HEALTHY FOOD so TASTY you'll
want to eat it EVERYDAY.
APPLE CINNAMON PORK CHOPS
Pork chops and apple sauce are such a long-standing, well-known pair that it just makes sense to bring these raw ingredients together in a slow cooker. Jazzing it up with cinnamon, cloves and a kick of vinegar delivers a wonderful depth of flavor to an old classic!
PREP TIME: 10 min
STOVE TIME: Wonderbag Method 20 min
Conventional Method 2 hours
SERVES: 6
INGREDIENTS
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
SERVING
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Salt and pepper
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6 pork chops, on the bone
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3 Tbsp ( 45 ml) olive oil
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1 yellow onion, diced
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2 cloves garlic, minced
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1 Tbsp cinnamon
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½ tsp ground cloves
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1 tsp dried sage
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2 apples (Gala, Jazz…any variety with a sweet and tart flavor)
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¼ cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar
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2 cups (480 ml) beef stock
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1 Tbsp palm sugar (can also use brown sugar or honey)
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2 Tbsp raisins
1) Salt and pepper your pork chops on all sides.
2) Heat a 2½ quart (3 litre) pot on medium-high, add 2 Tbsp (30 ml) olive oil and brown the pork on all sides (about 1½ min per side). Remove pork from pan and set aside.
3) Add remaining Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil and onions, and sauté for 5 minutes, until soft and golden.
4) Add the garlic, cinnamon, cloves and sage, mix well and immediately add the cider and a bit of stock to deglaze the pan, loosening any of the browned bits from the bottom.
5) Add the rest of the stock, sugar and raisins, and bring to a gentle boil for 10 minutes to get the heat through the entire pot
6) Reduce heat to medium-low, add the browned pork chops back to the pot, cover and simmer for 1 minute.
7) Seal your lidded pot in the Wonderbag and leave it to cook for a minimum of 2 hours (best to leave it 4-5 hours, or all day, the flavours develop the longer you leave it).
CONVENTIONAL METHOD
No Wonderbag?
1-5) Follow steps 1-5 above, then cover your chops and place them in the fridge for later
6) Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes
7) 20 minutes prior to serving, add your chops back to the pot and simmer for that period
Place pork chops on individual plates, top with apples and onion mixture as desired.
A salad of red cabbage and carrots provides a nice fresh crunch to the meal, and compliments the pork and apple flavors. Crusty bread is great for sopping up the juices, or serve over rice or grain of choice.
COOKS NOTES
INGREDIENTS: Pork can be quite tricky sometimes as you really don't want the internal temperature of the meat to pass 145F/62C, which of course is much lower than the boiling point for your sauce. Above this temperature you're going to have a very tough piece of meat on your plate.
This is why for the conventional method, you don't want to simmer the pork chops on the stove for 2 hours as the temperature is just too high.
KITCHEN BUDDIES: With the Wonderbag, you remove the pot from the heat source, allowing the chops to braise gently in the residual heat of the sauce. And because you can safely leave it all day, you can maximize the flavor development of all those yummy spices with the pork juices, apples and vinegar, for lovely delicious meal without being chained to the stove.
Recipe & Photo Credit: Cathy Menees
