chicken stock if needed to soften the breadcrumbs4 to 8 tablespoons
Apple Stuffing
.25cupunsalted butter
1cupdiced yellow onion
1celery stalkthinly sliced
1largeGranny Smith appleor any tart apple - peeled, cored, and diced into small pieces
.25cupItalian parsleychopped
1teaspoonrubbed sage
.5teaspoondried thyme leaves
1cupbreadcrumbs
4thick-cut pork chops1.5-inches thick
sea salt and black pepperto taste
2tablespoonsolive oil
Instructions
Boil the apple juice (or apple cider) down to one cup. Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and celery, and cook until softened and translucent, about 5 to 6 minutes.
Add the diced apple and cook until slightly softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the parsley, sage, and thyme.
Add the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Move the stuffing to a bowl to cool. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel to remove any residual breadcrumbs.
Lay the pork chops flat on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut a large pocket inside each chop. Cut the opening 2 to 3-inches wide, making the cut wider inside the chop. Be careful not to cut all the way through.
Spoon about half a cup of filling into each opening, pressing to pack it in and keep it in place.
Heat the skillet over medium-high heat, and add the olive oil. When oil is hot, add the pork chops. Brown the first side, about 5 to 6 minutes. Flip the chops over and brown the second side, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Place a lid or aluminum foil over the skillet and place in the oven. Bake until a thermometer inserted into the center of the meat, not the stuffing, reads 145 degrees. This can take anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes depending on the thickness of your pork chops and how hot your oven cooks.
While the pork chops are cooking, heat the reduced apple juice with the Dijon mustard, bourbon lemon zest, sage and cayenne. Whisk to combine and stir occasionally until heated through. Remove from heat and set aside.
The stuffing is supposed to be on the dry side, we don’t want soggy stuffing. However, living in the desert I realize that my breadcrumbs are incredibly dry, so I added 7 or 8 tablespoons of chicken stock to help bind them together. Just enough so that I could scoop them up without them falling back down into the skillet.
I used a Granny Smith apple because they hold together well when baked. Feel free to use your favorite apple.
There isn’t a substitute for the bourbon. You could leave it out if you must, but it will be lacking in flavor. You could try to substitute chicken stock, but I have not tried that myself.