Tag Archives: apples

Sausage Traybake with Apples and Onions

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With Oktoberfest festivities in full swing, this meal is sure to be a top contender. It is simple, versatile, a one-pan wonder and sure to please! Wide, low-sided baking sheets are ideal for oven-easy dinners; they facilitate heat circulation for better browning.

Savory sausages are paired with sweet apples and onions, which get a flavor boost from spicy mustard. A glug of hard apple cider or beer is used to deglaze the baking sheet. The double dose of apple flavor from cider is spot-on, though a crisp lager or malty amber beer also is delicious.

Select apples with a firm texture, yet thin skin that stays tender during roasting. Honeycrisp (our selection) and Gala are good options. Of the other choices, we used bratwurst, one each of red and yellow onions, hard apple cider, a combo of both Dijon and whole grain mustards, and both sage (which we tripled to 3 tablespoons) and thyme from our herb garden.

And is doesn’t hurt to have an extra-large dollop of a whole grain and Dijon mustard mixture on the plate.

Sausage Traybake with Apples and Onions

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 medium red OR yellow onions, halved and sliced about ½ inch thick
  • 1-3 Tbsp. torn fresh sage OR 2 tsp. fresh thyme; plus more chopped sage or thyme to serve
  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • 1¼ lbs. firm apples, quartered lengthwise and cored
  • 1½ lbs. kielbasa OR bratwurst OR sweet or hot Italian sausages, poked in several places with a paring knife
  • 1/4 cup hard apple cider OR beer OR broth
  • 2 Tbsp. whole-grain mustard OR Dijon mustard, plus more to serve

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 450°F with a rack in the middle position. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss together the onions, torn sage, oil and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper; distribute in an even layer. Roast until the onions begin to soften and brown, about 10 minutes.
  2. Remove from the oven and stir the onions. Add the apples and arrange the sausages on top. Roast until the centers of the sausages reach 160°F and the onions and apples are tender and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.
  3. Transfer the sausages and apples to a platter, leaving the onions in the pan. Pour the cider over the onions and stir, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the mustard, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer the onion mixture to the platter, spooning it around the sausages and apples. Sprinkle with chopped sage and serve with additional mustard.
  4. Optional garnish: Chopped fresh dill OR pickled peppers OR both

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe from Courtney Hill for Milk Street

Mustardy Cider-Braised Pork Chops

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Braising doesn’t always mean long cooking times. For tender cuts like pork chops, the secret to a great braise lies in the method, not in hours on the stove. First, a hard sear on the meat, as well as halved shallots and apples, creates a beautiful fond (the wonderfully delicious caramelized little bits left in the bottom of the pan after cooking).

Deglazing the pan with a tart-savory combination of hard cider, vinegar, and stock loosens up that layer of browned goodness and reduces down to gravy in about 20 minutes. To finish, the chops simmer in the sauce until they’re cooked through. Voilà: cooked-all-day depth in just an hours time.

Our changes? If it serves 4, then why only use 3 shallots? We added a fourth one, so each serving received two halves (and next time we may be inclined to add even more). Our intuition took over when thinking about the amount of time the apples actually cooked. The original directions have you put the browned halves back into the pan when the chops get added back. If you want firm apples, then by all means, wait until then to add them to the pan. If like us, you prefer softer bites, then arrange them cut side up when placing the thyme bundle into the sauce.

Otherwise, pretty much everything was spot on. Make sure to use a very large pan to hold all of the ingredients. And that sauce—it was sooo good, you may be tempted to drink any leftovers… Serve with egg noodles, polenta or mashed potatoes.

Mustardy Cider-Braised Pork Chops

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 4 1½”-thick bone-in rib pork chops (about 2 lb. total)
  • 3 Tbsp. sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
  • 1 Tbsp. freshly ground pepper, plus more
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 3 medium Granny Smith or Gala apples, halved through equators, remove core and seeds
  • 4-8 medium shallots, peeled, halved lengthwise through root ends
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
  • ¼ cup Dijon mustard
  • 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 2 cups sweet hard apple cider (such as Angry Orchard)
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 10–12 sprigs thyme, tied together with kitchen twine
  • Finely chopped chives (for serving)

Directions

  1. Pat four 1½”-thick bone-in rib pork chops (about 2 pounds total) dry with paper towels. Sprinkle all over with 3 Tbsp. sugar, 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper. Heat 2 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high. Working in batches if needed, cook pork chops, turning halfway through, until deeply browned, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a large plate.
  2. Working in batches if needed, cook 3 medium Granny Smith or Gala apples, halved through equators, and 3 medium shallots, peeled, halved lengthwise through root ends, cut sides down, in same skillet, gently pressing down on them with a spatula to create contact with pan, until golden brown on cut sides, about 2 minutes (it’s okay if shallots fall apart). Transfer apples to plate with chops.
  3. Reduce heat to medium, add 4 garlic cloves, finely grated, to pan, and cook, stirring constantly, just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add ¼ cup Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour, and 2 tablespoon unsalted butter; stir to coat shallots. Pour in 2 cups sweet hard apple cider, 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth, and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, scraping up browned bits and flour stuck to bottom of pan and incorporating into liquid.
  4. Add thyme bundle and apple halves arranging them cut sides up, and bring mixture to a simmer. Partially cover (use a baking sheet if you don’t have a lid) and simmer until sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, about 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Place pork chops in sauce, and partially cover. Simmer until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a pork chop registers 145°, 7–10 minutes. Remove from heat; sprinkle with finely chopped chives and season with more pepper to serve.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe by Inés Anguiano for Bon Appétit Magazine

French-Style Pork Chops with Apples and Brandy

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Pork and apples is a classic, but usually an everyday pairing. Cook’s Illustrated turned to the French recipe for porc à la Normande to inspire a more elegant rendition. Using thick bone-in chops allows more leeway to avoid overcooking, while salting them an hour before cooking helps keep them moist.

An evenly heated pan is key to a good sear on these big chops, so heat your skillet over medium high for a full 5 minutes before turning up the heat. Cutting the apples into attractive rings provides a bed to raise the chops off the skillet’s bottom to allow for even cooking once transferred to the oven.

For a sauce with layered apple flavor, rely on a combination of sweet cider, cider vinegar, Calvados (or regular brandy), and a few chopped apples, which break down and help produce the right texture. A bit of butter gives the sauce richness, while chicken broth and bacon lend a balancing savoriness. Flambéing the sauce is critical to create an elegantly complex sauce, and doing it in two batches keeps the job easy.

Natural pork is preferred, but if the pork is enhanced (injected with a salt solution), just decrease the salt in step 1 to 1/2 teaspoon per chop. To ensure that they fit in the skillet, choose apples that are approximately 3 inches in diameter. With just the two of us for dinner, we cut the number of chops and apples down from 4 to 2, but kept the amount of the other ingredients the same. Applejack or regular brandy can be used in place of the Calvados. The amount of vinegar to add in step 4 will vary depending on the sweetness of your cider.

Before flambéing, Cook’s Illustrated highly suggests to roll up long shirtsleeves, tie back long hair, and turn off the exhaust fan and any lit burners. Use a long match or wooden skewer to flambé the brandy.

We paired this main dish with a Braised Red Cabbage dish from The NY Times cooking site that also included apples.

French-Style Pork Chops with Apples and Brandy

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: moderate
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Ingredients

  • 4 (12- to 14-ounce) bone-in pork rib chops, 1 inch thick
  • Kosher salt and pepper
  • 4 Gala or Golden Delicious apples, peeled and cored
  • 2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 3 shallots, sliced
  • Pinch ground nutmeg
  • ½ cup Calvados, Applejack or other brandy
  • 1 ¾ cups apple cider
  • 1 ¼ cups chicken broth
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme, plus 1/4 tsp. minced
  • 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 2 tsp. vegetable oil
  • ½ – 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Directions

  1. Evenly sprinkle each chop with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Place chops on large plate, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  2. While chops rest, cut 2 apples into 1/2-inch pieces. Cook bacon in medium saucepan over medium heat until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Add shallots, nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are softened and beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
  3. Off heat, add 1/4 cup Calvados and let warm through, about 5 seconds. Wave lit match over pan until Calvados ignites, then shake pan gently to distribute flames. When flames subside, 30 to 60 seconds, cover pan to ensure flame is extinguished, 15 seconds.
  4. Add remaining 1/4 cup Calvados and repeat flambéing (flames will subside after 1 1/2 to 2 minutes). (If you have trouble igniting second addition, return pan to medium heat, bring to bare simmer, and remove from heat and try again.)
  5. Once flames have extinguished, increase heat to medium-high; add cider, 1 cup broth, thyme sprigs, butter, and chopped apples; and bring to rapid simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are very tender and mixture has reduced to 2 1/3 cups, 25 to 35 minutes. Cover and set aside.
  6. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees.
  7. Slice remaining 2 apples into 1/2-inch-thick rings. Pat chops dry with paper towels and evenly sprinkle each chop with pepper to taste.
  8. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until beginning to smoke. Increase heat to high and brown chops on both sides, 6 to 8 minutes total. Transfer chops to large plate and reduce heat to medium.
  9. Add apple rings and cook until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining 1/4 cup broth and cook, scraping up any browned bits with rubber spatula, until liquid has evaporated, about 30 seconds.
  10. Remove pan from heat, flip apple rings, and place chops on top of apple rings. Place skillet in oven and cook until chops register 135 to 140 degrees, 11 to 15 minutes.
  11. Transfer chops and apple rings to serving platter, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes.
  12. While chops rest, strain apple/brandy mixture through fine-mesh strainer set in large bowl, pressing on solids with ladle or rubber spatula to extract liquid; discard solids. (Make sure to use rubber spatula to scrape any apple solids on bottom of strainer into sauce.)
  13. Stir in minced thyme and season sauce with vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste. Transfer sauce to serving bowl. Serve chops and apple rings, passing sauce separately.

http://www.lynnandruss.com