Stuffed Pork Chops

February 19, 2022 / toothpicktales / 6 Comments

I like stuffed pork chops but, it seemed that every time I made them I over-baked them, to the point where they were dry and tough and the stuffing fell out of them while they baked. I butterfly cut the chops, making a long, deep cut into the meat, which made them easy to stuff but, not very pretty when they made it to the table.

This recipe calls for piercing a small hole into the side of the pork chops and maneuvering a knife inside of the chops to create a large cavity. The pork chops were seared on both sides and then baked in the oven, covered, to help keep the meat moist and tender.

Prep time can be reduced, if you are in a hurry, by using prepared breadcrumbs, rather than making them from scratch.

Ingredients:

3 Tbs butter (divided)

2 Tbs olive oil (divided)

French bread (6 inch loaf)

1 green onion, chopped fine

2 tsp dried sage

2 tsp dried thyme

1 egg, lightly beaten

4 thick cut, bone-in, pork chops

Directions:

Cut French bread into ¾” slices

Melt one tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter.

Brush bread slices with the melted butter and olive oil.

Toast the bread on a parchment paper lined backing tray in the oven, at 300° F. Remove when bread has toasted and begins to turn golden brown.

Allow the toast to air dry for a few minutes.

Crush the toasted bread, to make breadcrumbs. Combine breadcrumbs with green onion, sage, thyme and egg. Set stuffing mixture aside.

Insert a small, sharp knife into the center of the edge of a pork chop (opposite side of the bone.)

Cut a semicircle through the meaty part of the pork chop, while working the knife back and forth, using the insertion point as the center of the radial cut (see visual aid, below.) Turn the knife blade to face the opposite direction and make another radial cut, to complete the cavity.

Remove the knife and pack stuffing into the cavity. Try to fill the entire cavity with stuffing. Repeat the process with the remaining pork chops.

Sprinkle salt and cracked, black pepper on both sides of the pork chops.

Preheat oven to 350º F.

On the stove top, bring a large oven-proof skillet to medium/high heat. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot, lay the pork chops in the skillet and sear for three minutes. Turn the chops over and sear for another two minutes.

Add dollops of butter to the tops of the pork chops, (about two tablespoons of butter.)

Cover the skillet with aluminum foil.

Bake the covered pork chops for 30 to 35 minutes in the oven. Check the internal temperature of the pork chops. It should reach 145º F. Remove the skillet from the oven and remove the aluminum foil. Allow the pork chops to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve the pork chops with anything you like. Mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, cooked greens, apple sauce or, macaroni and cheese would all make great side dishes.

I served the pork chops with potatoes au gratin.

Savory Orange Glazed Pork Chops

July 18, 2021 / toothpicktales / 8 Comments

I like versatile recipes, such as this one. Many of the components in this recipe can be substituted with other items. Apricot jam can be replaced by orange marmalade or apple jelly. I guess you could even use grape jelly or plum jelly. Pork chops can be replaced by chicken breasts, thighs or legs, with or without bones. Mustard can be any type you like, or you could use horseradish. Use any combination of herbs that you happen to have, dry or fresh. Grapefruit could replace oranges, etcetera.

Substitutions allow this recipe to become whatever you want it to be, within reason. Just don’t lose sight of the concept of sweet and savory.

A sweet and savory dish should contain certain flavor elements. Choose a fruit that is sweet but also a little tart. Include herbs that are fragrant and rustic. Add something with a sharp, pungent flavor, like mustard, and you are on the right path.

Any time I use substitutions in a recipe I take a moment to consider if the various elements will be harmonious and, most importantly, I taste as I go. I will taste a sauce before adding it to the rest of the dish, even if that means cutting off a small piece of the cooked meat and dipping it in the sauce, to sample the flavor.

Ingredients:

Juice from 2 oranges

2 Tbs apricot jam

1 Tbs Dijon mustard (or whole grain mustard)

1 Tbs soy sauce

1/2 tsp hot sauce

2 Tbs cooking oil

1 Tbs butter

4 pork chops (boneless or with bones)

A pinch of salt and black pepper

2 or 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp sage

1 onion, julienne cut

1 bell pepper, sliced thin

¼ cup orange zest

Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

Add orange juice, apricot jam, soy sauce, hot sauce and mustard to a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir to combine and keep stirring until it begins to bubble and boil. Reduce heat and simmer for another 10 minutes. Set sauce aside.

Heat a large oven-proof skillet over high heat. Add two tablespoons of cooking oil to coat the pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the pork chops. Add the pork chops to the hot pan. Add a tablespoon of butter to the pan. Sear the chops on both sides until they are browned.

Add onion and bell pepper to the pan.

Squeeze the juice from one half orange over the pork chops.

Add the prepared sauce.

Add the herbs and spices.

Add the orange zest.

Mix to combine and simmer at medium heat for 15 minutes.

Bake in the oven at 425° for 10 minutes. (20 minutes if using bone-in chops)

Remove from the oven and add lemon juice.

Spoon cooked rice on a serving platter, leaving a well for the pork chops.

Arrange the pork chops on top of the rice and garnish with fresh rosemary.

“Something for Dinner”

September 8, 2019September 8, 2019 / toothpicktales / 2 Comments

I know when I’m over a cold when I start thinking about food again.

I have been working overtime at work, which means waking up at 4:00 am and getting home around 5:00 pm. That doesn’t leave much time for dinner preparation and relaxing before going to bed.

I was on my way home, enjoying the rush hour traffic, when it dawned on me that I had not gone to the grocery store recently and I didn’t know what I would make for dinner. So, I stopped off at the grocery store and started thinking about what was in my refrigerator and what I might buy for dinner. I knew I had some cooked white rice at home. White rice is like a blank canvas. Anything is possible when you have rice.

Since I didn’t have a clue about what I was going to buy at the store I decided to look for good deals on vegetables and meat and let that be my guide. The first low-priced vegetable I found were Brussel sprouts. I’m not a huge fan of Brussel sprouts but I stuck with my plan and picked them up. I found some whole button mushrooms at a really good price and I grabbed those. I still had fresh tomatoes from the garden and I had onions and garlic at home. So, the vegetables were a done deal.

I went to the meat case and found a good deal on center cut pork chops. They looked good and the price was very good. I spent less than $8.00 for everything and it was enough food to make a meal for 4 to 6 people.

For the rest of my trip home I thought about what I would do with all of this stuff. I started thinking about pork schnitzel, which got me thinking about paprika. I love a good schnitzel but just thinking about the work that goes into making schnitzel made me tired. I wanted the paprika, without the fuss.

I thought about stewing the Brussel sprouts with tomatoes and onion and mushroom and serving with the rice and I quickly kicked that idea out of my head. Yuck! Brussel sprouts! What was I thinking?

And then, as I pulled into the driveway, it all came together. Sauté the Brussel sprouts and put a char on them to get a nutty flavor. Add that to cooked pork chops, tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms and rice and cook it all in one pan. Coming home after working overtime means that I have about one hour to make dinner, one hour to eat it, and one hour to relax and digest the food before heading off to bed. Making dinner in one pan means quick prep and quick clean up. I knew I was over my cold now. I can’t make those sort of mental leaps when I am sick.

I dumped all of the groceries on the counter and pulled the rice out of the refrigerator. I put the cast iron skillet on the stove and started warming it. My daughter came into the kitchen to welcome me home and we had a wonderful time sharing stories about our day as I began prepping the food. She asked me what I was making and, as I often do when I’m not sure, I said, “I’m making something for dinner.” My daughter has watched me work in the kitchen long enough to know when I am winging it.

Skillet Pork Chops with Vegetable and Rice

Ingredients:

4 center cut pork chops

1 quart cooked white rice

2 cups Brussel sprouts, sliced in half

16 oz white button mushrooms

2 medium sized tomatoes

½ yellow onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, smashed

2 Tbs butter

2 Tbs flour

2 cups chicken stock

½ cup tomato sauce

Directions:

Heat an oven to 325°.

Tenderize the pork chops by piercing both sides with a fork. Flatten the pork chops with the broad side of a meat cleaver or mallet.

Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Lay the pork chops in the pan and dust liberally with paprika. Allow the chops to sear for about one or two minutes and then turn. Dust the other side of the chops with paprika. Turn once more after a minute and remove after another 30 seconds. Set the chops aside.

De-glaze the skillet with a half cup of chicken stock. Add the whole mushrooms, onion and garlic to the skillet and stir. Allow the mushrooms to absorb the flavor from the pork and stock. Remove the mushrooms to a large mixing bowl.

Add the Brussels sprouts to the hot skillet, placing them cut side down. Don’t mess with them. Let them char for about two minutes. Turn them with a spatula and brown the other side for a little while. Remove the Brussel sprouts to the large mixing bowl.

Add the tomatoes and cooked rice to the large mixing bowl.

Turn the heat down to low. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel to remove any charred bits. Melt the butter in the skillet and add the flour and whisk to make a roux. Once the flour has incorporated, add the chicken stock and tomato sauce. Stir to thicken into a sauce.

Mix the items in mixing bowl with a spatula. Add the prepared sauce and mix.

Arrange the seared pork chops on the bottom of skillet. Cover with rice, vegetable and sauce mixture. Cover the skillet and cook in a 325° oven for 25 to 30 minutes.