Apple Cider Pork with Red Cabbage
Bring a taste of fall to your table with this German-inspired dish of apple cider pork chops with red cabbage. Everything is braised to tender, flavorful perfection!
Servings: 3
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 pound bone-in pork chops
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 pound red cabbage shredded
- 1 sweet baking apple like Gala, sliced
- 2 cups pure apple cider Normandy-style or hard apple cider
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons prepared mustard or 1 teaspoon mustard powder
Instructions
Brown the chops
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Heat the oil in a cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Sprinkle both sides of the pork chops with thyme, salt, and pepper. Press the seasonings into the chops.
- Place the pork chops in the hot pan and sear until golden, 2-3 min each side. Remove the pork from the pan and set aside.
Sauté the vegetables
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan over medium heat and cook until the sizzling subsides.
- Add the onions and saute until they begin to caramelize, 5-8 min.
- Add the cabbage and then apple slices, sautéing 2-3 minutes after each addition.
- Add the cabbage and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the apple slices and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cider, vinegar, and mustard.
- Pour over the veggies and deglaze the pan, scraping up any stuck bits.
Cook and serve
- Remove the pan from the heat and nestle the pork chops into the cabbage mixture.
- Place the skillet or Dutch oven into the preheated oven and cook for 1 hour, uncovered, basting halfway through with the juices in the pan.
- Remove from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Cider from Normandy is bubbly, like champagne, and has just enough apple sweetness to curb the bite of a dry white wine, and is preferred in this dish. Hard apple cider could be used as a substitute.