Stuffed Pork Chops

For my stuffed pork chops,  I don’t really have a recipe so I’ll just tell you how I do them and you can follow my guide and do anything you want with yours.

The first thing I’ll tell you is that I made 5 pork chops.  It’s just as easy to make 5 as it is to make 2.  Three of them went into the freezer, already stuffed and ready to thaw and bake . . with no effort, no mess and a great meal in no time at all.

Start with a pork chops that are 1″ to 1-1/2″ thick and have a “pocket” cut into them. If you don’t want to mess with it, your butcher will probably do it for you.  Mine did! 

For the brine, I used a jar of chicken broth.  I heated about 1/3 of the jar in the microwave, then added about 1/4 cup brown sugar and about 1/4 cup salt and stirred til the salt was dissolved.  Then I added the rest of the broth, a couple of bay leaves, some oregano, some parsley, black pepper and onion powder.  I added a cup of cold water (really I added ice to cool down the broth).  Pour the brine over the chops, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 6 hours.

For the stuffing, you can use whatever you want.  You could add something like Stovetop dressing, a sausage dressing . . really, whatever you want.  I use smoked boudin and if you’re not from Louisiana, you may not know what boudin is.  I browned some onions in a little butter and removed the casing from the boudin and added it (not the casing) and then added some chopped parsley.

Drain the chops from the brine.  I do not rinse them because they’re covered in good spices.  Brown the chops quickly in a bit of olive oil.  Stuff as much stuffing as you can inside the chops.

Place the chops in a baking dish.  If there’s any remaining stuffing, spread it around the chops.  Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour – 1 hour, 15 minutes.

They are good!!  And just think . . there’s three more waiting in my freezer for a night when I don’t want to cook!  You can add a sauce over the top if you’d like.  Our favorite is a Maple Syrup Sauce:

In the skillet where the pork chops were browned, add 2 T. butter.  Add 1/2 of an onion, finely chopped.  Saute til clear.  Add 1 cup chicken broth, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper.  Simmer til reduced by about  half.  Add 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/2 tsp. ginger powder.  Stir til the sauce is simmering and serve over pork chops.