I’ve been posting a lot of pork with fruit recipes.  My mom knew that pork chops were my favorite when I was growing up.  I don’t know how she made them.  I really can’t duplicate hers.  She dredged them in seasoned flour and fried them in a pan, but they weren’t chicken fried and they weren’t pan-seared.  Every time I try to make them her way, the flour sticks to the pan and very little ends up staying on the pork chops.  It’s not that I don’t know how to pan-fry it’s just that pork has to be cooked to a certain temperature and I think that’s where I run into trouble.  Mom never worried herself much about things of that sort and when I do, cooking for the “proper” amount of time, the breading either falls off or cooks to the bottom of the pan no matter how I adjust the temperature.  When she made them, however, there was always a dish of applesauce to accompany them.  I think that’s where my love for the pork/fruit combo. began.

Ingredients:

1/4 c. butter

2 lb. pork loin, sliced and pounded thin

1 large Granny Smith apple or other tart cooking apple, peeled, cored, and sliced

1 large sweet onion, sliced

Salt & Pepper

2 T butter

Method:

In a large saute pan, heat the butter until it just begins to turn golden brown.  Season the pork.  Pan sear them on both sides in batches, adding more butter as needed.  If they are very thin, they should only take a couple of minutes to cook through.  Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add 2 T butter to the pan and heat until melted.  Toss in the apple and onion slices.  Allow the juices to deglaze the pan.  Reduce the heat to low and allow the onions and apples to caramelize over a 30 to 40 minute period of time.

Add the pork back to the pan and cook for a few minutes longer.  Serve.