Apple cider pork chops are so easy to make! Boneless pork loin chops are seared, then simmered with spiced apple cider, fresh apples, and onion. It makes for a sweet and savory meal that’s pure comfort food, any day of the week.
I collaborated with the National Pork Board to bring you this post. I was compensated, but all opinions, and the trip down memory lane, are 100% my own.
I’ve always considered myself to be a fairly decent cook, although it wasn’t until I was first married that I felt the pressure of regularly cooking for someone other than myself. I was working 50 to 60 hour weeks, so my time in the kitchen was anything but inspired and it showed. After many kitchen disasters stemming from my half-hearted “winging it” in the kitchen–all of which that my my dutiful Bacon Slayer ate without complaint–I started to pay closer attention to actual recipes in an effort to get something edible on the table on a regular basis. Yep. I was the woman grabbing the free recipe cards in the aisles of the grocery store and using them to plan my menus.
Culinarily speaking, it was a dark time. (Yep! Made that word up.)
It was also during that time as a new bride that I stumbled across a soup company’s recipe with the sole requirement of searing boneless chicken breasts in a hot pan, and then simmering them in a can of cream-of-something soup. I considered it a sort of kitchen hack’s version of chicken and gravy. So I served that a few times, but I didn’t love it. I haven’t been a huge fan of “cream of” soups since I was a kid. Naturally, Bacon Slayer was ever faithful in eating it. Although when prompted for feedback, he didn’t say much other than, “It’s good.”
Now I don’t know about you, but when I come home from a long day to cook dinner, I want the meal to elicit a more exciting response than a flat, “It’s good.” That was my sweet man’s way of telling me that while the meal wasn’t noteworthy, it was indeed edible. Progress.
I liked the ease and principal of that supermarket shelf recipe, so being the techie-science nerd that I am, I decided to apply the same principals of searing meat in a hot pan before simmering in a liquid to create something new, and better than merely edible. After a quick trip to pick apples with my love, I decided to let apple cider stand in for the soup base, and use pork as the protein of choice. Of course, adding sliced apples to the mix was the only right thing to do because pork and fruit are totally made for each other.
Apple Cider Pork Chops with Apples and Onions was the first dinner that I remember cooking for Bacon Slayer that elicited the fanfare that I had been hoping for. In fact, I served this dish to friends the very first time that I made it, and they were equally impressed. The “(Meh.) It’s good.” reviews of old were transformed into the “Wow! This is really, really good!” compliments that I had been striving for in a meal.
I guess you could say that Apple Cider Pork Chops with Apples and Onions was a keystone meal of sorts in the early days of my marriage. It bridged the gap between my then ho-hum cooking to the inspired feeling that I get when I cook now.
Best of all, Apple Cider Pork Chops with Apples and Onions can be table-ready in around 30 minutes, making it the perfect weeknight meal.
Calories
Fat
Carbs
Protein
Kirsten Kubert
Yields 6
Boneless pork loin chops seared to seal in the juices, and then simmered with delicately spiced apple cider, fresh apples, and onion for a sweet and savory meal in 30 minutes.
15 minPrep Time
15 minCook Time
30 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 Cups (1 large) Peeled, cored, and thinly sliced tart apple
- 1 Cups (1 small) peeled and sliced sweet onion
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 6 (4 oz.) chops, about 1/2-inch thick
- 1 Cup apple cider (non-alcoholic, not hard cider)
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
- Chopped fresh parsley, to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large skillet set over medium heat. Sauté the sliced apples and onions in the butter for about 5 minutes, or until they begin to brown and soften. Pour the apple cider and lemon juice into the pan. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until the cider thickens and coats the apples and onions. Remove from heat. Transfer the apple and onion mixture to a small bowl; set the bowl aside while preparing the pork.
- Increase the heat to medium-high. Sear the pork for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until nicely golden brown. Reduce the heat to medium. Divide the apple and onion mixture evenly between the pork chops, piling the mixture on top of each chop. Continue cooking for another minute or two, or until the internal temperature of the pork registers 140 degrees F.
- Remove the chops from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. The pork will continue to cook as it rests. The internal temperature of the pork should reach 145 degrees F prior to serving. Garnish with pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and chopped parsley, to taste.
Many thanks to the National Pork Board for sponsoring this post. It’s collaborations such as these that allow me to continue to develop and share free recipes here on this blog. For more easy, delicious pork recipes, visit porkbeinspired.com.
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