Pork Loin Chops in Cider Sauce
Aperçu
Pork loin chops browned and then baked in apple cider with Worcestershire sauce, finished with a sherry-reduced pan sauce. No country is claimed; it is an autumn dish in a broadly Northern European register. The technique that matters is the one the source explains best. Pork loin is very lean and usually cut thin, so it dries out faster than almost any other chop, the fix is to brown it hard for colour and then finish it in liquid, which is exactly what this method does. Braising is also why the source recommends shoulder chops as a second choice: they have more gristle, and braising is what breaks that down. Two gaps worth naming. The article promises onions, garlic, thyme, cream and apple slices; none of those appear in the ingredient list or the method. And the ingredient list itself is mangled, one entry runs four separate seasonings together into a single unbroken string. The dish contains both dry sherry and apple cider concentrate. The alcohol in the sherry largely cooks off during the reduction, but it is worth knowing it is there. The source recommends serving it over sweet potato and swede mash.
Ingrédients
Les mentions alimentaires sont fournies par les contributeurs à titre indicatif. Elles ne sont pas vérifiées par AFN et dépendent des produits que vous achetez. En cas d’allergie grave, vérifiez vous-même chaque ingrédient. Cuisine, allergies et votre propre jugement
Préparation
- 1
Set the oven to 375°F / 190°C.
- 2
Warm the olive oil in a large oven-safe frying pan over medium-high heat.
- 3
Season the chops with salt, pepper, garlic powder and poultry seasoning.
- 4
Put them into the hot oil and brown well on both sides. Pork loin is lean and this is your only chance at colour.
- 5
Pour the Worcestershire sauce over the chops and add the apple cider concentrate.
- 6
Bake for 25 minutes.
- 7
Move the chops to a plate and return the pan to the hob over medium-high heat.
- 8
Pour in the sherry and let it bubble until the sauce thickens, stirring frequently.
- 9
Pour the sauce over the chops and serve.
Notes de l’Africook
- Brown hard, then braise. Pork loin is very lean and dries out quickly, so the liquid stage is what keeps it edible.
- Do not overcook it. Loin chops are thin and go from juicy to dry within a couple of minutes.
- Shoulder chops are the better choice for braising if you can find them, more flavour, and the braise breaks down the gristle.
- Rest the chops while you reduce the sauce. It costs nothing and the meat keeps its juices.
- The apple cider concentrate is doing sweetness and acidity together. Ordinary apple juice reduced hard is the nearest substitute.
- It contains sherry. Most of the alcohol cooks off in the reduction but the wine is in the dish.
Questions fréquentes
How do I stop pork chops drying out?
Two things. Buy chops that are not too thin, anything under about 2 cm cooks through before it has browned. And use the method here: brown hard for colour, then finish in liquid rather than continuing over dry heat. Pork loin is one of the leanest cuts on the animal, with very little intramuscular fat to keep it moist, which is why it punishes overcooking more than almost anything else.
Which pork chop should I buy?
It depends what you are doing. Loin chops, sometimes sold as pork loin steaks, are lean, widely available and inexpensive, and they suit this braise. Shoulder chops are cheaper and more flavourful but carry more gristle, which is exactly why braising suits them. Rib chops are excellent on a grill and less suited to this method. The source's preferences are sound.
Where are the onions and cream?
Not in the recipe, despite the article promising them. Its opening description mentions onions, garlic, thyme, a splash of cream and apple slices on top; none of those appear in either the ingredient list or the method. The recipe here follows what is actually written. If you want the version the article describes, softening onions and garlic with thyme before the chops go in, and finishing the sauce with cream, would get you there.
Can I make it without sherry?
Yes. The quarter cup of sherry is deglazing the pan and adding depth to the reduction, and stock with a splash of cider vinegar does a similar job. Most of the alcohol cooks off as the sauce thickens, but it is in the ingredient list and that matters for households avoiding it. The apple cider concentrate is not alcoholic, it is concentrated juice rather than fermented cider.
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