Friday, November 4, 2011

HOW DO *YOU* FIX PORK CHOPS?



It’s cold and rainy here in the Great Inland Empire of the Pacific Northwest. I pity the poor fellow who is trying to hunt birds in the desert of the greater Boise area where moisture turns the ground to slick stuff. Give me a cozy fire in the wood stove and a cup of spicy gingerbread tea. And just let me work away, leaving messes in my wake. Last night a sense of shame stole in on me and I unloaded the dishwasher so that I could clear away the day's dirty dishes.

And that brings me to another topic – pork chops. A while back, Leah shared with me “the way” she fixes pork chops. She had written out the instructions for a friend and since she was sending it to him, she thoughtfully included me. We agreed it’s not so much a recipe as “the way” she fixes pork chops. I thought it would be fun to post it and see if some readers also have a favorite way to fix pork chops.


LEAH  RAE’S  TASTY  PORK CHOPS

  • Buy very thick boneless lean pork chops.  Bones in pork chops extend the cooking time.
  • Use an electric skillet or very large skillet with tight fitting lid.
  • Add just enough cooking oil to cover the bottom of pan.
  • Dip chops generously in flour.
  • Brown chops on medium heat on both sides.
  • Reduce heat to simmer and add apple juice (or cider) to nearly cover chops.
  • Cover pan with tight lid and keep an eye on chops, turning at least once.
  • Add more apple juice if necessary.  Don’t let the chops finish cooking without some juice in the pan.  The apple juice around the chops help steam & cook the meat.  If the pan dries out, so will the chops.
  • Use the remainder of the thickened sauce to spoon over chops on the plate.
  • Chops are done when they reach 160º internal temperature.
The apple juice & a tight lid are important for 2 reasons.  The chops are steamed with the lid on and the apple juice adds a nice flavor.  I always use an electric skillet.  You can control the temperature with an electric skillet and the large high lid makes its own atmosphere to cook in.  Time to complete cooking could well be 45 min. or longer.  I usually cook 4 chops at a time in my electric skillet (and they fill the pan).  It’s really 3 simple rules to success: tight lid, steam & slow cooking.
Leah Rae  2011

So, there you have Leah’s way. And, after the friend reported to her, she added this: “[My friend] made the pork chops in October and they were a hit.  He said he used apple juice without sugar and said he wouldn’t do that again.  I never thought to tell him to use apple juice with sugar, because that would make a glaze.  Also I didn’t tell him to add salt & pepper to taste and he didn’t add any s&p because I hadn’t put that in my notes.   It’s fine to add s&p.  Today, I told him my secret weapon.  Sometimes I’ve added apple pie filling when the chops are almost done.  I spread the apples over the chops and cover the pan to warm the apples for about 5 min.  There’s sugar & cinnamon with the apples & that really makes a good glaze.  Good thing I’m not writing a recipe book!”

In reviewing some old email messages recently, I came up with this response I sent to Hallie months ago: “I, too, made pork chops today. First I put Gala apples in the bottom of the crock pot and sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon. Then I placed the browned pork chops. On top I put sweet potato slices and sprinkled brown sugar and cinnamon again. We'll see if it's good. I'll make Chinese cabbage salad and broccoli -- and I guess I should get to it.”

As I recall, that “way to fix pork chops” was really very good and variations on that theme can be found in cook books and online.

Usually when I say I have pork chops for dinner, Mike will volunteer to barbecue them if they aren’t too thin. He trims off all the fat and marinates them with whatever marinade we choose. But, of yore he simply brushed barbecue sauce on them, and that’s still a favorite with me.

My mother’s “way” -- the good old-fashioned “way” of her day, I suppose -- was to brown the pork chops with salt and pepper, then add a little water to the pan and let them steam until tender. In some ways, this brings us back to Leah’s recipe. Leah uses apple juice instead of water. However, Mother didn’t flour the chops.

What’s your favorite “way” to fix chops? KW


8 comments:

Leah said...

Your crock pot pork chops sound great. What a good combination. Bet they were tasty.

On an apple related subject...Today I saw a display of apple cider in the grocery store. I picked up the container & read the label. It was made from honey crisp apples in Idaho!

Kathy said...

Interesting that the apples were from Idaho. Here in the Lewis-Clark Valley, we most often see "Washington Grown" apples. Two weeks ago son Clint in Gooding picked Jonathans, Jona-Golds, and Granny Smiths at a u-pick orchard for 12 cents a pound. He said it was their next-to-last weekend.

Chris said...

Mom often cooked her pork chops in the middle of scalloped potatoes--she'd brown them and then layer them in amongst the potatoes. Lately I've put a rub on ours and then barbecued them. Mmmmm....

Hallie said...

Sometimes I do plain ol' salt and pepper, but recently I've added paprika, too.

Joanne said...

I like to brown with salt, pepper, and garlic powder; then steam them on simmer for about 30 min. Last I make a milk gravy with the brownings after pouring off all but 3 Tb. of the fat and removing the chops. I serve the chops with the gravy and whatever starch I want; Sometimes I reheat the chops up in the pan with the gravy before I serve them with rice or potatoes, steamed carrots and broccoli.

Anonymous said...

I tried the pork chops and apple juice. It went well here - a nice flavor. Another way we like pork chops is baked with rice, onions, bell peppers and cream of mushroom soup. Having the oven on these cool days feels good.

Kathy said...

I have yet to try Leah's "way" with the apple juice. We're having pork chops tonight, but Mike is going to barbecue them. I'll serve with sweet potatoes.

And yes, having the oven on at this time of year does feel good.

Leah said...

When my son leaves from a visit, I give him some chops to take home (Mom's care package). They are frozen and put in heavy zip lock bags. I further wrap them in aluminum foil.

I'm always happy to hear that Brian's luggage made it through the airport scanners without incident. These square packages look like drugs that you see on TV when someone is trying to smuggle drugs on a plane!