Pork Chops In Mustard Sauce

What better way to end a dreary Monday with a big fat pork chop, so that's exactly what I did.  Tonight's dinner was Pork Chops In Mustard Sauce.  I had chops so big they would have given my 6ft 3in 20 stone dad a run for his money.  I have to say, I wasn't impressed with the sauce though.  For some reason, mine didn't thicken to quite the consistency that I thought it would.  I must have done something wrong, although I did follow the recipe to a tee.  Perhaps because my chops were so big, they let a little more water than expected into the stock whilst they were simmering.  Don't get me wrong, the sauce was lovely, although I wish it had been a bit thicker.

The recipe comes from the Grandmas Kitchen selection of recipe cards from the Hearty Meat Dishes set.

Pork Chops In Mustard Sauce

Ingredients

4 pork loin chops, about 175g/6oz each (when I bought my chops they didn't have any loin so I had to go with regular on the bone chops which probably made them around 8oz each)

Salt and black pepper

1/2 garlic clove

grated rind and juice of 1 orange

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

300ml/1/2pt chicken stock

2 red apples

1 tbsp vegetable oil

15g/1/2oz butter

Method

1. Trim the fat from the chops.  Season with salt and pepper.  Put in a shallow dish.  Peel and crush garlic.  Put the garlic, orange rind, juice and mustard in a screw-top jar.  Close and shake well.  Pour mixture over chops.  Cover and chill for 2 hours, or overnight.

2. Heat the stock in a frying pan until bubbling.  Remove chops from the marinade and add to stock.  Reserve marinade.  Cover pan.  Simmer very gently for 20 minutes, or until chops are no longer pink in the centre.

3. Remove the chops and keep covered.  Put the cooking liquid and reserved marinade in a small saucepan. Boil for about 5 minutes, or until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

4. Meanwhile, core the apples and cut into wedges.  Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan.  Add the chops and apples.  Fry over a high heat for 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until the pork is golden and the apples are tender.

5. Serve the chops immediately with the sauce and the apples.

For a variation, you can replace the Dijon mustard with wholegrain mustard for a grainy texture and stronger flavour.

Enjoy x