Buckytom's Crock Pot Pork Chops

[buckytom]

i made this tonight and it came out great! i modified a dry rub that i use on grilled chops, browned them in evoo, then cooked them in my crock pot with onions, peppers, cubed pepperoni, and apples for about 4 hours. they were really tender and flavorful.

ingredients for the rub:

10 black peppercorns
5 allspice berries
1 clove
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp sea salt

combine the rub ingredients in a mortar and pestle and grind into a granulated powder.

ingredients:
6 one inch thick pork chops
4 tbsps evoo, divided
1 large onion, sliced into 1/4 inch rings
4 large cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 cup of water
3 green bell peppers, sliced into 1/4 inch strips
3 inches of pepperoni, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
3 bay leaves
2 apples, peeled and cored, sliced into 1/4 inch rings



sprinkle the rub evenly on both sides and press into the pork chops.

prepare a large saute on high heat, add 2 tbsps of evoo, and brown 3 of the chops on each side for about 2 to 3 minutes per side until they attain good color. repeat with the other 3 chops and 2 tbsps of evoo. set chops aside.

add the onions and garlic to the saute and stir fry in the remaining oil until the garlic is just getting toasted and the onions begin to brown on the egdes. transfer onions and garlic to the crock.

deglaze the saute with 1/2 cup water. add liquid to the crock pot.

place the pepperoni cubes, sliced peppers, and bay leaves into the crock, and nestle the chops into the mixture. placed sliced apples on top and cover the crock.

set crock pot to high.

about 2 hours later, turn the chops and replace cover. let cook on high for about another 2 hours, until the chops are fork tender.


serve by plating the chops over rice or mashed potatoes and spooning the onion/pepper/apple mixture over top.

 

[kitchenelf]

Sounds awesome BT!!! I've love sausage and apple combinations - never thought of pepperoni and apples. It's time to drag the crockpot out!!

 

[lyndalou]

Sounds wonderful! I'm gonna try it.

 

[buckytom]

thanks elfie and lyndalou. if you make this, please let me know how it came out.

if it sucks, pm me with the results. if it's good, then post away.

next time i would add more apples and more closely monitor how long it cooks. i had put the entire crock into the fridge the night before, then put the crock back into the heating assembly for dinner yesterday, but by then it was a little overcooked and wasn't as good as the when i first made it. the apples and peppers disintegrated and the chops fell apart. (that's how i know it was good as dw was willing to eat it as leftovers ).

 

[suziquzie]

BT I just found this by accident looking for something else....
Did you use bone in or out chops? They sound great!

 

[kitchenelf]

suzi - I haven't made this exact recipe yet but whenever I crockpot porkchops I always use bone in. Same with chicken pieces too. I'll be watching to see what buckytom says - if he used boneless I might try that with a little more confidence next time.

 

[suziquzie]

I fell in love with my crockpot all over again on tuesday, dinner prep was mostly done while the kids ate lunch. I got to sit and knit ALL afternoon!
I wonder if the bones make any difference at all.... I am quite curious.

 

[kitchenelf]

I fell in love with my crockpot all over again on tuesday, dinner prep was mostly done while the kids ate lunch. I got to sit and knit ALL afternoon!
I wonder if the bones make any difference at all.... I am quite curious.

I've always heard that they don't dry out as much with the bone in and have a better flavor. I can't really say for sure because mine always have the bones in! LOL

 

[suziquzie]

I know it works on the grill and in the oven better with bones to keep them moister, but I'm sitting here wondering if it matters with all the juice surrounding them in a crockpot. Swiss steak turns out just fine with no bones...... I hope he gets back soon!!

 

[buckytom]

s-quzie, i almost always use bone-in when i can, for any dish, with any meat. you just get more flavor. as my mom always said, the meat next to the bone was the sweetest.

i guess boneless chops would work with this (don't trim the fat!), but imo they're best prepared marinated and grilled, or breaded and fried. but if you try it, lemme know how it came out.

oh, btw, most of my recipes are almost never measured; they're best guesses after the fact. so if something seems like too much or too little for your techniques, cooking vessels, and tastes, then by all means adjust accordingly. taste as you go.

 

[suziquzie]

Thank you! I figured they were bone in, just checkin!
My food never turns out the same twice, I mess with stuff so much I forget what I did when I liked it!

 

[JoAnn L.]

i almost always use bone-in when i can, for any dish, with any meat. you just get more flavor. as my mom always said, the meat next to the bone was the sweetest.


buckytom, I agree. When I buy pork ribs, to use with sauerkraut, I always get the ones with bones. The boneless get too dry.

 

[QSis]

Oh, wow, two meals this week in the same thread!

I went to print out Drama Queen's Chourico Bean soup recipe to make for this week's lunches, when I found BT's crockpot recipe for pork chops. This morning, I just took some chops out of the freezer to do something with tomorrow night. Wa-la!

Thanks, everyone!

Lee

 

[buckytom]

qsis, i looked back over my recipe and while it works, i've made a few changes.

firstly, let the chops marinate in the rub for a few hours.

next, i'd brown the onions and garlic seperately, so as not to overcook/burn the garlic.

finally, i'm not that experienced with my slow cooker, so i'd probably not let it cook so long, unless you don't mind the chops falling apart somewhat.

lemme know how it goes if you make it. i have a bone-in loin end pork rib roast that is most likely going to be made this way on sunday.

eta: i'd also increase the amount of dried sausage (pepperoni, chorizo, etc.) depending on how much oomph you want from it.

 

[AllenOK]

I did something similar to this a few days ago. I baked my chops instead of crockpot cooking. I sauteed the onions and apples after browning the chops, then deglazed with a little chicken stock.

I baked mine for an hour. I probably could have gotten away with 45 minutes. The apples were mush.

Have you thought about deglazing with stock, apple juice, or a mixture of both?

I just pulled some chops out the freezer. I'll get them going sometime this afternoon. If I do the onions and apples again, I'll saute those separately, and probably won't even throw them into the crockpot. I think I'll deglaze the skillet with half chicken / half beef stock (I've been making stock all week), and maybe throw in some apple juice.

 

[buckytom]

apple juice or stock is a great idea! you always have good suggestions. thanks allen.

yeah, the apples will be mush, and in a crock pot, so will the peppers. the onions have a way of disappearing but still being around, if ya know what i mean.

to me, the addition of pepperoni, chorizo, or any salty, dry-cured sausage makes the chops. well, that and the rub.

this is certainly no glamourous dish, not ready for primetime. it was a throw-together thing, using a lot of the ideas that i've learned here, and at (insert your site here, we'll talk)...

 

[QSis]

Oh, wow, two meals this week in the same thread!

I went to print out Drama Queen's Chourico Bean soup recipe to make for this week's lunches, when I found BT's crockpot recipe for pork chops. This morning, I just took some chops out of the freezer to do something with tomorrow night. Wa-la!

Thanks, everyone!

Lee

Oh for heaven's sakes, I DID post this before! There are two threads with BT's pork chops, so I couldn't find my first post when I went looking for it again.

Lee

 

[Jeff G.]

Sounds awesome. I love the idea of the pepperoni as a seasoning!

 

[middie]

Oh wow. Yum. This sounds fabulous !

 

[AllenOK]

Well, I was "going" to make it, but, PeppA 86'ed the apple idea. I cheated, and sauteed some onions and mushrooms, seasoned with garlic, salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, dried sage, dried thyme, some homemade beef stock, and a large can of cream of mushroom soup. I should have used a small can, and not cooked the chops for so long. It was really, REALLY good, but the chops had started to fall apart.