Mom's Pork Chops

I like pork chops. They're usually pretty easy, and tasty, and I like a lot of the pork chop recipes I have. This one I grew up with - I can remember my mom pan frying the chops, and then serving all the onions to my dad, who didn't really love onions in the first place, but he liked them more than the rest of us. I remember when I found out there were onions in the pan, and I was horrified - I think I was 8 or 9, and I told my mom I didn't like her pork chops anymore. She tried to explain that the onion was just for flavor, but it took a while for me to eat her pork chops again. I was so picky back then!

This is a super easy weeknight dinner and goes great with some mashed potatoes to soak up that yummy onion gravy!

Mom's Pork Chops

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1 onion

3-4 tbsp margarine, not butter! (important!)

4 pork chops - rib chops are best!

Salt

Accent

1. Slice up one onion. Start to sauté one onion in margarine. Get brown and make some brown stuff in pan. Saute over 7-8 Heat. Once browned, move to side of pan, place chops in pan. Start boiling potatoes. Sprinkle chops with salt and Accent. Turn over when browned nicely. Once turned, when they begin to gather juice, they are nearing a done point, to where you can relocate the chop on top of another to fit more in the pan (if necessary). The brown stuff in the fry pan is what makes the gravy taste good.

2. Once all chops are gathering juice, place on an oven-safe platter and place in warm oven (around 300 degrees). Fish the onions out of the fry pan and place on the chop platter in oven. Using the same method as turkey gravy, add 2 tbsp flour for every 2 tbsp fat left in the pan. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup broth for every 2 tbsp flour you added to pan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Brown Sugar Glazed Pork

This was a super easy meal to put together, but in hindsight, I think I would skip the Montreal steak seasoning in favor of some simple salt and pepper. Then again, I'm not normally a huge Montreal steak seasoning kind of person. I was pleasantly surprised as to how flavorful this recipe was. I especially liked the red wine pan sauce that this recipe makes to go along with the pork. I also think I'd try pork chops with this rather than pork medallions, just because it's easier to make the appropriate amount of meat for my family that way. I served this pork with mashed sweet potatoes and green beans, and it went over quite well. I will definitely be making this again!

Brown Sugar Glazed Pork

adapted from Publix Aprons Meals

Ingredients:
3 fresh garlic clove
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons Montreal steak seasoning
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 lb)
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 cup red wine


1. Crush garlic, using garlic press, into medium bowl. Use knife to remove garlic from bottom of press. Stir in brown sugar and steak seasoning until well blended.
2. Preheat large sauté pan on medium 2–3 minutes. Cut pork diagonally into about eight 1-inch-thick slices. Place pork slices in bowl and press into mixture. Turn and press again to lightly season both sides (wash hands).
3. Place 1 tablespoon of the butter in pan; swirl to coat. Add pork (wash hands); cook 5–6 minutes on each side or until well browned and internal temperature reaches 160°F (for medium). Use a meat thermometer to accurately ensure doneness.
4. Remove pork from pan. Stir in wine and remaining 1 tablespoon butter; simmer 1 minute, stirring continually. Serve wine sauce with pork.

Click here for printable recipe

Cider-Braised Pork Medallions

I've never cooked with pork medallions before. But, when I read this recipe in All You magazine last month, I tore it out, because it reminded me of the flavor of my glazed pork chops recipe, which I love. I wasn't super impressed with this, though both of my men loved it. The pork was super tender, but I would've preferred having the glaze from my pork chop recipe rather than the chicken broth/apple cider sauce that this recipe made. Still, it was a nice, fast weeknight dinner. I will probably keep this one in my meal rotation, and work on tweaking the sauce to something a little less chicken-tasting.


Cider-Braised Pork Medallions
All You magazine, September 2009 issue
Click here for a printable version of this recipe!

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 18 minutes
Serves: 4
Cost per serving: $1.19

Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup apple cider

1. Cut tenderloin into eight 1 1/4-inch-thick medallions. In a small bowl, combine flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Dredge medallions in flour mixture and shake off any excess.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm butter and oil until butter metls. Cook medallions, in batches if necessary, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes per side. Remove to a platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
3. Pour off any fat remaining in skillet. Return skillet to heat and pour in broth and cider. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Boil rapidly, stirring with a wooden spoon to pick up browned bits on bottom of skillet, until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
4. Return medallions to skillet, reduce heat to medium and cook, turning, until sauce is syrupy, and medallions are cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Tips from All You:
* Try poultry. This dish is also delicious with the same about of skinless, boneless chicken breasts. Rinse the chicken, pat dry and slice into strips.
* Choose juice instead. Can't find apple cider? Substitute apple juice. Just be sure to look for a variety that is 100 percent pure juice.

Ribs on the Barbie

For yesterday's dinner, I made country style boneless ribs on the barbie. I love barbecued pork. I would eat ribs for dinner every night if I could. By the way, when did pork get expensive? I don't remember it being so darn pricey! Made-at-home ribs really aren't very hard and really ought to be made very, very often. Here's a super easy recipe to follow:

Ribs on the Barbie
(No picture because they were too yummy!)
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1 bottle your favorite barbecue sauce
2 pounds country style pork ribs (boneless)
Salt
Pepper

Put the ribs in a large pot with a lid, barely cover with water, cover and bring to a boil. Once they boil, turn the heat to low, put the lid back on, and leave them for an hour. Take the ribs out and dry them on some paper towels. Try not to look at them, they're kind of gross-looking when they're boiled. But, from what I've read, boiling ribs is what makes sure that they stay tender.

Next, heat up your grill nice and hot. The goal is to baste and flip the meat often, for about 20 minutes. The basting lets you build layers of flavor, and since barbecue sauce has a ton of sugar in it, the sauce can burn if you don't turn it frequently.

Then, polish off those ribs with whatever fixings you like with your barbecue. Definitely a yummy dinner!

Glazed pork chops

Since I know not everyone is a huge menu-plan-in-advance-er, I thought I'd go ahead and post my dinner recipe for tonight, in case anyone wants to join in with me on this recipe. It's very easy to make and it's one of my family's favorites. In fact, I've even made it for my in-laws, so I deem the recipe worthy of impressing company, too. It feels like a fancy restaurant dish, but in reality, it's very simple. So if you like pork chops and you like apple (which I think most people do), you're going to like this recipe.

Glazed Pork Chops
adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Heavy-Duty Revised Edition
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4 boneless center-cut pork chops, 1/2 inch to 3/4 inches thick (this is important!!)
Table salt and ground pepper, as desired
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup apple cider or apple juice (cider tastes more flavorful)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce

1. Combine cider vinegar, brown sugar, apple cider/juice, Dijon mustard, and soy sauce in a medium bowl; mix thoroughly and set aside. Trim chops as needed to excess fat and slash through fat and silver skin with a sharp knife, making 2 cuts about 2 inches apart in each chop (do not cut into meat of chop!). Pat chops dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper as desired.

2. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Add pork to skillet and cook until well browned, 4-6 minutes. Turn chops and cook 1 minute longer, transfer chops to plate and pour off any oil in skillet. Check internal temp or thinner chops. (If they are already at the 140-degree mark, remove them from the skillet and allow them to rest, tented with foil for 5 minutes, then add the platter juices and glaze ingredients to the skillet and proceed with step 3.) Return chops to skillet, browned side up, and add glaze mixture; cook over medium heat until center of chops registers 140 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 5-8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, transfer chops to clean platter, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.

Glaze is almost done - see the trail the spatula leaves...

3. When chops have rested, add any accumulated juices to skillet and set over medium heat. Simmer, whisking constantly, until glaze is thick and the color of dark caramel. Depending on your skillet, this may take a few minutes - anywhere from 2-8 minutes. A heatproof spatula should leave a wide trail through dragged through the glaze when it's done. Return chops to skillet, turn to coat both sides with glaze. Serve immediately.
NOTE: We like to put the extra glaze both on top of the chops and on top of some fresh mashed potatoes. Mmm, mmm, good, I promise!

Tennessee Whiskey Pork Chops

Tonight's dinner was another new recipe - I know, two in a row, I'm on a roll! This one is built quite similarly to one of my favorite recipes, Glazed Pork Chops (which I'll be sharing later this month), but instead of an apple juice glaze, it's a whiskey glaze. Kind of like the glaze you see at T.G.I. Friday's. But according to the recipe from "Cook's Country," it's supposed to be way, way better. I can't really speak to that, having never had the glaze at T.G.I. Friday's. Anyway...

This recipe has one key step that I have a tendency to skip over in recipes - a marinade. This time, though, I didn't skip it, and I think it's a very important step in the recipe, so yes, I know it's irritating to have to think about dinner two hours in advance, but it's worthwhile, I promise.

Tennessee Whiskey Pork Chops
adapted from Cook's Country TV
Printer-friendly recipe

1/2 cup Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey
1/2 cup apple cider
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I skipped that part)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoon cider vinegar
4 bone-in center-cut pork chops
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1. Whisk whiskey, cider, brown sugar, mustard, cayenne, vanilla and 2 teaspoons vinegar together in a medium bowl. Transfer 1/4 cup of this mixture into a gallon-sized plastic bag, add chops, press air out of bag, and seal. Turn bag to coat chops with marinade and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and as many as 2 hours. Reserve remaining whiskey mixture separately.

2. Remove chops from bag, pat dry with paper towels and discard marinade. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke. Season chops with salt and pepper and cook until well browned on both sides and a peek into the thickest part of a chop using a paring knife yields still-pink meat 1/4 inch from surface, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer chops to plate and cover tightly with foil.

3. Add reserved whiskey mixture to skillet and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits with wooden spoon. Cook until reduced to a thick glaze, 3-5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and, holding on to chops, tip plate to add any accumulated juices back to skillet. Add remaining 2 teaspoons vinegar, whisk in butter, and simmer glaze until thick and sticky, 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

4. Return chops to skillet and let rest in pan until sauce clings to chops, turning chops occassionally to coat both side, and a peek into the thickest part of a chop using a paring knife shows completely cooked meat (145 degrees on an instant-read thermometer), about 5 minutes. Transfer chops to platter and spoon remaining sauce over. Serve hot!