Pork Chops with Apple Sauce & Blue Cheese

These Pork Chops are soft, juicy and loaded with flavour. They’re topped with apple sauce and finished with melted blue cheese!

This is an incredibly simple dinner idea that goes down in just over 15mins. If you’ve never tried pork, apple and blue cheese before you’re in for a treat. Follow me…

Preparing Pork Chops

I usually go for bone-in pork chops. I find having the bone in helps cook the meat more evenly. I also find the meat around the bone nice and tender. Boneless work well too though if that’s what you have.

Tips for preparing pork chops

• Room Temp – Don’t cook the pork straight from the fridge, it’ll release a ton of moisture and cause the meat to go chewy. Bring the pork chops close to room temp before you fry.
• Pat Dry – Ensure you pat your pork chops with paper towels to remove moisture. Excess moisture will cause them to steam in the pan and prevent the meat from caramelizing properly.
• Season – A generous seasoning goes a long way here so don’t hold back!

Another thing to mention is the thickness of the fat. You might want to consider making some snips along the line of fat before you fry the pork chops. This will help prevent the chops from curving in the pan when the fat begins to tighten. I tend to wait to see if they curve then snip with kitchen shears if they do.

Process shots: lay pork on chopping board (photo 1), pat dry, heavily season and drizzle with oil (photo 2).

Pan Fried Pork Chops

Once you’ve prepped the pork chops they’re ready to hit the pan! In general, you want to treat pork chops as you would a steak. If you’ve cooked a few steaks in your time this is very similar.

Tips for frying pork chops

• Hot Pan – You want the pan as hot as you can get it. This will ensure the outside of the pork caramelizes without the inside overcooking. A cast iron skillet works well if you have one.
• Baste – Once you’ve flipped the chops, drop in butter, rosemary, thyme and garlic. Baste the meat to keep it moist and wrap it in a gorgeous herby, buttery flavour.
• Sear the Fat – Put that thick strip of fat to good use and sear it on the pan until it’s deep golden. This will render down the fat and get rid of that jelly/rubbery texture.

This is all a fairly quick process, so ensure you’ve got everything ready to go before you add the pork chops to the pan. You don’t want to overcook the meat. Nobody likes dry pork!

Process shots: add chops to hot pan (photo 1), fry then flip (photo 2), drop in butter, garlic and herbs (photo 3), baste (photo 4), sear fat (photo 5), lay back in pan (photo 6).

Pork Chops with Apple Sauce and Blue Cheese

I know it might seem like an odd combo at first, but I promise you it totally works. Pork and apple is a match made in heaven, as is apple and blue cheese. Stick it all together and you’ve got yourself one heck of a good time.

Apple Sauce

I use homemade apple sauce, just because it’s way too easy not to. But a good quality store bought will do the trick too.

Does cheese go with pork?

I go for Gorgonzola because it’s nice and creamy. If you want a stronger blue cheese try something like Stilton.

Can I use a different type of cheese?

I actually used to have this dish as a child, but with pork medallions, apple sauce and cheddar. A nice strong cheddar does work well, but personally I find blue cheese offers much more flavour.

Process shots: add apple sauce to pork chops (photo 1), top with blue cheese then broil/grill (photo 2).

Serving Pork Chops

Once the cheese has melted it’s important to rest the pork before serving. This will give time for the meat to relax and retain its juices. From there I usually spoon over some of the pan juices and finish with some fresh thyme. Below I’ve served with Roasted Baby Potatoes and Roasted Broccolini.

For another quick, easy and delicious pork chop recipe check out my Honey Garlic Pork Chops and Creamy Lemon Thyme Pork Chops!

For more pork and apple combos check out my Pork and Apple Burgers and Honey Mustard Sausage Tray Bake!

Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these pork chops and apple sauce shall we?!

How to make Blue Cheese Apple Pork Chops (Full Recipe & Video)

5 from 2 votes

Pork Chops with Apple Sauce and Blue Cheese

By: Chris Collins

These Pork Chops are soft, juicy and loaded with flavour. They're topped with apple sauce and finished with melted blue cheese!

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Total: 15 minutes mins

Servings: 2

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Equipment

• Large Frying Pan & Tongs
• Spoon (for basting)
• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
• Paper Towels

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2x 9oz-11oz / 250-300g Pork Chops, brought close to room temp (preferably bone in)
• ▢ 4oz / 120g Blue Cheese, sliced into strips (see notes)
• ▢ 4 heaped tbsp Apple Sauce, at room temp (not straight out the fridge)
• ▢ 2 tbsp Butter
• ▢ 2 fresh springs EACH: Thyme, Rosemary (plus some thyme leaves to finish)
• ▢ 2 cloves of Garlic, peeled & crushed with the palm of your hand
• ▢ Olive Oil, as needed
• ▢ Salt & Pepper, as needed

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Instructions 

• Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Generously sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper then drizzle with a glug of oil. Rub into the meat.
• Place pan over high heat and once smoking hot add in the pork chops. Leave to fry for 3-5mins, or until deep golden and lightly charred with blood/moisture just starting to rise to the surface. Flip the chops over and allow to fry for 1min until they begin to char on the other side.
• Drop in butter, garlic, thyme and rosemary. Baste the pork chops in butter for another 2-3mins. Place garlic, rosemary and thyme on top of one of the chops, place the other chop on top so the fats align then sandwich together with your tongs and sear the fat on the pan.
• Once the fat caramelizes (1-2mins) take the pan off the heat. Top the pork with apple sauce and blue cheese then place under the grill and broil on high (and fairly close) until the cheese melts.
• Take the pork out of the pan and allow to rest for at least 3 mins (important so the meat can retain its juices), drizzle over some of the liquid from the pan and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves. Serve up and enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Prepping the pork - Important the meat is close to room temp. Don't fry it straight from the fridge or it'll seize up and go chewy. Also ensure they're patted dry to remove moisture. Moisture will prevent caramelization. If there's a considerable amount of fat on the chop you might want to consider making tiny slices into the fat. This will prevent the pork from curving/curling up in the fat. 

b) Timings - This is a very quick recipe, so it's important to have everything prepped and ready to go. Pork is renowned for being dry and the longer the pork is in the pan over what it needs to be, the more chance it'll come out dry. I recommend getting your grill nice and hot before the pork goes in, just so it only take a minute to melt the cheese. 

c) Cooked Pork - In general timings will depend on the thickness of the pork. The meat should be white all the way through and it's recommend to get to a safe temp of 145F/63C with the juices running clear. Keep in mind it'll continue cooking slightly as it rests.

d) Cheese - I like Gorgonzola because it's nice and creamy. If you want a stronger blue cheese use something like a Stilton. I have tried this with a nice sharp cheddar and it works well, but blue cheese add a lot more flavour.

e) Serving - Here I serve with Roasted Baby Potatoes and Roasted Broccolini.

f) Calories - per pork chop assuming 1 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt and pepper:

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Nutrition

Calories: 774kcal | Carbohydrates: 5.95g | Protein: 64.66g | Fat: 53.39g | Saturated Fat: 23.814g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4.441g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20.436g | Trans Fat: 0.233g | Cholesterol: 230mg | Sodium: 1433mg | Potassium: 1052mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 3.18g | Vitamin A: 709IU | Vitamin C: 2.5mg | Calcium: 364mg | Iron: 2.21mg

Looking for more?

You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’

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