Stuffed Pork Chops baked in Beer
From Marsh Mash Spring 2019
Ingredients:
- 4 x 8oz/200g Boneless Pork Chops
- 1 x 500ml bottle/1 x pint strong, non-bitter IPA beer (5% or over)
- 1oz/25g Butter or similar substitute i.e. Olive spread to fry chops in
For the stuffing:
- 1oz/25g butter or similar substitute i.e. Olive spread
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped or grated
- 1 medium cooking apple, cored, peeled and finely chopped or grated
- 8 pitted dried dates (approx. 2oz/50g) finely chopped
- 1oz/25g walnuts, finely chopped
- 1 medium egg, beaten
- 4 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
- Salt & Pepper
Method:
Pour half of the beer into a glass to enjoy whilst making this dish – you will need 250ml or half pint for this recipe. Set oven to 190 C/425 F or Gas mark 7.
Make the stuffing:
Melt the butter in a heavy base frying pan and gently fry the onion until soft, remove from the heat, add all the other stuffing ingredients and mix well. Remove stuffing from pan and place in a bowl, then set to one side.
Cook the chops:
Using a sharp knife, cut a slit in each chop to form a pouch (do not cut right through or the stuffing will fall out). Divide the stuffing into 4, then push it into each chop (if there is too much, keep stuffing to one side and crumble the remaining stuffing over the prepared chops before placing them in the oven). Melt the butter gently in the same pan as the stuffing mix and then brown the chops on each side. Place the chops in an ovenproof dish and pour over the remaining beer, cover chops loosely with tin foil to stop them drying out. Cook in the centre of the oven for 30-40 minutes until the meat is tender. During cooking, baste the chops from time to time with the beery fluid. Once cooked, remove dish from oven and drain the liquid into a saucepan, re-cover the chops and keep them warm (do not put back in the oven else they will dry out). Bring the pan of beery liquid gently to the boil and boil for 10 minutes.
To Serve:
Serve the chops with vegetables of your choice and either serve the beery syrup separately in a jug or pour it over the chops. Serve with a beer of your choice.
Chef’s Notes:
The chops can be cooked in a heavy based frying pan. Simply prepare as above and rather than using the oven, secure the edges of the chops with a wooden cocktail stick before cooking (this is to ensure the filling does not fall out) and gently cook in the pan with the beer for about 10 minutes on each side or until cooked. Carefully remove the chops from the pan, place chops on a warm plate, remove the cocktail sticks and cover plate with foil to keep warm. Bring the beery liquid in the pan gently to the boil and boil for 10 minutes, then serve as above.