Pork Chops with Apple, Fennel, and Sage

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Boneless, thin-cut pork chops can be fully cooked in three minutes, a fraction of the time it takes to cook thicker chops. Here, F&W's Melissa Rubel Jacobson combines the meat with a few distinctly autumnal ingredients: sage, apple, and hard cider.

Pork Chops with Apple, Fennel and Sage
Photo: © Dana Gallagher
Total Time:
25 mins
Yield:
4
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Ingredients

  • 8 boneless, thin-cut pork chops (1 1/2 pounds)

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 leek, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

  • 1 fennel bulb—halved lengthwise, cored and thinly sliced crosswise

  • 1 Fuji apple—halved lengthwise, cored and thinly sliced

  • 8 small sage leaves, coarsely chopped

  • 1 cup hard cider

Directions

  1. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. In a very large skillet, heat the olive oil until almost smoking. Cook the pork chops over high heat, turning once, until browned around the edges and just cooked through, about 3 minutes total. Transfer the pork chops to a plate and keep warm.

  2. In the same skillet, melt the butter. Add the leek and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the fennel and apple and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the sage and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to a platter and keep warm.

  3. Pour the hard cider and any accumulated pork juices into the skillet and boil over high heat until thickened, about 4 minutes. Set the pork on top of the fennel and apples, pour the sauce over the pork and serve at once.

Suggested Pairing

Pair with an apple-inflected dry Riesling like Wegeler Pure.

Originally appeared: September 2012

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