Recipe Notes: French-style Pork Chops with Apples and Calvados

25 February 2018

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen

Pork chops with apple sauce is a classic combination. America's Test Kitchen developed a more sophisticated version based on a French dish, pork à la Normande, designed for an American home kitchen. We hadn't had pork chops in some time, so I dug out this recipe to give it a try.

I used 4 boneless loin chops (27 ounces), rather than bone-in rib chops, due to availability. These were salted and refrigerated for an hour. While the chops rested the sauce was prepared. Bacon pieces were cooked in a sauce pot. Shallots, nutmeg, and salt were added and cooked until they began to brown. Calvados (apple brandy) was added and flambéd. Generating flames in our kitchen seemed safer in a sauce pot than doing it in a skillet and it was fun to do. Apple cider (Martinelli's Apple Juice in our case), chicken stock, fresh thyme, and chopped Golden Delicious apples were added and simmered until the apples were very tender. The pork chops were browned on both sides in oil and removed from the skillet. Apple slices were added to the hot pan and browned on one side then flipped over. The pork chops are placed on top of the apple and these were cooked in a 300°-oven to an internal temperature of 140°. While the chops were resting the sauce was strained and seasoned with vinegar, salt, and pepper. About two hours after beginning, dinner was served 

The pork chops tasted good with a nice crust, though they were a little chewy. The sauce was too thin, both in consistency--it didn't adhere well to the chops or noodles--and flavor, suggesting it should have spent more time reducing. The apples were cooked to a nice consistency, cooked through but still firm, and they went well with the sauce and pork. We had these chops as leftovers for three meals and they were better than when fresh. They were reheated in the sauce in a covered skillet with the apple slices. The re-heated sauce was thicker and more flavorful than when it was served originally. Given that this dinner only took two hours to prepare, and it created four dinners for the two of us, it is worth making again. Using rib chops could help with the tenderness of the pork and I know now to reduce the sauce more so it is thicker and more flavorful.