Pork chops and applesauce
Golden seared pork chops with warm cinnamon applesauce that picks up all the savory bits from the pan.
- 25 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $1.89 a serving
- 380 calories
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 4 boneless pork chops, boneless, about ¾ inch thick
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1½ cups applesauce
From your pantry
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Each serving has about 380 calories, 36 g protein, 12 g carbs and 21 g fat, and costs about $1.89 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the chops dry and both sides with the salt, pepper, garlic powder and thyme.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Heat the oil in a large over medium-high until it , then lay in the chops and 3 to 4 minutes without moving them, until underneath.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Sear. Searing means cooking the outside of meat or fish in a hot pan, without moving it, until a deep brown crust forms. The crust is packed with flavor, and it only forms on a dry surface.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the moment it goes in, and it lets go of the pan on its own when the crust is ready.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: They stick at first. Once a crust forms they let go on their own, and that’s when they’re ready to flip.Flip the chops, turn the heat to medium, and cook 3 to 5 minutes more, until the middle reads 145°F. Move them to a plate.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min
Food safety: Steak, pork chops and other whole cuts are safe at 145°F in the middle, then let them rest for 3 minutes before cutting.
Turn the heat to low and add the butter, applesauce, cinnamon, brown sugar and vinegar to the same pan.
Low heat
Stir 2 to 3 minutes, , until the applesauce is warm and glossy.
Scrape up the browned bits. It means loosening the brown bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon, usually right after adding liquid. Those bits are concentrated flavor, and they melt into the sauce.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan looks clean again, and the liquid turns darker and richer.
Low heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: The brown bits from the pork melt into the applesauce and make it taste savory, not like a lunchbox cup.Pour the juices from the chop plate into the pan, then spoon the warm applesauce over the chops to serve.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
