Oven-baked succulent pork chops served with a wonderful cider and blackberry sauce, silky Jerusalem artichoke puree and broccoli.
This dish may look “faffy” but both the Jerusalem artichoke puree and cider sauce can be prepared in advance, just leaving you needing to cook the pork and broccoli at dinner time.
Pork Chops with a Fruity Cider Sauce
I love pork chops they appear here time and time again, they are cheap delicious and for me always feel special.
They usually form part of big hearty dishes like my sweet and sour pork chops, pork chop casserole, brown sugar pork chops, adobo pork chops or my Normandy pork chops.
However here they star in a slightly “daintier” dish designed to impress for a dinner party or date night.
Pork chops are joined by a fruity cider and blackberry sauce, silky Jerusalem artichoke puree and some simply cooked broccoli.
It’s a dish designed to be made in stages so that when you are cooking you do not need to spend all evening in the kitchen.
Both the puree and sauce can be made in advance, and after searing the pork just needs to be thrown in the oven. This gives you plenty of time to mingle and schmooze.
If you are new to Jerusalem artichokes, be sure to buy some extra so that you can make my popular Jerusalem artichoke soup!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you French trim pork chops?
The process of doing this is pretty simple, you trim up with pork chop around the loin and then along the bone.
Roughly chop away and of the meat on the bone. Then using a scraping motion slowly work along the bone pushing back the flesh and sinew.
Once you get your flow going it is a simple and quick job that adds a little finesse.
Do I have to French trim the pork chops?
Not at all, this is all about presentation and impressing the people that you are feeding.
It is especially good for date night or dinner party food, it makes picking up the chop and gnawing on the bone far less messy.
How do I check that the pork chop is cooked?
I always use a quick-read meat thermometer, they are relatively cheap and allow you to be much more accurate and consistent when cooking meat.
Can I make this in advance?
In part yes, as I have mentioned above, this is food for a dinner party and a date night and spending hours in the kitchen is far from ideal.
I usually French trim the pork chop, the fruity cider sauce and the Jerusalem artichoke puree in the morning before cooking. You could do it up to 24 hours in advance if stored correctly in the fridge.
Serving Suggestions
I have presented these pork chops as a complete but light main course meal designed to be eaten with a starter and dessert.
When it comes to a starter I would look to fish, but keep the cooking nice and quick to cook. These pan-fried scallops with pea puree would be ideal.
Then for dessert, I would cook something that I could prepare in advance, these individual Bakewell tarts would be ideal.
However, it would be very easy to increase the size and turn it into a one-plate meal.
The first thing that I would add is some potatoes, Parmentier potatoes would be a great choice but some buttered new potatoes would work equally well.
Then I would bulk out the greens a little, some green beans with amandine or some roasted tenderstem broccoli.
Equipment Used
I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if You have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Stovetop.
- Oven.
- 20cm or 8″ saucepan.
- 15cm or 6″ saucepan.
- Blender or hand blender.
- Fine mesh sieve.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- Vegetable peeler.
- Pairing knife if you are going to French trim the pork.
- Weighing scales and or a combination of measuring jug, cups and spoons.
- Quick read meat thermometer.
Pork Chops with Cider and Blackberry Sauce and Jerusalem Artichoke Puree
Pork chops are served along side a silky Jerusalem artichoke puree with a cider and blackberry sauce on this perfect late summer early autumn dish.
Ingredients
For the Jerusalem Artichoke Puree:
- 300g (1¾-2 Cups) Jerusalem Artichokes, AKA Sunchokes
- 150ml (½ Cup + 2 Tbsp) Double Cream, Heavy cream in the US
- Salt, To taste
- Pepper, To Taste
For the Cider Blackberry Sauce:
- 150g (1 Cup) Blackberries
- 250ml (2 Cups) Dry Cider
- 1 Shallot
- 25g (1 Tbsp + 2 Tsp) Butter
For the Pork Chop:
- 350g (12oz) Pork Chops
- 50g (3 Tbsp + 1 Tsp) Butter
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Sprig Thyme
- 150g (2-3 Cups) Broccoli Florets
- Salt, To taste
- Pepper, To taste
Instructions
For the Jerusalem Artichoke Puree:
- Bring a 20cm or 8" saucepan of well-salted water to a boil (I use 1½ tsp of salt in a pan this size).
- Peel the Jerusalem artichokes and boil until tender, timing will depend on the size that they are cut into. I cut them into 25g chunks and they take 35-40 minutes.
- When they are tender drain, return them to the pan add the cream and bring it all to a boil.
- Blend to a smooth puree and then pass through a fine mesh sieve and set aside to reheat later.
For the Cider Blackberry Sauce:
- Peel and finely dice the shallot.
- Heat a 15cm or 6" saucepan over a high heat and when it is hot pour in the cider.
- Now add the blackberries, reserving 8 for later and reduce the sauce by three quarters and then blend and pass through a fine mesh sieve and set aside to serve later.
For the Pork:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F.
- Bash the garlic cloves with the side of a knife, to bruise and break them open a little.
- Heat a 28cm or 11" oven-proof frying pan or skillet over a high-medium heat.
- Season the pork chops generously with salt and pepper and when the pan is hot add the butter
- Add the pork chops, thyme and garlic cloves when the butter begins to foam and cook until you get a nice colour, which will take 3-4 minutes.
- Flip the pork chop, transfer to the oven and cook at 180°C or 350°F until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chop reaches 60°C or 140°F, this will take around 20-25 minutes.
- When cooked remove and rest for 5 minutes before serving. The pork will continue to cook in this time and take it in the the safe temperature zone.
Bringing together:
- If you are working like I tend to and preparing each element separately then the pork resting time is perfect for bringing all the items together.
- Bring a pan of salted water to a boil and cook the broccoli florets for 2-3 minutes.
- Reheat the puree and the sauce.
- Just before we are ready to serve whisk in the butter for the sauce and then throw in the blackberries we set aside earlier just to heat a little.
Notes
This is an ideal dinner party/date night dish, make the puree and sauce earlier in the day or even the night before then pull it all together like magic at the last minute 😉
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1240Total Fat: 83gSaturated Fat: 46gTrans Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 29gCholesterol: 330mgSodium: 982mgCarbohydrates: 73gFiber: 10gSugar: 42gProtein: 55g
adon
Wednesday 22nd of January 2020
I don't see where I need to add the butter for the sauce? Do I melt in at then end??
Brian Jones
Thursday 23rd of January 2020
Yes sorry, I have updated to make that clearer :) Thanks for the heads up!
Jordan
Monday 3rd of June 2019
Any suggestion on a substitute for the cider in the blackberry sauce?
Brian Jones
Tuesday 4th of June 2019
Hey Jordan
A couple of suggestions would be a fruity white wine or even a beer with a citrus edge like and IPA or wheat beer. If you are avoiding alcohol then you could use an unsweetened apple juice but that would still be a lot sweeter than my version, you could cut that with a little lemon juice. Finally, you could use a little vegetable stock with a dash of honey or sugar.
Enjoy
Emily
Friday 25th of August 2017
Uggh I'm drooling at this, I love Jerusalem artichokes and with those pork chops and a blackberry sauce.....omg!
Brian Jones
Monday 28th of August 2017
Thanks Emily.
Amy | The Cook Report
Friday 25th of August 2017
This looks lovely, very sophisticated!
Brian Jones
Monday 28th of August 2017
Thank you, not a word I am associated with very often ;)
Juli Meyers
Friday 25th of August 2017
That looks so simple and elegant. I especially can't wait to try the puree.
Brian Jones
Monday 28th of August 2017
It's a good un, the puree works so will with all sorts of things.