I had a bunch of dried cranberries and wondered what to use them for.  Then I thought, since cherries go well with pork and are tart, maybe cranberries would also go well with pork.  I know too, that apples and pork are ‘best mates’ so I would I could add apples for sweetness.  Shallots are a mild onion that always seems to work well with sauces, so those would be added too.  I also kept in mind the tips I learned from the ladies at Whole Foods who taught me how to make the perfect scallops – and applied the same theories to caramelize the pork chops…and a new recipe was born.

Ingredients

1 Fuji apple

1 Shallot

1/2 cup red wine

1/2 cup dried cranberries

4 bone-in pork chops

1 tbsp Canola oil

Freshly ground salt and pepper

1 tbsp butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

Clean and cut your apple into small half inch chunks and dice the shallot.

Tip:  I cut the apple by holding the apple standing up with the stem at the top, and slice down each of the four sides, avoiding the seeds, then cut those quarters into long pieces, and then the long pieces into little squares.

Put the cranberries into the red wine to plump them up a bit and soak up the flavor of the wine, while you start cooking the pork.  Use a cast iron pan if possible, or a regular pan, but avoid using a non-stick pan.

Secret:  Using a non-stick pan when you cook the pork chops will not allow those lovely brown bits to form on the pan that add flavor into the sauce, and the pork may not brown as well.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Put the oil in the pan and heat it over medium high until it is very hot.  While the pan is heating, clean and dry the chops well, season with salt and pepper on one side.  Put the seasoned side into the hot pan and then season the side that is facing up.

Let the chops brown for 2-3 minutes, then check.  Don’t flip them until the side is nice and browned (see chop in photo at top).  Flip and brown on the other side.  Then put the chops on a sheet pan in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until just cooked through but not dried out.  If you are not sure, cut into the pork and check that it is not pink.

While the pork chops are finishing, start the sauce.

Pour the wine, cranberries, shallots and apples into the pan that has the nice brown bits, and deglaze the pan with the wine.  Bring to a boil and cook out the alcohol for 3 or 4 minutes.  Then add the butter and stir.  Pour in the cream and heat through,

Take the pork out of the oven and place it on a serving plate.  Any juice that has accumulated on the sheet pan, pour into the sauce.  Taste the sauce for seasoning, if it is good, pour it over the pork and serve, if it is bland then add some salt.

 Best served with beans and mashed or broccoli and baked potatoes