The other day I found this recipe while rummaging through an old box, and it took the reader step-by-step through a long process of making glaze and apple topping all from scratch. It finally dawned on me that this was a recipe for something that could be bought already made and in a can, so I thought I’d try it and see how it turned out.
It was good–even City Boy liked it, and he doesn’t like much, food-wise! So here’s my version of Apple Pork Chops–it’s so easy and quick–I hope you like it as well as we did!
INGREDIENTS:
6 boneless pork chops
salt
pepper
sage or ginger
water
oil
One 21 oz can apple pie filling
Handful of chopped walnuts or pecans
METHOD:
Gather ingredients; lay pork chops out and season one side by sprinkling with salt, pepper, and a dusting of the sage or ginger.
The original recipe called for sage, but I didn’t have any on hand, so I used ginger. Both sage and ginger have strong, distinctive flavors, and so take it seriously about just giving the meat a dusting with either of them. A little will go a long way.
Pat the meat to press the seasonings into the meat. Add a touch of oil to a skillet over medium heat and add the meat, seasoning side down.
Repeat seasoning the meat on the exposed side the same way as before.
I only used three pork chops, so I just cut the ingredients in half, but the directions I’m giving are for six.
Brown the meat three minutes on on each side, or until done and juice runs clear.
Back in the day the emphasis was always to be sure and get the pork DONE, even if it meant cooking it to death until it was tough and dry–no hillbilly wanted to risk underdone pork! Glad I wised-up from that and now enjoy moist, tender meat, and it’s still done.
Remove the pork from the skillet and set aside on a plate.
Add just enough oil and water to the skillet to easily scrape the drippings, pieces of pork and seasonings up and make a small amount of moisture in the pan. Add the can of apple pie filling.
Stir the filling to to mix with the pan drippings.
Add the walnuts or pecans, enough to suit your taste. Stir mixture and heat until warm, stirring occasionally, and cutting the bigger apple pieces in half.
For the presentation, find the ugliest, oldest most scratched-up plate you can and place the pork on it. Cover the pork with the apple mixture and take a picture. Just kidding–you can use any plate you want, and you don’t have to take a picture. Serve.
The flavor was great, and it didn’t take long at all to make. Perhaps the addition of raisons would have added a nice flavor as well; I’ll have to try that next time. I’ll let you know how that turns out.
If you have a hankering for pork, this just may fit the bill. If you decide to try it, let me know how you like it!