Thyme, Pork Chop & Pineapple Skillet Supper
Another pork recipe we tried and just loved. I used my homemade orange marmalade, but I'd love apricot preserves as well on it. Pork is our favorite meat of choice. I make some kind of pork once a week, and I love trying new recipes using it. This one is a big time winner. I served this with a hot and spicy couscous dish and it paired well with the flavor of the sauce.
Another pork recipe we tried and just loved. I used my homemade orange marmalade, but I'd love apricot preserves as well on it. Pork is our favorite meat of choice. I make some kind of pork once a week, and I love trying new recipes using it. This one is a big time winner. I served this with a hot and spicy couscous dish and it paired well with the flavor of the sauce.
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 2 tsp butter
- 3 tbsp pineapple or apricot preserves or jam or orange marmalade
- 3 tbsp orange juice plus more if needed
- 2 tsp stone-ground or dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger minced
- 4 fresh or canned pineapple rings cut in half, any juice reserved
- 4 boneless pork loin chops 1/2 inch thick, trimmed
- 1/2 tsp salt divided
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper divided
- Carbohydrate 1.38165145884953 g
- Cholesterol 142.393854158532 mg
- Fat 19.9259202052746 g
- Fiber 0.0859895841665931 g
- Protein 41.3421208333361 g
- Saturated Fat 7.17677270639111 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (213g)
- Sodium 123.312666644925 mg
- Sugar 1.29566187468294 g
- Trans Fat 2.7338545831235 g
- Calories 361 calories
Step-by-step
- If the preserves are chunky, chop any large pieces. Combine preserves (or jam or marmalade), 3 tablespoons orange juice, mustard, ginger and curry powder in a small bowl; set aside. Pour pineapple juice into a measuring cup; if necessary, add enough orange juice to equal 1/3 cup total. Set aside.
- Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops, sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Immediately turn them over and sprinkle with another 1/2 tablespoon thyme and the remaining salt and pepper. Cook the chops, turning occasionally and adjusting the heat as necessary, until browned, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the reserved juice to the pan. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until the chops are cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer to a platter and keep warm.
- Add pineapple, the reserved sauce and the remaining 1 tablespoon thyme to the pan. Cook, stirring, until hot and bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. To serve, spoon the sauce onto the chops and pineapple.
How do you build a complete plate when the main dish relies on a sweet and savory pan sauce? The challenge lies in choosing a side that absorbs fruit-based glazes without clashing with the pungent notes of curry powder and stone-ground mustard. Thin-cut pork chops cook in minutes over medium-high heat, leaving very little time for starches to cook simultaneously unless prepared beforehand. Grain dishes with a kick of heat, such as heavily spiced couscous or pilaf, provide the necessary contrast to balance the natural sugars found in apricot preserves or orange marmalade. When building the sauce base, chop any chunky fruit preserves uniformly so the glaze coats the meat evenly rather than pooling in sugary pockets. Deglazing the skillet with a mix of reserved pineapple juice and orange juice captures the browned fond left behind by the pork. Thyme leaves added directly to the hot butter release aromatic essential oils into the pan fats before the meat even sears. Leftover cooked pork chops can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days, though reheating them gently over low heat prevents the lean loin from turning rubbery. Searing meat in a nonstick skillet requires careful temperature control, keeping the heat at medium after the initial browning stage to avoid scorching the citrus sugars in the glaze.
