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Friday, January 21, 2011

Bourbon Apple Pork Chops

This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light Cookbook 1989. The cookbook was a Christmas gift from my Dad and has proved rather intriguing to page through, especially since not all the recipes have photographs attached. I was curious to see how the recipes of the past would stack up. Turns out the Bourbon Apple Pork Chops are pretty darn tasty. The Granny Smith apple topping originally called for the apple to be cut into rings, but I preferred to dice them. The result was a play on warm homemade applesauce; the leftovers even worked on their own as a side dish the next night. I'll admit, it is not the prettiest looking dish to grace the pages of III, but give it a shot. They knew a thing or two about cooking back in '89.
I paired the pork chops with corn and rice pilaf. It would also pair well with a side salad or a green vegetable. Ingredients:
-3 bone in center cut pork chops
-2 garlic cloves
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/4 teaspoon pepper
-1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
-1/4 cup bourbon
-1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
-2 tablespoons water
-1 teaspoon corn starch
-1 medium granny smith apple, dicedTrim the fat from the pork chops. Season with garlic, salt and pepper. Coat a large nonstick pan with cooking spray or olive oil and set over medium high heat. Add the pork chops and brown on each side, about 3-4 minutes.Add apple juice, bourbon and Worcestershire sauce, then bring mixture to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes or until pork chops are tender. In another pan over low-medium heat combine water and cornstarch, stirring until smooth. Cook until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Add the diced apple to the pan and cook until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat and spoon over pork chops. 
I was skeptical about the whole water-apple-cornstarch-combination. (Is this an 80's thing or a common cooking technique I am not privy to?) I did not have cornstarch just lying around in my cabinet, that is for sure. But once the process was complete it all made sense. The cornstarch adds depth and consistency to the apples. It serves to meld them together and create a chunky sauce like topping. They complimented pork quite nicely. Simmered in spicy bourbon, tangy Worcestershire and tart apple juice, the pork came out tender and juicy soaking in all the delicious flavors of the sauce. The sweet corn kernels and savory rice pilaf accompanying the meal were easy-to-prepare sides."Living Well Is The Best Reward" ~ Cooking Light 1989

14 comments:

  1. yum!! you changed your profile pic! to drinking carrots? LOVE it!

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  2. I love that you are cooking from a cookbook that was published when we were kids! I'm not the biggest pork chop fan but Bret loves it and we totally eat it with applesauce. I'm definitely going to borrow this recipe for him to mix things up!

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  3. I have pork chops in the freezer! I might just be making some variation on this. That cookbook looks pretty funny :)

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  4. MMMM That looks delicious... I'm enjoying your cooking adventures. Dave loves Pork Chops... I'm a bigger fan of Pork Tenderloin, but apples and pork are a perfect pair!

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  5. I am a HUGE fan of CL.. and just bought pork chops at the Somerville Winter Farmer's Market. Definitely trying this recipe!

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  6. I have a bunch of old cookbooks and some of them are just classics! It's funny to see fads of food though -- one book I have is fully of jelly-based desserts. Those will never see my table...

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  7. I am not really a fan of pork chops, I can never get them juicy but adding bourbon may be the flavor boost that they need

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  8. wow, this is so creative...and so impressive!

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  9. I love the apple & pork combination - its classic for a reason - ITS DELICIOUS!

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  10. I like flipping through old cookbooks too to see what was in fashion :) These sound great!

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  11. Love it! I always search for pork and apple recipes. They're not as easy to find as you'd think. I need to try this.

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  12. i admire your courage to cook recipes w/o seeing a photo first :)

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  13. this really does sound good !

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