Best Pork Chops With Hard Cider Recipes

CIDER-BRINED PORK CHOPS WITH PERFECT PAN SAUCE

Steps:

• For the brine: combine the salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, coriander, mustard seeds, allspice berries, bay leaves, thyme and 1 1/2 cups water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar and salt, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and pour in the cold cider. Let the brine cool to room temperature.
• Put the pork chops in a large resealable plastic bag and pour in the brine. Press out excess air and seal tightly. Put the bag in a shallow container so it can lay flat and refrigerate for 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.
• Drain the chops, rinse and pat dry. Discard the brine.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chops (work in batches if necessary; do not crowd the pan) and cook, turning occasionally, until they are golden brown and cooked through, 13 to 14 minutes. (If the chops are browning too quickly or the pan drippings start to burn, lower the heat.) Remove to a plate.
• For the sauce: Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and place over medium heat. Add the garlic, rosemary and thyme and cook until sizzling, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle in the flour and stir to make a paste. Whisk in the cider and bring to a simmer.
• Simmer until very thick, about 1 minute. Add the stock, bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the cream and simmer to bring the sauce together, about 1 minute. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, vinegar and parsley. Season to taste with salt. Add the chops to the pan and simmer, turning occasionally, until just heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve garnished with fresh thyme and rosemary sprigs.

PORK CHOPS WITH APPLES AND CIDER

Steps:

• Make the spice salt: Put peppercorns, cloves, allspice and sage in a spice mill or mortar and grind to a powder. Remove to a bowl and stir in salt. Season pork chops on both sides with salt mixture. (There will be some salt mixture remaining; use it to season the sauce, Step 4.) Cover and leave chops at room temperature to absorb seasonings for at least 30 minutes.
• Peel, quarter and core apples, then cut each apple into 12 wedges. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a wide skillet and raise heat to medium-high. Add apple wedges in one layer and brown gently on one side, about 2 minutes. Brown on the other side and cook for 2 minutes more, or until apples are cooked through but still firm. Remove apples from pan and keep warm.
• Add 1 tablespoon butter to pan and swirl to melt. Dust pork chops with flour, and place in pan and brown gently for about 4 minutes per side. Adjust heat if necessary to keep pork from cooking too quickly. Remove chops and keep warm on a platter in a low oven. Discard remaining butter.
• Add ½ cup cider to pan, raise heat to high and cook down to a syrup. Add mustard and chicken broth, and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Add potato starch and stir with a wire whisk as the sauce thickens. Stir in crème fraîche. Season to taste with remaining spiced salt. Add 2 tablespoons cider and the Calvados, if using. Cook for 1 minute more.
• Spoon sauce over the chops, then spoon the apples around the platter. Sprinkle with chives and parsley.

PORK CHOPS WITH APPLE CIDER GLAZE

Steps:

• Season pork chops with salt and black pepper.
• Heat oil and butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook pork chops in the hot oil mixture until browned on both sides and pork is slightly pink in the center, 5 to 7 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). Remove pan from the heat; transfer pork chops to a plate.
• Stir garlic into the pan and place over medium-high heat; cook and stir for 30 seconds. Pour in vinegar and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add apple cider and Dijon mustard, bring mixture to a boil, and cook until sauce is reduced and thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in rosemary and red pepper flakes; season with salt and black pepper to taste.
• Return pork chops to the pan to warm slightly, 1 to 2 minutes per side.

PORK CHOPS WITH HARD CIDER PAN SAUCE

Steps:

• To make the spice rub, in a small bowl, mix together the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dry mustard, salt, black pepper, and cayenne.
• Slash the edges of the chops in 2 or 3 places to prevent curling.
• Sprinkle rub all over the chops and let stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour.
• Coat the bottom of a large, heavy frying pan with the olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the chops, in batches if necessary to avoid crowding, and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes on each side.
• Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5-7 minutes longer, turning once or twice. Test the meat for doneness by inserting an instant-read thermometer away from the bone or by cutting into the meat close to the bone.
• Remove from heat just before the meat is done, when the internal temperature is 145 degrees F (63 C). Pork loin is done when the internal temperature is 150F/65C, but it will continue to cook while resting).
• Transfer to a platter and let rest, tented loosely with aluminum foil, while you prepare the pan sauce.
• To make the pan sauce, add the cider to the same pan and deglaze by scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.
• Bring to a boil and cook, stirring often, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to medium and whisk in the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and Tabasco.
• Cook for 2-3 minutes longer, whisking often.
• Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Transfer the chops to individual plates. Spoon some of the sauce over the chops and serve. Pass additional sauce at the table.

SLOW-COOKER PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• In a shallow bowl, combine 1/4 cup flour, mustard, garlic pepper and seasoned salt. Add pork chops, one at a time, and dredge to coat. In a large skillet, brown chops in oil on both sides. , Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Pour broth over chops. Cook, covered, on low for 2-3 hours or until meat is tender. , Remove pork to a serving plate and keep warm. Whisk remaining flour into cooking juices until smooth; cook, covered, on high until gravy is thickened.

SMOKED PORK CHOPS WITH ONION-AND-CIDER GLAZE

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pat chops dry. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chops in 2 batches on one side only, 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Transfer chops, browned sides up, to a large shallow baking pan, reserving skillet. Bake chops until heated through, about 20 minutes.
• While chops bake, melt butter in skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook onion with sugar and salt, scraping up brown bits and stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add cider and vinegar and boil mixture, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender and liquid is reduced to a glaze, about 10 minutes more. Serve chops with glaze.

HARD APPLE CIDER MARINATED PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• Combine 1/2 bottle of the hard cider, salt, and Siracha sauce in a gallon sized sealable bag or marinating container. Mix well, and add pork chops.
• Marinate pork chops in cider mixture for one hour, turning halfway through (for extra flavor, prick holes in the pork chops with a fork). Marinate the pork chops in the refrigerator to ensure freshness.
• While the pork chops are marinating, slice the onion. Onion slices should be no thicker than 1/8 inch. Separate the onion slices so all layers are loose.
• Once pork chops are finished marinating, combine the remainder of the cider, Old Bay, olive oil, Italian seasoning, and black pepper in a large nonstick saucepan, and heat over medium heat until the mixture starts to boil/sizzle.
• Add garlic and onions, and saute until the onions start to soften.
• Add the pork chops, and saute until the chops are cooked through (about 10 minutes), turning once. After you turn the pork chops, sprinkle with the paprika to give the chops some color. Note: while sauteing the pork chops, make sure that you don't have any of the onions under them. Allowing the pork chops to rest on the bottom of the pan and cook in the cider mixture allows them to cook faster and to soak up more of the flavors of the saute.
• Once pork chops are completely cooked, remove from pan and place on dinner plates, sprinkling them with a pinch of salt (to taste). Garnish with the sauteed onions on top of the pork chops and serve.