Pork chops with cider glaze, spiced apple sauce, pork jus and crackling
Juicy, butter-basted pork chops finished with a sticky cider glaze, served alongside warmly spiced apple sauce and crisp crackling. With a light pork jus and those classic pork-and-apple flavours, it’s comforting, generous and full of depth.
Ingredients
For the pork chops
- 2 bone-in pork chops, 350–400g/12–14oz each, 3–4cm/1¼–1½in thick and fat cap scored at 1cm/½in intervals
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 20g/¾oz unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the cider glaze
- 150ml/5fl oz dry cider
- 1½ tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- 10g unsalted butter, cold
For the spiced apple sauce
- 1 Bramley apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm/½in cubes
- 2 eating apples, cored and cut into 1cm/½in cubes with skin on
- 50g/1¾oz caster sugar
- 50ml/2fl oz apple juice
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch ground cloves
- 1 star anise
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 2 tbsp chardonnay vinegar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the pork jus
For the crackling
Method
To make the pork chops, remove the chops from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Pat completely dry and season generously on both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium–high heat.
Stand the chops fat-side down in the pan and cook for 3–4 minutes to render and crisp the fat.
Lay the chops flat and cook for 3–4 minutes on one side until well coloured. Turn and cook on the other side for a further 3–4 minutes.
Reduce the heat slightly, add the butter, garlic and thyme and baste continuously for 1–2 minutes. The internal temperature on a meat thermometer should reach 60–62C for a blush finish.
Remove from the pan and leave to rest for at least 5 minutes.
To make the cider glaze, pour the cider into the same frying pan to deglaze, scraping up any caramelised bits.
Cook over a medium–high heat until reduced by two-thirds and slightly syrupy.
Stir in the vinegar, mustard and light brown sugar.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter to create a glossy glaze.
To make the spiced apple sauce, place the Bramley apple, half of the eating apples, caster sugar, apple juice, cinnamon and cloves in a saucepan over a medium heat.
Cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the Bramley apple has softened and started to collapse but the eating apple still holds its shape.
Add the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and leave to cool slightly.
Blend to a purée in a blender or food processor. Set aside.
To make the pork jus, heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat.
Add the shallot and cook gently for 3–4 minutes until softened but not coloured.
Add the cider and reduce by half.
Pour in the stock and simmer steadily for 15–20 minutes, or until reduced to a light sauce consistency that coats the back of a spoon.
Add the vinegar, then remove from the heat and whisk in the butter for a shiny jus. Keep warm.
To make the crackling, preheat the oven to 240C/220C Fan/Gas 9.
Pat the pork skin completely dry with kitchen paper. Cut into 4–5cm/1½–2in wide strips and score the surface lightly.
Lay on a wire rack over a baking tray, season generously with salt and roast for 15–20 minutes, or until blistered and golden. If needed, continue to cook for a further 5 minutes until fully crisp.
Remove and leave to cool, then break into shards.
To serve, slice each chop into thick pieces and arrange on warmed plates.
Spoon the spiced apple sauce alongside. Brush the pork with the cider glaze. Spoon over a little pork jus and serve the remaining jus at the table. Garnish with the remaining cubed eating apple and a shard of crackling.
Serve immediately while the pork is still warm and the resting juices have settled.
