Cooking the Perfect Pork Chop

How to cook a pork chop perfectly, a delicious recipe for an apple compote, and a review of Cooking with Coconut Oil. 

Something I want to do more this year is cook and bake with coconut oil. I was pretty good about it up until about four months ago (hence why I wrote this post all about why you should use coconut oil), when I ran out of my Costco size jar, and was too lazy to buy anymore…but after receiving Cooking with Coconut Oil by Elizabeth Nyland, I have a renewed desire to use it!

This is a recently released cookbook, and it is seriously incredible! I had some time to browse through it, and there are some fantastic ideas. If you are gluten free, it’s even better…because everything is gluten free. There are desserts, side dishes, main dishes, and much more. I loved just looking through it — the pictures were beautiful. The cookbook also shows you how diverse coconut oil is, and how it can be used in just about anything!

The recipe I created was the pork chops with apple compote. It was pretty simple, and turned out really well. While I made it, I figured out how to make the perfect pork chop. Seriously, I’ve always been intimidate by pork chops. I feel like they are so easy to overcook. However, after making them last Sunday, I feel like I have a really good method…thanks to this book!

Basically, heat a skillet of medium heat, and melt about 1 tablespoon of coconut oil for every two pork chops you are cooking (make sure they are thick-cut ones.) Put salt and pepper on each pork chop, and then sear (on very, very high heat) for about three minutes on each side. After searing them, place the pork chops onto a baking sheet that is on an oven that was heated to  400 degrees. Cook for about 7-10 minutes, or until the pork chops are no longer pink and the internal temperature is 145 degrees.

I changed the compote a little bit, because I found the cooking time to be a little long. It also didn’t get very syrupy, regardless of what I did..but that was okay with me. This recipe is from Cooking with Coconut Oil, just slightly adapted. Be sure to check it out for more delicious and healthy ideas.

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Pork Chops with Apple Compote

Yield: 4 pork chops

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Ingredients

• Apple Compote
• 1/2 large onion, peeled and diced finely
• 2 small tart apples, cored, peeled, and diced finely
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• Pork Chop
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• Sea salt and fresh-cracked pepper to taste
• 4 thick-cut pork chops

Instructions

1. Compote
2. In a small saucepan, combine all compote ingredients and set over medium heat.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 15-20 minutes, or until the onions and apples start to carmelize and are soft.
4. Pork Chops
5. Preheat the oven to 375°F and place a heavy baking tray in the middle rack.
6. In a heavy skillet or cast iron pan, melt the coconut oil over medium-high heat.
7. Season the chops on all sides with salt and pepper. Place in hot pan and sear for about three minutes per side.
8. Transfer to oven and allow to cook for approximately 12-15 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of chop reads 145°F.
9. Serve compote over pork chops.