Test Kitchen #9: Stuffed Pork Chops With Caramelized Sauce

At the end of last week’s session in the kitchen, I tried to check off all the categories of food in my mind that we have covered so far. We’ve done chicken, beef, pork, and a couple of Mexican dishes. We tried small muffins with prosciutto and cheese inside and big cupcakes with tons of frosting outside. The following Tuesday would be my turn to come up with an idea and I was feeling stumped. I wanted to try something new with pork, only because I think it’s a real challenge to prepare pork so it doesn’t come out like shoe leather. I love trying new things, but I also hate wasting food and money, so if meat is ruined during an experiment it’s a heartbreak.

I put the idea aside for a while and finished out the week with some graphic freelance work when a fellow designer gave me an idea that ultimately started up a big brainstorm. When Cathy W told me about her recipe for caramelized chicken, it sounded so delicious. Just three tablespoons of olive oil and a little brown sugar melted in a pan, poured over chicken cutlets and broiled for 5 minutes added up to a sweet and easy dish. I began to wonder if this sauce could also work with pork cutlets.

That weekend, I called Dad to tell him about Cathy’s Caramelized Chicken. A stream of ideas began to flow.
“What about stuffing the pork chops? With breading and apples?”
“I’ve got some leftover chicken sausage.”
“That sounds good. Throw it in the stuffing. And celery, too”
“But how to we keep them from drying out?”
“Baking them is probably best. Low temperature.”
“But we need some liquid in the baking dish. Apple juice?
"Or Pineapple goes good with pork.”
“I’ve got cran-apple in the house now.”
“Fine.”
“Great! See you Tuesday!”

Pork Chops Stuffed with Apple & Sausage Breading
and Finished with a Caramelized Sauce
(a lengthy recipe deserves a fancy name)

Ingredients:
3 Center Cut Pork Chops, 1” thick
6 cups of bread cube stuffing mix
2 links of chicken sausage
½ small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
¾ cup of low sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 large apples
Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste

Sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons of brown sugar
Splash of cran-apple juice
Splash of Grand Marnier (optional)

1. Peel and dice one apple. Core second apple and create round slices, leaving the skin on.
2. Squeeze sausages out of casing into a medium skillet.
3. Sauté sausage, onion and celery with a small amount of butter or margarine. Add salt, pepper and paprika to your liking.
4. When sausage is browned, add garlic and chicken stock.
5. Place dry bread cubes in a medium bowl, add wet mixture and the diced apples. Add parsley and mix well. (Set skillet aside. You can use this pan again later to make the sauce and it will pick up the leftover flavors from the sauté.)

6. Preheat oven to 350°
7. Cut a large pocket into the side of each pork chop.
8. Pack large handfuls of stuffing into each pocket.
9. In a large skillet or grill pan, heat oil on medium high, and lightly brown pork chops on all sides. (Approximately 2-3 minutes each side.)
10. Remove from pan and place all in an 8”x 8” glass baking dish.
11. Pour a splash of cran-apple juice in the bottom of the dish; just enough to barely cover the bottom.
12. Bake for 30 minutes or until internal temp reaches 160°. Turn once halfway through the time.
13. When there is about 5 minutes left on the baking time, begin preparing the caramelized sauce.
14. Heat oil and brown sugar in the skillet on medium heat. When mixture begins to bubble, add a splash of cran-apple juice. (If opting for the Grand Marnier as well, add a small splash, stir and then flambé off the access alcohol.)
15. Continue to stir until mixture reduces and thickens like a syrup.
16. Remove pork chops from oven, top each chop with apple slices and pour sauce over all.
17. Re-position the oven rack to the top and set oven temperature to broil.
18. Replace baking dish in oven, leaving oven door open a crack so you can see inside.
19. Heat for another 5 minutes or until sauce bubbles.
20. Remove from oven and serve. Pour excess sauce from dish over each chop.

Note: Recipe ingredients makes more stuffing than needed for 3 pork chops. Consider baking remaining stuffing in a small dish along side the pork in the oven. Your dinner guests will want seconds.


Verdict:
This was the first test kitchen where we actually cooked the recipe two different ways in the same day, thereby truly living up to our weekly experiment’s name. Since we always cook in the afternoon, we decided not to cook all three pork chops at once, because reheating them later for dinner might dry them out. We stuffed all three, but wrapped two in plastic wrap and only cooked one.

We loosely followed a recipe I found online, making revisions as we usually do. The first time we cooked the pork chop, the recipe suggested a metal 8” x 8”, covered with foil. While it looked beautiful and the stuffing was excellent, the pork itself was a little drier than I was hoping for. I took one of the wrapped chops home and cooked it for dinner. This time I used a glass dish and left it uncovered. It was much juicer this time and the meat took on the flavors of the liquid better.

It was Dad’s idea to add the Grand Marnier and it was awesome, especially if you’re a cook who doesn’t mind a little flame in the kitchen. Go easy on the liquor and the fire. I added a little too much during the dinner rendition and the flames were a little higher than our landlords probably would be happy with. Luckily, at Matt’s height, his eyebrows remained safely un-scorched.

We also made too much stuffing. Anything that didn’t fit in the pockets, Dad baked in a circular baking pan, topped with apple slices and dusted with cinnamon and nutmeg. But, honestly, is there really ever such a thing as too much stuffing?

P.S. After finishing this article, I just realized that we did a “stuffed” recipe last week. We need some new ideas. I have to work next week so the next test kitchen is April 21st. Post your ideas and maybe your recipe will be our next test!