Rania's Recipes: Stuffed Pork Chops

Rania Harris stopped by PTL today to show off a delicious stuffed pork chop recipe that you are going to want to try out in your own home!

Stuffed Pork Chops with Apple Compote and Black Pepper Cider Sauce

Sauce:

• 1 cup brown pork stock
• 2 tablespoons apple cider jelly
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns

Apple Compote:

• 2 pounds Granny Smith apples
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons apple cider jelly
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup heavy cream
• Salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste

Pork Chops:

• 4- ½ inch thick boneless pork loin chops, trimmed
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• ¾ cup chopped onion
• ¾ cup chopped peeled Granny Smith apple
• 1 cup cornbread stuffing mix, crushed
• 1/3 cup water

Directions:

Sauce: In a 10-inch skillet, combine the pork stock and jelly. Over medium-high heat, reduce until ½ cup remains. Pour in the cream and reduce just until sauce thickens. Whisk in the butter and the peppercorns and keep warm.

Compote: Peel, core, and quarter the apples. Cut into thin slices. In a 12-inch skillet, melt the butter. Sauté the apples, first over high heat, then over low heat, until soft. Add the jelly and the wine and stir until the jelly melts. Pour in the cream and stir until the apples are coated. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Keep warm.

Pork Chops: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season pork with ½ teaspoon of the thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops to skillet; sauté until cooked through, about 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer pork chops to small baking pan.

Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in same skillet. Add chopped onion and apple and sauté until softened. Add stuffing mix, water and remaining ½ teaspoon of thyme. Stir until water is absorbed and stuffing is moist, about 30 seconds. Mound ¼ stuffing onto each pork chop.

Bake until stuffing is crisp and begins to brown, about 5 minutes.

Divide the compote and place on 4 plates.

Arrange 1 pork chop per plate on the compote and spoon a little sauce over and serve.

Serves 4

Pork Stock

• 4 pounds pork shank pieces or
• 4 pounds pork neck bones or any combo of meaty bones
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 celery stalk in 2-in pieces
• 1 large carrot in 2-in pieces
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees

Put pork bones in a large roasting pan and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Put the pork in the oven and roast until pork is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Turn the bones once or twice so they brown evenly.

Transfer the pork to a large pot and add water to cover by about 2 inches. Drain and discard fat from roasting pan, then put the pan over medium heat. Add 1 cup water and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add this deglazing liquid to the stock pot. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Skim and discard the fat and foam that rises to the surface. Add the onion, celery, carrot, bay, and thyme to the pot and continue to simmer for 2 hours, adding water as necessary to keep the pork covered.

Strain the stock through a fine sieve in a large storage container; discard solids. Set the stock aside to cool completely. Cover and refrigerate for 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Apple Cider Jelly

• 1 gallon unpasteurized apple cider ~ with no additives

Directions:

Place the cider in a large, heavy pot and bring to a gentle boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 2 hours. After about 2 hours, the cider will begin to thicken and coat the back of a spoon. This is the time to pay attention. Keep cooking over a gentle simmer, on very low heat, for another 45 minutes or until the jam begins to thicken and the syrupy mixture comes to about 190 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Our jelly usually takes almost 3 hours to thicken. Let cool and place in a glass jelly jar. Refrigerate. The jelly will keep for several weeks.