Braised Pork Chops with Cabbage and Apples
- Savory
- Stovetop
- Oven
Pork chops browned in a skillet, then simmered with red cabbage, onion and apples in a sticky brown sugar and red wine vinegar glaze. A savory-sweet one-pan dinner.
- Total
- 60 min
- Prep 15 · Cook 40 · Rest 5
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Searing · Braising
Instructions
-
Pat the pork chops dry and season both sides with 1 tsp of the salt and the black pepper.
~3 min
Drying the surface lets it brown rather than steam, and salting ahead seasons the meat through.
-
Heat the olive oil in the skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Sear the pork chops 3 minutes per side until browned, then transfer them to a plate.
~6 min
A hot pan drives the Maillard reaction, building the browned crust whose fond later flavors the glaze.
Searing Get the oil shimmering and leave the chops untouched until they release easily; moving them too soon tears the crust before it forms.
-
While step 2 cooks
While the chops sear, core the red cabbage and slice it into 1 cm ribbons. Peel and thinly slice the onion, then core the apples and cut them into 2 cm chunks.
~8 min
Slice the cabbage thinly and evenly so it wilts in the same time the chops finish cooking; thick wedges stay crunchy while the pork overcooks.
-
Lower the heat to medium and add the onion to the skillet, cooking 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the red cabbage and the pinch of cloves, then cook 5 minutes more until the cabbage starts to wilt.
~10 min
Medium heat softens the onion and cabbage without scorching the fond that will flavor the braise.
-
Stir in the brown sugar and red wine vinegar, scraping up the browned bits, then add the apples and the remaining 0.5 tsp salt. Nestle the pork chops back into the pan with any juices, cover, and simmer gently 20 minutes until the chops reach 63°C and the cabbage is tender.
~20 min
The vinegar deglazes the pan, and gentle covered simmering keeps the lean chops moist while the cabbage softens.
Braising Keep the liquid at a bare simmer with the lid on, and check that the chops reach 63°C without boiling hard, which toughens lean pork.
-
Uncover and simmer 4 minutes until the glaze thickens and coats the chops. Rest off the heat 5 minutes before serving.
~9 min
Uncovering lets the liquid reduce to a clinging glaze, and resting lets the juices redistribute so the chops stay juicy.
If the glaze looks thin at the end, lift out the chops and boil the juices down for a minute or two before returning them.
