Pork chops, apples and cider collide in this typical dish from Brittany – a French region famous for its apple orchards and pig farms. These Pork Chops with Apples served in a cider-spiked creamy sauce are a favorite recipe amongst Brittany home cooks, as it’s a simple one-pan dish that boasts delicious sweet and savory flavors.
It’s rustic, perfect for Fall and a great square meal for the whole family.
How to cook perfect pork chops
Because they can end up tough and dry if over-cooked, pork chops have a reputation for being difficult to cook – but I assure you they shouldn’t be. This recipe ensures the pork chops will be fully cooked and remain juicy, by adopting a 2-step process. First, the pork chops are seared on the stove-top in butter until golden-brown. This step creates a nice caramelization all around, without cooking through the center. Then, the chops are transferred into a hot oven to finish cooking. This second step, with a gentler heat, ensures the middle of pork chops can fully cook, before the outsides become overdone.
At this point, I also highly recommend you use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of the pork chops. When they reach an internal temperature of 140-145°F (60-63°C), immediately take the pork chops out of the oven and transfer them onto a plate/cutting board. Cover them with foil, and the pork chops will continue to cook slightly. Using a food thermometer makes things very easy and basically foolproof – once the pork chops reach a 140-145°F (60-63°C) internal temperature, they are done.
For this recipe, I recommend you choose bone-in pork chops that are about ¾-1 inch (1.9-2.5cm) thick. These thicker chops, with the bones, will also be less-likely to be overcooked. If you choose boneless and/or thinner pork chops, you will be more likely to overcook them.
Lastly, make sure you take the pork chops out of the fridge at least 1 hour before cooking them and salt them generously. You want to allow some time for the salt to penetrate the meat and for the chops to warm up close to room temperature.
Choose baking apples
Just like most baking or cooking projects that include apples, it is best to use baking apples for this recipe. Compared to eating apples, baking apples aren’t as juicy and won’t turn mushy once cooked. Good baking varieties I recommend are Honey Crisp, Jonagold, Braeburn, Mutsu, Pink Lady and Northern Spy.
The only exception would be for Granny Smith apples. While Granny Smith are usually my go-to cooking/baking apple variety, I find them to be slightly too tart for this recipe. I recommend sticking to red-skinned varieties which are generally sweeter and will caramelize better.
The apples are to be cut in big wedges and pan-fried in butter until soft inside and caramelized outside. Depending on the apple variety chosen, some may soften more quickly than others, so just make sure you keep an eye on the apples when you cook them. You can check on their doneness by poking a sharp knife in an apple wedge – it should feel soft but not mushy. Stop cooking the apples when they are tender enough but not breaking apart yet.
For the final dish photos, here, I used Honey Crisp apples and the result was perfect. They held their shape very well and caramelized nicely.
Hard Apple Cider
For this recipe, prefer a dry hard apple cider – not sweet/off-dry. You can buy a can from a grocery store or ideally opt for dry hard cider from a local apple farm. Note that the alcohol from the cider will completely evaporate while simmering.
I don’t recommend using a non-alcoholic cider for this recipe, as they are often too sweet and won’t create as nice a depth of flavor for the sauce.
Cooking notes:
- I highly recommend the use of a food thermometer. Pork chops need to be cooked until they reach an internal temperature of 140-145°F (60-63°C). If overdone, pork chops can end up tough.
- This recipe requires a large skillet/ pan (about 3-3.5qt) that can go from the stove-top to the oven. The one pictured here is 3.5 qt.
- I love to add a splash of cognac when building the sauce. This enhances the apple flavors and brings more depth to the sauce. However, this step is optional.
- At the end, the sauce is enriched and thickened with crème fraiche. You can find tubs of crème fraiche at the grocery store near sour creams usually. As a substitute, you can use heavy cream (35% m.f.).
- This recipe is for 4 servings, but you can easily double the quantities to serve it for 8 people.
I hope you’ll love this Pork Chops with Apples and Cider Sauce recipe as much as I do! If you have any questions, please leave a comment.
You may also like:
- Pork Chops in Grainy Mustard & Mushroom Sauce
- Split Pea Bacon (Soup Potage Saint Germain)
- Caramelized Apple Skillet Cake
- Classic French Beef Bourguignon
13 comments
So my hubby said, “Ooh, this is a keeper” before I could even ask! My pork chop wasn’t hot enough, so I’m going to try heating it in the sauce next time. Other than that, it’s a keeper! The sauce took a long time to simmer down, so I added a little corn starch and it was great!
Thank you for your feedback! And yes, if your pork chops aren’t hot enough for serving, you can definitely warm them up in the sauce.
This was a huge hit with my husband. I’ll definitely do this again.
Amazing, thank you for your feedback Kathy!
Excellent combination of the pork and apple, sauce is exquisite. Thank you.
Thank you, Mike. So glad you enjoyed it!
No thank you. I’ll add this makes REALLY good as a left over.
I have a big red cabbage that I got from my friend. After researching how to make use of it without pickling it, I landed very similar recipes that add cabbage to this dish. Would you be able to suggest how much and when to add it to your recipe, or is it going to make it into a different food and cabbage shouldn’t be added? I’ve seen recipes that seem to be Americanized with all spices and garlic/onion powders with and without bacon. I’m wondering what someone who knows the authentic food would have to say. I would love to hear your opinion! Thank you in advance:)
Hello Isabella. For me, adding cabbage to this dish would absolutely make it a different dish altogether. I’m not entirely sure how it would be incorporated either, as cabbage tends to need quite a bit of time to cook, and this recipe doesn’t really give that time. Cabbage is defintely used in France, especially in the east, and I have also seen apple and cabbage combined (cabbage and pork defintely work together). Anyways, a bit scattered with this reply, but I do think it could work, I’m just not entirely sure how, unless you start the cabbage well ahead of time. Unfortunately red cabbage isn’t very commonly used (or seen) in France, otherwise I could suggest a few other recipes of mine that use other cabbages.
Much appreciated your reply. I’ll keep looking other recipes. Btw I’m buying your cookbook soon. I have too many cookbooks already on hand and had a hard time justifying one more, but I’m gonna get yours finally!
Thanks so much, hope you can enjoy the blog in the meantime.
Wowser!! Another winner, Audrey – the chops were really tender, juicy and tasty, but it’s the sauce that makes this so special. I added some freshly chopped sage leaves whilst cooking down the sauce and it was absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious. This is a dish to test the resilience of any vegan!
That is quite the compliement! Thank you so much for the kind words, this recipe truly is wonderful… The addition of sage leaves is an idea I’ve also had, and am destined to try as well.