Stuffed Pork Chops

Date Completed: 5/2/2021

I have to laugh at the fact that so many recipes from the Midwest chapter of Martha’s American Food appealed to me. From Farmhouse Chowder to Caramel Corn Ice Cream, so much sounded delicious! I landed on a recipe that I would not have otherwise tried outside of this project: Stuffed Pork Chops.

Anytime I see a pork chop on a restaurant menu, I immediately dismiss it and scan to the next option. In my head all pork chops are tough, dry pieces of meat. I wanted to take an opportunity here to potentially prove myself wrong. It sounded like it may be worth the effort!

These pork chops required quite a bit of patience to assemble, but I enjoyed every step of the process!

You start with the stuffing filling. We cut up half a bread bowl into small cubes. Grocery store bakeries don’t carry many small-portion options. This actually worked out pretty well! The bread crumbs baked for about 15 minutes until they were dry and slightly golden.

While those were in the oven, I chopped up the celery and carrots. We sautéed the onions until they softened and then added the celery to the pan for just a few minutes.

I had also chopped up a bunch of parsley and thyme. This smelled so delicious even by itself! I added it to the bread crumbs with just a little bit of chicken stock. Then I folded in the sautéed veggies and seasoned with coriander, salt, and pepper.

We had purchased two bone-in pork chops from the butcher just as Martha suggests in the recipe. The stuffing process started with Garrett slicing them horizontally from the outer edge to the bone.

We loaded them up with the stuffing next. Then smeared on a delicious paste of minced garlic, more coriander, salt, and olive oil. That paste smelled amazing! I do admit it was a bit difficult to actually brush onto the pork, though.

The recipe called for searing the chops on one side and then flipping them to bake. Well, we definitely love a good sear, so we decided to sear both sides. I was a little nervous that all the stuffing would fall out into the skillet, but this process really helped seal it inside.

I didn’t have a skillet big enough to fit them both comfortably for the searing step. We did one at a time and then loaded them both back in prior to baking.

They stayed in the oven for about 15 minutes before coming out to rest.

As the pork rests, chicken stock and sherry go into the pan to simmer into a delicious pan sauce. Even though it was not visually appealing, this sauce really brought everything together!

Anyone have more ideas for using sherry? I’ve got plenty left over after this.

Here’s the pork resting. Look at that yummy stuffing all still inside!

Taste Report:

Then came the moment of truth: time to taste! It turns out that pork chops are actually delicious. These were really juicy and tender - completely opposite of the tough pork chops in my imagination.

There were so many great flavor components to this dish! I absolutely adored the stuffing center. The bread crumbs just melted away in your mouth, while the celery provided a satisfying crunch. The fresh thyme also contributed a bold, earthy taste.

We ended up having plenty of extra after stuffing the pork, so I did throw it all in a separate dish and baked it next to the pork. Although simple, I really enjoyed the stuffing on its own just as much as I did inside the pork!

I can’t skip the garlic/coriander crust from that paste we added. It added an almost smoky component to the dish that I really enjoyed. I’d probably cut the salt in half next time because it didn’t need quite so much.

Covering it all in the sherry pan sauce pushed this dish over the top. I am completely convinced that pork chops are worthy cuts of meat now. I just might try one the next time I see it on a restaurant menu.

Mess Report:

This recipe required a lot of chopping! You can see the remnants all over the countertops. Thankfully the 15 minutes of baking time gave me an opportunity to get most of this cleaned up. I always like recipes with a little down time in the middle!

So there you have it. Midwestern stuffed pork chops served with extra stuffing and some crispy smashed potatoes. I’d call that a Sunday dinner for the books!