Pork Chops with Apples & Onions

*Post by Angela.

What do you do when it's 10 pm and you still haven't made dinner yet? That's the situation I found myself in the other evening after an exhausting day. A glance in the refrigerator and freezer yielded nothing but 6 different kinds of cheese, 1 lone bottle of Rogue Dead Guy Ale, and what I think was a 3-year-old frozen pepperoni Hot Pocket (that I subsequently threw out). I perused the delivery menus once, twice, then a third time before tossing the pile on the couch and pouting. Nothing looked good, and as I stared dejectedly around the room, my eyes rested on the Williams-Sonoma cookbook sitting on the living room table. I flipped through the pages until I found the shortest ingredients list and this is what I came up with. Now, due to the late hour, I had to sub in beer for white wine (because that's all I had), but the meal still turned out surprisingly good - even though I cooked the apple/onion combo a tiny bit too long (the apples were a little softer than I would have liked), the slight bitterness of the beer mellowed the sweetness of the apple and made a very good foil for the juicy pork.

List of ingredients for the pork:

• 4 pork loin chops, at least 1-1 1/2" thick
• 1 tbsp dried sage
• 2 tsp salt 
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 green apple, cored, quartered and sliced
• 1/2 cup beer (the original recipe calls for white wine or vermouth)

First, I mixed the sage with the salt and pepper, then rubbed the mixture all over the pork. I covered the chops and let them sit about 30 minutes at room temperature.

I heated the oil in a pan over medium high heat, then added the chops and browned them for about 2 minutes per side.

I reduced the heat to medium, covered the pan, and cooked the pork about 4-5 minutes longer. I transferred the chops to a platter, covered them with foil, and let them rest while I worked on the sauce. I poured all but about 1 tbsp of oil/drippings out of the pan, brought the pan back up to medium heat, then added the onion and apple and sauteed about 5 minutes. In retrospect, I would have cut down the cooking time here to just about 2-3 minutes and let the apples retain a little bit of bite, but since I have not yet perfected my time machine (to be used for the sole purpose of correcting cooking mistakes so as not to upset the time/space continuum too much), I had to be content with softer apple slices.

I added the beer, deglazed the pan, and simmered about 3 more minutes, just until the alcohol had cooked out.

I spooned the sauce over the chops and sat down with my plate just as the beginning strains of the Daily Show theme started up on the television. I was really pleased with this dish, given its simplicity and ease. The pork was perfectly cooked and juicy, and a little research shows that the beer/apple/onion mixture is one that others have given a stamp of approval. I finished my meal contentedly, pleased that I hadn't resorted to eating that Hot Pocket...

Comments

[Brit Brad]

I make a lot of dishes like this; quick and delicious. Nicely presented.

[Angela]

Thanks, Brad! Yes, quick and delicious is the way to go. Usually, when I'm looking for something quick, I'll go with tacos or pasta, so it's nice to branch out with my "dinner in a flash" recipes.