Serves 4
Set oven to 350 Degrees
4 Double-cut bone-in pork chops
Olive oil
Brine:
4 cups water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup salt
1 cup apple cider
3/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Ice cubes (heaping 4 cups)
1/2 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup apple cider
1/2 cup chicken stock, homemade or canned
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
In a 3 quart saucepan, combine water, salt, brown sugar and peppercorns. Heat, stirring constantly only until the salt and sugar is dissolved. Take off the burner and stir in the ice cubes. Add apple cider and thyme.
Place pork chops in a 9 x 13 or larger glass dish. Slowly, pour the cooled brine over the chops making sure they are completely covered by the liquid . Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate two hours.
Remove chops from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Put 2-3 tablespoons olive oil in heavy skillet, over medium high heat and brown approximately 3-4 minutes per side. (If pan is too small for 4 chops, brown 2 at a time.) Remove to shallow baking sheet and roast in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until thermometer reaches 140-145 degrees, internal temperature.
Meanwhile, while the pork chops are in the oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in the same skillet that the chops were cooked in.
Add cabbage and onions and saute 2-3 minutes. Add cider, stock and thyme. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a medium simmer, stirring occasionally for 12 minutes. Remove cover and cook until almost all the liquid is gone.
Brown Sugar Mustard Sauce:
1/4 cup regular or low-fat sour cream
1/4 cup country style Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Stir all ingredients together until smooth. Serve over pork chops. Refrigerate leftovers.
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