Rye Stuffed Pork Chops

Despite the fact that I probably should have been working, I went a bit more elaborate tonight.  This recipe is also from Cuisine Magazine's February 2005 issue. 

Everybody knows that pork and apples are natural combination, and that's what is going on here.  A stuffing with rye breadcrumbs, onions, celery, dried apples and thyme, which is then put inside of pork chops that are seared off on the stove and finished in the oven.  All of that is served with an apple juice sauce.  Here are the results. 

The mise en place, which in a recipe that is fairly complicated is very important.

Rye bread crumbs in the pan being toasted off.

Finished breadcrumbs.

Here are the rest of the stuffing ingredients in the pan.

Here is the completed stuffing.

The main attraction.  Pork chops are seasoned simply with salt and pepper.  The key with stuffing pork chops is to make a small slice in the side and then move the tip of the knife on the inside creating a small pocket.  You also want to make sure that you put enough stuffing in to make it an actual stuffed pork chop but not so much that it bulges out and won't sit flat in the pan or on the plate.

The cooked chops.  They were seared in a pan with olive oil for about three minutes per side then roasted in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

The finished product.  The plate is garnished with a bit of fresh thyme and some of the left over stuffing.