Pork Chops with Apples, Grainy Mustard and Cream
Pork, apples and sage are like the rat pack of flavours. They have a similar style and complement each other perfectly with a sweet earthiness that just warms the soul. Seasoning the pork chops the night before adds a ton of flavour and tenderizes the meat. It also helps the meat to cook more evenly. Cooking meat with the bone in helps to distribute both flavour and heat as well.
Semillon is an overlooked and underrated wine, but the perfect choice for this dish. Our 2019 Semillon, despite only having 11.5% alcohol, has medium body and soft citrus flavours that work well with pork. What really works well with this pairing is there is just enough acidity for the mustard, but it has enough body for the cream resulting in a nice balance. The apple flavour in the dish plays off the fruit flavours in the wine and actually brings tehm out of the shadows and makes them shine.
Recipe adapted from “This Food That Wine” by Chris Knight
Photography credit: Paige Green © 2019
Servings: 4
Ingredients
4 pork chops, each 1-1/2″ thick, bone in
2 tablespoons (30ml) grapeseed or vegetable oil
6 large sage leaves, sliced into small strips
5 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into thick slices
1-3/4 cup (435ml) chicken stock
3/4 cup (190ml) dry white wine
2 tablespoons (30ml) cider vinegar
1/4 cup (60 ml) grainy Dijon mustard
1 cup (250ml) heavy cream
How To Make
1
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C)
2
Season pork chops with salt and pepper, cover and pop into your fridge for a minimum of 4 hours but ideally overnight. Pull the chops from the fridge 1/3 hour before you are about to cook them and let them come up to room temperature.
3
Heat a heavy bottomed skillet, large enough to fit 4 chops, over medium-high heat until the skillet is starting to smoke. Add oil, scoot it around the pan and add pork chops. Brown them on both sides.
4
Remove the pan from the heat and add the sage, garlic, onions, and the apples.
5
Pour chicken stock, wine, and cider vinegar over everything in the pan. Cover with aluminum foil or a tight-fitting lid and back in the oven for 30 minutes.
6
In a small bowl, combine the mustard and the heavy cream. Once the 30 minutes is up, pull off the foil and pour the cream mixture over the chops. Bake uncovered for another 20 minutes.
7
You can either serve these family style on a platter or on four plates making sure you get a little of everything and finishing with a couple spoonful’s of the sauce.
