“Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!” ―
October afternoons often lead us to the apple orchard. While we’re fortunate to live near several beautiful orchards, we tend to visit the one with the freshly pressed cider and the hot roasted cobs of corn the most.
The short ride home is filled with requests for apple crumble, baked apples and candy apples. Of course, I’m happy to oblige any of those delicious requests. Though for me, I’m most drawn to apples used in savory dishes, like this pork chops and apples in white wine pan sauce.
If you’ve been following me, you know my favorite apple is Honeycrisp, it’s sweet on it’s own and heat tolerant for cooking. A few minutes in the pan will cook the apples down just enough to lose their crunch while still retaining a subtle bite. For a pop of color consider leaving the skins on the apples, although peeling them is perfectly fine and will not compromise the dish.
I use local pork chops from my trusted butcher, fresh sage from my backyard, and shallots and garlic from the farm market down the road. The sought-after tang that makes these bone-in pork chops so succulent comes from a good measure of dry white wine, a dollop of quality Dijon and a splash of apple cider vinegar. The pan juices cook down just a little and we finish the sauce with cream and butter to create a wonderfully silky essence.
Pro Tip: Cut the apples when you’re preparing the shallots and searing the pork. It’s ok if they oxidize just a bit, they’re going to be cooked.
Pork chops and apples in white wine pan sauce is fantastic served with scalloped or mashed potatoes alongside a crisp autumn salad with hearty greens and chopped apples, of course.
Happy apple harvest!
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Ingredients
- 4 bone-in rib pork chops, cut 1-inch (2.5-cm) thick
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp butter, divided
- 2 medium heat tolerant apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch (1.3-cm) wedges recommended: Honey Crisp
- 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 large garlic clove, finely grated
- 2 sprigs fresh sage
- 1 cup dry white wine recommended: Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
- Pat pork dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper on both sides, set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat add the olive oil and only 3 tablespoons (45 g) butter. When the oil is hot and shimmery and the butter is melted, add the pork chops. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook the pork for 4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Transfer the pork to a large plate and set aside.
- Lower the heat to low-medium and add the apple wedges. Cook the apples until they are golden in color, about 3 minutes. They will absorb color from the pan right away, but you still want to cook them down just a bit, they’ll cook down more later. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apples alongside the pork - they'll finish cooking in a bit.
- To the skillet, add the shallots, lightly sprinkle with salt, and cook, stirring often, until they are tender and begin to caramelize, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and fresh sage, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Turn off the heat and add the wine. Deglaze the pan by scraping up any brown bits that may have accumulated. Bring the contents to a full simmer. Return the pork chops, along with any juices on the plate, back to the pan. Cover and simmer until the pork is fully cooked, about 10 minutes, adding in the apples for the last 4-5 minutes of cooking. To assure the pork is fully cooked, check for an internal temperature of 145 F. (63 C.). The apples should be soft with a subtle bite, not mushy.
- Transfer the pork and apples to a large oval serving platter with sides deep enough to hold the sauce, or instead set aside and prepare to nestle the pork back into the skillet to serve family style. Tent loosely with foil.
- To finish the sauce, bring the heat to low. Whisk in the mustard and cider vinegar to fully incorporate. Simmer just a minute longer to subdue the acidity. On the lowest heat setting, slowly stream in the heavy cream while continuously whisking to temper the cream. Turn off the heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 g) of butter, stirring to melt and to create a silky glaze. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Por over the pork and apples in the deep serving platter or nestle the pork and apples back into the pan and bring to the table.
Notes
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8 Comments
Nicolette Williams
Abso-blinkin-lutely delicious!
I chopthe recipe in half and use proba ly 1/3 of the oil/butter, but t’s the only thing I’ve done with pork chops for months. (I think i may be addicted) Finely sliced red onion works too at a pinch, if you’re out of shallots
Thank you so much
Chasing the Seasons
Thank you so much Nicolette!! Such a lovely review, made me smile 🙂 Thank you for the red onion suggestion too, certainly will help someone in a pinch. Much appreciated!
J Gilbert
Realize I’m a bit late to this recipe, but if anyone wants to experiment with a bit of heat, I went for a single African bird’s eye chili added with the shallots, and used fresh lemon juice instead of the vinegar. I didn’t quite get the balance right, especially with the mustard, but I definitely was surprised how well the chili and apple went together.
Chasing the Seasons
Sounds wonderful! Recipes are just guides anyway, not rules, so I love when readers add their own touch and share them! Thank you for posting.
Margaret P.
loved this!! The sauce was so good! Definitely a keeper. Made it twice already. For the reader who said this wouldn’t be ok to serve to company, you could always make it up to the point the pork and apples come out and keep them warm for a short while. Make the sauce in a bit. That’s just my two cents. Otherwise, serve company a different dish. For me, this was a great family dinner!
Chasing the Seasons
I’m so happy you enjoyed this dish! It’s one of our favorites.
Fran Tosti
This was not what I would have expected from a one skillet dish. Lots of steps and mess . Not a dish to serve for company … needs to be worked on until last minute . Flavors were good but not exceptional for the tedious nature of this dish. I am more an Ina Garten girl who likes to spend more time with guests and doing bulk of preparing in advance.
Chasing the Seasons
Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. So sorry it didn’t work out for you.