Pork Chops Braised with Cabbage, Apples and Potatoes
Pork chops browned until golden, then simmered with cabbage, apples and potatoes until everything is tender and the pan sauce is sweet and savory. A one-pan dinner that stays juicy and comforting.
- Total
- 60 min
- Prep 15 · Cook 40 · Rest 5
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Searing · Braising
- Savory
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2 cm cubes. Core the apples and cut them into 2 cm wedges. Cut the cabbage into 2 cm ribbons. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels and season both sides with 0.5 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper.
~15 min
Uniform 2 cm pieces cook at the same rate, so nothing turns to mush before the rest is tender.
-
Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay in the pork chops and brown them undisturbed for 3 minutes per side, until deep golden. They will not be cooked through yet. Transfer to a plate.
~6 min
Dry meat browns instead of steaming, and the browned fond is the flavor base of the braise.
Browning the chops hard in step 2 builds the fond that gives the braise its depth; do not move them until they release easily from the pan.
Searing Pat the chops dry and leave them untouched until they release easily; moving them early tears the crust and loses the fond.
-
Lower the heat to medium. Add the cabbage and caraway seeds to the pan and stir for 2 minutes, scraping up the browned bits. Add the potatoes, apples, 250 ml water and the remaining 0.5 tsp salt. Stir, then nestle the pork chops on top with any resting juices.
~2 min
Stirring the cabbage in the hot fat lifts the browned bits, dissolving them into the braising liquid.
Braising Keep the liquid at a bare simmer, not a boil, and check that the chops stay partly above the liquid so they stay tender.
-
Cover and simmer gently for 25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife and the pork chops reach 63°C in the center. If the pan looks dry, add 2 tbsp water.
~25 min
Gentle covered simmering keeps the pork juicy while the potatoes and cabbage soften in the steam.
If the cabbage releases a lot of liquid, leave the lid slightly ajar for the last 10 minutes so the sauce reduces instead of steaming.
Braising Keep the liquid at a bare simmer, not a boil, and check that the chops stay partly above the liquid so they stay tender.
-
Uncover, transfer the pork chops to warm plates and simmer the cabbage, apples and potatoes for 5 minutes, until the liquid thickens slightly and coats the vegetables. Taste and adjust with the remaining 0.25 tsp black pepper.
~5 min
Uncovering lets water evaporate so the sauce thickens and clings instead of staying watery.
-
Spoon the vegetables and sauce over the pork chops and let them rest for 5 minutes before serving.
~5 min
Resting lets the juices redistribute through the meat so they stay in the chop, not on the plate.