Pork Chops with Apples & Onions

This is one of my favorite fall dinners.

Three simple flavors – pork chops, apples, and onions – get a little help from beer and apple cider to make a dish that’s not only comforting to eat but easy to make.

This is old fashioned home cookin’ at its best.

Here’s what you need:

Pork Chops, Apples, Onion, Beer, Apple Cider, Olive Oil, Butter (not pictured), Rosemary, Parsley (optional), Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ground Ginger, Cayenne, Salt & Pepper.

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I’ve made this recipe both with bone-in, center cut pork chops as shown here, and also with boneless or butterfly chops. Both are good, but the bone-in chops remain juicer and more tender so they are my preference.

Season the pork on both sides with a little salt & pepper. Heat 1-2 Tablespoons of oil in a large pan over medium high heat and brown the chops nicely on both sides.

Remove the browned chops to a plate and add 1-2 Tablespoons of butter to the pan. Add 1 sliced large onion and sauté for about 5 minutes until soft but not browned.

Peel, core and chop 1-2 apples and add them to the pan. I’m using Granny Smith apples but if you have live in an apple friendly climate (lucky you) and have a nice hard, crisp apple like a Haralson or Honeycrisp, you will get even better apple flavor.

When you chop the apple, try to keep the pieces on the bigger side so that they don’t completely dissolve and disappear while cooking. We’re going for apple chunks not apple sauce here.

I should point out that the apples and onions are my favorite part of this dish so I have probably twice as many in my pan as you need for only 2 pork chops. For two chops, most normal people will only need 1 large apple and 1 large onion.

Season the apples with 1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried) and a dash (about 1/4 teaspoon) each of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and cayenne pepper. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Add 3/4 of a cup of  beer – I’m using a seasonal brown ale but any beer with good flavor will do.

Pour in 3/4 cup of good apple cider.

Note:  if you prefer not to use beer, you can double the amount of cider. I’ve also made this with wine and cider but I think the beer had the best flavor. I should also point out that I hate beer, so that’s really saying something.

Return the pork chops to the pan and nestle them down in the apples and onions. Bring the sauce to a boil, cover with a lid, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the pork is cooked through.

If your sauce is too runny, remove the cooked pork from the pan and crank the heat up a bit to reduce the sauce.

I like this dish so much I’ve made it twice recently. The first time I served it with this amazing barley with carrots and scallions….

and the second time with half of a baked Sweet Dumpling squash. (If you haven’t had a sweet dumpling squash, go find one now. They’re related to acorn squash but only available seasonally. SO good!)

All the flavors of fall….even in Florida where it’s still 95 degrees.

Here’s the recipe:

Pork Chops with Apples & Onions