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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Stuffed Pork Chops

I have to give a HUGE thanks to Chef Dennis (More Than A Mount Full) for the inspiration to this dish.  He was kind enough to take some time and explain to me a dish he used to make when he worked in a restaurant.  It sounded so wonderful, I couldn't wait to put it into a real meal!  I made these right before we left for our trip, but just didn't have the time to blog about it.  I thought they came out really well, though I should have asked a few more questions of Dennis, like his preferred bread choice.  Chef Dennis said they used to stuff their pork chops with a bread and sweet sausage stuffing...I didn't ask what type of bread, so I went with corn bread.. I like corn bread stuffing and thought it would work well with the pork.  Chris said it had too much of a "Thanksgiving stuffing" taste....which would make sense, since I make a similar stuffing at Thanksgiving.  Due to that, he was not as pleased with the pork chop as I was.  Don't get me wrong, he loved the look and the flavor of the pork itself, it was the stuffing that did not set well with him.  I actually hesitated posting this recipe as I think I could have made it better, but this is my journey, right?  All things on the journey cannot be perfect....all this means is I'll be doing a Stuff Pork Chop Redux post in the future!

Thanks again Chef Dennis!  And, by the way, if you haven't visited Chef Dennis' site, More Than A Mount Full, I highly recommend checking it out....talk about some amazingly good recipes using the freshest ingredients possible.  My mouth waters every time I go to his site!!

And one more thing...my instructions may not be all that clear, so if you have any questions (if you choose to make this), please do not hesitate to ask!

Stuffed Pork Chops
Inspired by Chef Dennis
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
5 oz sweet Italian sausage (casing removed)
1 cup crumbled up cornbread
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, snipped or finely chopped
2 6oz boneless butterfly pork loin chops
4 Tablespoons all purpose flour
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten and mixed with 1 Tablespoon water
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:
In a small pan, cook the sausage over medium heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, for 2-3 minutes or until the sausage is no longer pink.  Let cool.  Mix the cooled sausage with the cornbread, cheese, and rosemary.  Set aside.

Split the pork down the side using a sharp knife, but not cut all the way through, you basically want to butterfly the pork.  Pound the pork as as thin as you can without tearing the meat.  Stuff the pork and seal the edges together with just a tad bit of water and egg mix.  Season the pork with salt and pepper and let rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a shallow dish add the flour and season with salt and pepper.  In another dish have your egg ready.  And yet in another dish, add the seasoned bread crumbs.  Dip the pork in the flour and shake off any excess.  Now dip it into the egg wash and then into the bread crumbs, pressing down to make sure the pork is nicely coated.  Let the meat rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.

In a skillet over medium high heat, add the oil.  Brown all sides of the pork then transfer to a baking dish.  Finish cooking the pork in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!


10 comments:

Yenta Mary said...

I haven't had breakfast yet, and here are these GORGEOUS pork chops staring me in the face!!! OMG! Isn't Dennis great? His blog is in the pantheon with yours and a few others as ones I don't miss even when I'm waaaaay too stressed and far behind to keep up of late. One more week 'til Rosh Hashanah ... sigh. One more week ....

Unknown said...

I think it looks yummy just the way it is, Jenn! Mmmmm....

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

I love stuffed pork chops!!! These look delicious, as always Jenn. Chef Dennis has great recipes, I love his blog :)

I should send you some homemade bread to make bread crumbs out of - it makes the best stuffing!! Never tried the sausage in stuffing but I'm not sausages biggest fan.

I was planning on pork chops tonight, these might make the cut :)

Mary Bergfeld said...

Jenn, this really sounds delicious. Stuffed pork is a favorite of ours and I suspect your pork chops will be appearing on my table very soon. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...MAryy

Ma What's 4 dinner said...

I'm always on the look out for a great stuffed pork chop. Can't wait to try these.

Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com

StephenC said...

If I ever get around to getting our Safeway butcher to cut me some thick chops I'll have so many ideas to choose from! Including this one, of course. There are often Italian sausages in the Manager's Specials bin.

Miss Meat and Potatoes said...

Wow. Drooling. Thanks to you and Chef Dennis for sharing!

Pam said...

Jenn, they look delicious and I will be trying it! Thanks to the both of you for the great recipe!

Chris said...

This reminds me, I need to try my chorizo rice stuffing with pork chops.

Thanksgiving chops, huh? You should have really messed with Chris and served him some cranberry sauce;)

Chef Dennis Littley said...

Hi Jenn

your Pork Chops came out great!! And as for bread what ever you like is fine, my stuffing is a little thanksgiving like too, but lets face it,if its a bread stuffing, its gonna remind you of Thanksgiving. I serve Turkey and stuffing all year long, so It doesn't bother me at all! But to help your husband enjoy it more, change up the bread to something you wouldn't use, maybe add some apples or other fruits. And If I didn't mention it before, this goes great with a mushroom marsala sauce!
But I think you did an outstanding job, your pork chops look perfect!
and thank you so much for the mention in your blog, that was so sweet!
Dennis