When I think of comfort food, this excellent recipe of smoked pork chops with tender potatoes and sweet apple slices is the recipe I gravitate towards.
This was one of the first recipes I prepared when I decided it was time to learn and put more effort into cooking. Since that first bite, I have had a love affair with this recipe.
But it goes deeper than just a recipe; a love affair is also behind it.
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Every time we traveled to a new place, we always made it a point to try the local food and purchase a cookbook from the local area region, which usually entailed going to a local cooking store.
Early in the ’90s, with a couple of girlfriends, we visited Seattle. I love the city and the vibrancy of it, and I must admit every time I traveled there, I always was fortunate to have sunny days. We enjoyed sightseeing, eating, and visiting with my dear friends.
This brought me to the one and only, at that time, family-operated “Sur La Table” located at Pike Place Farmer’s Market. The store was and still is one of my favorites.
In this Article
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- The love affair
- Why will you love this recipe
- What are smoked pork chops?
- Ingredients needed to make this smoked pork chops
- Pro Tips
- Cooking tips on preparing your pork chops
- If you enjoy this smoked pork chops recipe, you may want to try my other recipes.
- Smoked Pork Chops with Potatoes and Sautéed Apple Slices
The love affair
Everywhere we turned, I wanted to buy something. I lost myself in there and did not mind it a bit. I was falling in love with cooking, the store, and everything the store had to offer. One-of-a-kind love, if you know what I mean.
After what felt like minutes to me, but I was reminded that it was over one hour (I had never shopped with friends who do not cook since then), I purchased one of my favorite cookbooks,” Dungeness Crabs and Blackberry Cobblers” by Janie Hibler, as well as my very first Le Creuset Dutch oven pan.
Remember, we did not have e-commerce back then, and Sur La Table did not have a website where I could get lost in. This love affair with Sur La Table is still there strong after all those years, as well as the cookbook and the Le Creuset pan, with a few scratches but they still have my heart.
Well, enough about my love affair and back to the recipe at hand.
We love the caramelized onions, the tenderness of the smoked pork chops, and the rich flavor of the potatoes. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Why will you love this recipe
It’s easy to make, as the oven will do it all.
The combined flavors are unique, and your pork chop is so tender you could cut it with a butter knife.
A meal in one pot creates less mess in the kitchen.
What are smoked pork chops?
Thick, mostly bone-in pork chops coated with BBQ rub and smoked at low temperature until tender and juicy. The smoky flavor is mild.
The chops can be replaced by boneless chops or loin chops.
Please do not confuse them with ham; they are two cuts from the same animal.
Even though they are fully cooked, the meat may still be slightly pink inside.
The wonderful thing about buying them from your butcher is that you do not have to have a smoker, grill or traeger, pellets, pellet smoker and all other items handy to smoke them yourself.
Although store-bought has already been through the brine process, you do not have to do it.
Ingredients needed to make this smoked pork chops
Yellow onion – milder in flavor and caramelized beautifully
Brown sugar – helps the caramelization process with the onions and also adds a sweet flavor to the smoked pork chops.
Russet potatoes – peeled and cubed. They absorb the juice wonderfully.
Smoked pork chops – even size and 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Bone-in are excellent
Dry sherry – adds a fabulous layer of flavor.
Unsalted butter – I always use unsalted butter in my cooking or baking to control the amount of sodium. Salted butter not only adds too much salt to your dish, but it changes the flavor.
Gravenstrin apples – peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick
Ground cloves, Ground Cinnamon, and Dry mustard – are the perfect complement to the sweetness of the onion and add dimension to the apples and potatoes.
Pro Tips
For the apples, I sometimes use Fuji. Do not use red delicious or green apples as they are too watery and will not bind well with the flavors.
Cooking tips on preparing your pork chops
As with most of my recipes, please gather all the ingredients before cooking.
- After turning your oven to the required setting, peel and slice your onions and potatoes. You can keep the apples for last.
- In a skillet, gently caramelize the onions until soft and light golden. Make sure they do not burn.
Once done, you can start layering your Dutch oven casserole with the following:
- Potatoes, caramelized onions, and then the pork chops.
- Mix the sherry and dry mustard in a small bowl and pour it over the chops. Cover and bake in the oven.
- Right before serving, prepare the apples in the same skillet where you cooked the onions if you wish, and pour over the chops at serving time.
If you enjoy this smoked pork chops recipe, you may want to try my other recipes.
Pork Chops with Garlic and Cream
Smoked Pork Chops with Potatoes and Sautéed Apple Slices
Ingredients
- ½ pound yellow onion, sliced into ¼ inch thick
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, plus 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 pound smoked pork chops, 3/4 to 1 inch thick
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- ¼ cup dry sherry
- 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound apples, Gravenstein peeled, cored, sliced ¼ to ½ inch thick
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Heat the oil and sauté the onion with a teaspoon of brown sugar for 8-10 minutes. They will be caramelized, soft, and tender.
- Grease a 2-quart casserole dish and arrange the potatoes on the bottom. Make a layer of onions over the potatoes, followed by the pork chops.
- Stir the dry mustard into the sherry and pour over the pork chops. Cover the dish and bake 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Heat the butter in a skillet and sauté the apples slices for 3-4 minutes. Blend the remaining tablespoon brown sugar, cinnamon and cloves together and sprinkle over the apples. Spread the apples over the chops and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Cooking Canva provides nutritional information, but these figures should be considered estimates, as a registered dietician does not calculate them.
- Course: Dinners, Pork, Sides, Sunday Night Dinner
- Cuisine: American
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