lid. 🙂

This dish is elegant enough to serve special guests on a Sunday evening, but easy enough to make for a fancy weeknight.

Thanks for stopping by!