Thick Cut Seared Pork Chops with Local Apple & Dried Cherry Chutney

Now that Apple Season has arrived, I couldn’t think of a better pairing than a thick cut sautéed pork chop with apples. There’s nothing like homemade applesauce to compliment a pork chop but I wanted to take it to another level. Therefore…Chutney. Homemade chutney is like applesauce on steroids. You can combine some amazing flavors that accentuate the flavor of pork. Adding in ginger and red pepper give it some zest. The brandy adds some depth. The dried cherries add some extra tang. The cumin, orange zest, scallions and cinnamon bring it all together. There’s no sugar in this recipe. I was going for the deeper more savory flavors.

Actually apples are not native to India. Authentic Indian chutney is made with raw fruits. It was when Great Brittan colonized southern Asia that chutney became that savory cooked fruit condiment we are familiar with today.

I used Friske’s Orchard Heirloom Duchess Apple. Other great varieties would be Honeycrisp and Granny Smith. The amount of apples you need to purchase depends on the size of the apple. The Duchess Apple I used is quite small. So if you’re using a larger apple, you may not need a full 2 pounds.

Chutney is such a versatile condiment. It pairs beautifully with chicken, lamb, brats, cheese trays, and sandwiches. Once prepared the chutney is good for a week under refrigeration. You can also freeze the chutney

Pork today is much different from yester years. Today’s pork is much leaner, nutritious and great tasting. To get the peak of flavor from the pork we are now able to cook it to a lower temperature, maintaining its flavor and moisture. A little pink in the center is OK. This recipe uses sautéing as the cooking technique but you could also grill them. Oppose to using the traditional method of sautéing the pork for so many minutes on each side, I continue to flip the chop every minute. It makes the most amazing sear on the outside and is able to maintain the moistness on the inside. Leave the pork chops out for an hour to get them to room temperature. The pork will cook more evenly that way. Seeing there is so much flavor in the chutney, I only season the chop with pepper. Salt has a tendency to dry out pork so it is finished at the end with salt.

 

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Pork Chops with Apple Cherry Chutney

Course Main Dish
Cuisine Local
Servings 2 people

Ingredients

Local Apple & Dried Cherry Chutney

  • 2 lb Apples Duchess, Honeycrisp or Granny Smith, approx. 6 cups chopped apple; cored & diced into 1 inch chunks
  • 1 cup Dried Local Cherries
  • 5 Scallions 3/4 cup
  • 3 tablespoons Brandy
  • 1 teaspoon Orange Zest chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

Seared Thick Cut Pork Chops

  • Canola oil
  • Fresh Ground Pepper
  • Sea Salt
  • 2 Pork Chops approx 2 pounds, 1 1/2 inches thick

Instructions

Local Apple & Dried Cherry Chutney

  • In a medium size sauce pan, combine all the ingredients. Cook on medium low, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes. The chutney is finished when all the apples have broken down. Serve warm or at room temperature. Can be prepared ahead of time and reheated. !Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat for 10 minutes. Pat chops dry with paper towel and season with fresh ground pepper.

Seared Thick Cut Pork Chops

  • Add a thin layer of Canola or Vegetable oil to the skillet. Add pork chops and flip after one minute. Continue flipping every minute for a total of seven minutes. I highly recommend you use a screen over the pan to avoid splatter. Remove chops and season lightly with sea salt. Place cooked chops on a plate to rest for 10-15 minutes.
  • The pork had an internal temperature of 115 degrees when I pulled them and increased to 135 degrees after they rested. With this timing, the chops were cooked medium. If you like a little pink in your pork, cook for 6 minutes (flipping every minute).
  • Serve with the Apple & Cherry Chutney. Drizzle accumulated juices from the meat over the chops before serving.
  • Big eaters might like a whole chop or the meat could be cut from the bone and serve up to four people.