Braising doesn’t have to mean long cooking times. For tender cuts like pork chops, the secret to a great braise lies in the method, not in hours on the stove. First, a hard sear on the meat, as well as halved shallots and apples, creates a beautiful fond (the delicious caramelized bits left in the bottom of the pan after cooking). Deglazing the pan with a tart-savory combination of hard cider, vinegar, and stock loosens up that layer of browned goodness and reduces down to gravy in about 20 minutes. To finish, the chops simmer in the sauce until they’re cooked through. Voilà: cooked-all-day depth in under an hour.
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What you’ll need
Cast Iron Skillet
$30 At Amazon
Kitchen Twine
$4.99 At Amazon
Heavy Metal Spatula
$9 At Amazon
Microplane
$18 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
4
3
1
1
2
3
3
4
¼
3
2
2
1
1
10–12
Preparation
Step 1
Pat four 1½"-thick bone-in rib pork chops (about 2 lb. total) dry with paper towels. Sprinkle all over with 3 Tbsp. sugar, 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1 Tbsp. freshly ground pepper. Heat 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high. Working in batches if needed, cook pork chops, turning halfway through, until deeply browned, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a large plate.
Step 2
Working in batches if needed, cook 3 medium Granny Smith or Gala apples, halved through equators, and 3 medium shallots, peeled, halved lengthwise through root ends, cut sides down, in same skillet, gently pressing down on them with a spatula to create contact with pan, until golden brown on cut sides, about 2 minutes (it’s okay if shallots fall apart). Transfer apples to plate with chops.
Step 3
Reduce heat to medium, add 4 garlic cloves, finely grated, to pan, and cook, stirring constantly, just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add ¼ cup Dijon mustard, 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, and 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter; stir to coat shallots. Pour in 2 cups sweet hard apple cider, 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth, and 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, scraping up browned bits and flour stuck to bottom of pan and incorporating into liquid. Add 10–12 sprigs thyme, tied together with kitchen twine, and bring mixture to a simmer. Partially cover (use a baking sheet if you don’t have a lid) and simmer until sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, about 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Step 4
Place pork chops and apples in sauce, arranging apples cut sides up, and partially cover. Simmer until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a pork chop registers 145°, 7–10 minutes. Remove from heat; sprinkle with finely chopped chives and season with more pepper to serve.
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Reviews (19)
Back to TopI've made this now three times, all following the recipe exactly. The first time, my wife and I thought it a special recipe, full of complex, satisfying flavors. Subsequently, my nonagenarian mother-in-law looked at the recipe and was skeptical. "I don't think this will be tender, and it may be undercooked," she said. But after eating it twice, she was thrilled. As are we all. "Why, this is DeLICIOUS," she said. And then she said it again, repeatedly. We are all pleased with the pork chops. We are all pleased with the gravy. We are all pleased with the recipe. Our recommendation: make it and follow the recipe. For this household, this recipe is very satisfying as written. More than satisfying, actually.
kwess
Escondido, CA
3/30/2024
I struggled a little with this recipe. I ended up with a lot of large black burnt bits (not like fond) in my cast iron skillet after searing the chops. Had an issue with pan being too dry when I added the garlic, flour, and butter so the auce was quite lumpy at first. I found the chops to be pretty bland. However, the sauce was very good! I served the dish with pearl couscous which soaked up some of it and it was delicious.
Sarah
San Luis Obispo
3/4/2024
Lovely flavor & easy to make. Next time, I’ll double the sauce.
Susan
Pleasant Hill, CA
3/2/2024
This tastes great...but the instructions as written were a nightmare. Notes for next time: - Omit sugar sprinkled on pork chops; I was skeptical and thought maybe it would caramelize nicely? No, I have to clean a layer of burnt sugar off my cast iron tonight. When the sugar fell off the chops, it created a magical barrier between the heat and the meat so the pork was not browned at all by the time I hastily removed them and threw my pan outside because of the smoke. With the apples and cider, the recipe is plenty sweet. - Cut apples into large chunks instead of in half; the texture of the cut side of the apple was nice but the centers didn't have time to cook evenly. And no one liked cutting around the core while we ate. - Totally change up step 3; I'll remove the shallots (cut sides were starting to burn by the time I got the liquid in) then melt the butter and saute the garlic for a minute (throwing garlic in a dry, searing hot pan made me panic to get the roux going), then add the flour, cook, add liquids and stir, then add mustard, thyme, and shallots back. This feels like a more intuitive way to start the sauce. Whew! Again, I really like how this dish tastes - the shallots simmered in that sauce is my favorite part. Serve with a piece of flatbread to clean your plate with, omg yum. But I need some emotional healing before I make it again.
CW
2/28/2024
Followed the recipe exactly as shown with 2 adjust based on reviews: added 1 extra Tbsp cider vinegar for a flavor boost and simmered longer to ensure doneness. Not sure how you sear the pork without burning the sugar on the pan, but I had black burned bits in my sauce from that and would skip it if made again. Also the apples overcooked and turned to mush (applesauce!) so that made eating difficult. But the sauce was really tasty and the shallots were gorgeous. Served over white rice to soak up the sauce. Overall too much work and family reviews were mixed, so won’t make again.
Jjjbbb
Atlanta, GA
2/22/2024
Honestly, I almost didn't make this because of the reviews but I'm glad I did. This was amazing! Based on the other reviews we did braise the pork for about an hour at 350 and it was super tender. We finished the dish with lemon zest and some lemon juice and it was perfect!! I would definitely make this again!
Bri H.
Chicago, IL
2/19/2024
Everything about this recipe is great except that the chops needed a few hours braise in the oven to get tender. Wonderful flavor though. Served w roasted parsnips and carrots and Parmesan mashed potatoes.
Stacie K.
2/9/2024