Porkchops in Honey Bourbon Sauce
Stuffed Pork Recipe Delivers Outstanding Taste
Overcooking is the major cause for unpleasant mealtimes, especially when it comes to pork. Many people cook pork too long because of Trichinella Spiralis...
Have you ever had a pulled pork sandwich that was utterly magnificent? What about a pork chop that has managed to escape that can of mushroom soup and become something special? Pork is often overlooked, over cooked or viewed as a lesser meat. More often than not many people reach for beef or chicken. Sometimes it’s because we have an aversion to a food that we may have had a bad experience with but for the most part it’s not an intentional thing. People tend to reach for ingredients that are comfortable and familiar to prepare and quite often make the same fifteen or twenty dishes over and over.
Pork is a terrific meat. It is tender juicy and full of Tastitude. There are a great many different cuts that you can enjoy from the tenderloin and back ribs to bacon and the ever flavourful pork chop. If well seasoned and prepared with some skill and passion pork can be gourmet…no scratch that…it can be smashmouth.
Many people have a tendency to overcook pork for one reason or another. Some people do it accidentally, some prefer their meat well done but many are under the impression that pork that is not well on its way to being jerky poses a health risk.
Trichinella spiralis is the food borne parasite most commonly associated with pork and although extremely serious it has also become extremely rare. Trichinosis has been on the decline for years. Farming techniques have been standardized and are now regulated not to mention that grain feed has replaced spoiled foods and garbage. That’s not to say we shouldn’t prepare our meats with care but pork doesn’t have to taste like an old leather boot.
Pork that is cooked medium rare to a medium is a thing of beauty. Whether you are doing roasts, chops or ribs your new favourite meat just may very well turn out to be pork. The nice thing is that you can cook safely as our nasty little friend Trichinella spiralis meets it’s maker at just under 140 F. Just keep in mind that as with all ground meats you should treat ground pork like ground beef and cook it to 160 F.
The challenge of course is to come up with a recipe that is relatively easy to make, original and has enough Tastitude to kick you right in the chops. With some ingredients like apples, cinnamon and mint along with some help from an old friend from Kentucky, this recipe should solve your pork problems.
So have a look at this week’s recipe and give it a shot. I promise your snout and your buds won’t be disappointed.
Apple, Cinnamon and Mint Stuffed Pork Chops in Jim Beam and Honey Sauce
- 2 thick cut pork rib chops 8-10 oz each
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 medium red onion finely diced
- 1 medium Apple finely diced (preferably out of your back yard)
- 1 tsp brown (Demerara) sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon (half)
- 1 small bunch of mint lightly minced
- ¼ cup of Jim Beam (quarter)
- ¼ cup of beef stock (quarter)
- 2 tsp honey
- ½ cup toasted sliced almonds (half)
- Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Directions:
- Using a sharp boning knife make a small incision into the side of the pork rib chop. The entrance hole should be no more than two inches wide but the cavity should be as large as possible without cutting through to the outside. Sprinkle the chops lightly with Sea salt and fresh pepper and set aside.
- In a large skillet melt half the butter on medium high heat and add half of the finely diced onion. Sauté the onion for a couple of minutes then add the apple, Demerara, cinnamon and half of the mint. Continue to heat until apple is cooked through. Drain the juices and reserve them for later. Put the mixture into a bowl and allow thorough cooling.
- Stuff the cavities that you cut into the chops with the cooled apple mixture. In the original frying pan heat the second tablespoon of butter on medium high heat and brown each of the stuffed chops on both sides then remove and set aside.
- Place the chops on an oven safe pan and bake on 300 F for approx. 20-25 minutes or until an internal temperature of 150 F has been reached.
- Add the remainder of the onion to the same pan and sauté until cooked. Carefully deglaze the pan with the Jim Beam and then reduce by half. Add the beef stock, honey, reserved juice from the stuffing and reduce again until thickened. Stir the toasted almond slices and remaining mint into the sauce and drizzle over the cooked stuffed chops.
Serve and enjoy.
