I borrowed a Rachael Ray cookbook from my Dad a couple Christmas's ago and kind of went hog wild reading every recipe in the book, book marking every single recipe I wanted to try and cooking Rachael Ray recipes almost every meal for 2 weeks. A little obsessive I know, but some excellent recipes came out of my Rachael-infatuated days, this being one of them. When I look at the ingredient list now, I wonder "what ever possessed me to make this recipe based on these ingredients?"...it's a pretty weird combo. But somehow it works. The flavors meld together beautifully for some of the best pork chops I've had.
Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray
____________________________________________________________________
Serves 4
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup spicy brown mustard (Dijon works too)
¼ cup apple juice
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cumin
4 center cut boneless pork loin chops, 1-inch thick
Olive oil
Grill seasoning blend or salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine maple syrup, mustard, cider, onion, nutmeg, cinnamon and cumin in a small saucepan and cook together over medium heat for 5 minutes until sauce begins to thicken a bit.
Preheat frying pan to medium-high heat with 1 tbsp oil. Season the pork chops on both sides with grill seasoning or salt and pepper. Fry about 3 minutes on each side until the chops have a nice brown color (they don't need to be cooked all the way through). Pour about 1/2 the sauce in the pan, baste the chops with it on both sides and let cook for 2 or 3 minutes more. The sauce will get nice and caramelized.
Transfer the pork chops to a baking sheet and pour over the rest of the reserved sauce. Bake the chops in the oven for 10-12 minutes and serve.
Click here for printable version of Maple Mustard Pork Chops
____________________________________________________________________
THE RESULTS?
We LOVE these pork chops. I bought a massive pack of pork chops a couple months ago when they were on sale for about $1 a pound, so I have tried many different pork chop recipes and many different ways of cooking them, and my husband claimed that these were the best.
The flavors are so warm and comforting...pretty dang perfect for Fall.
For more great Rachael Ray recipes, check out Saturdays with Rachael Ray at Taste and Tell.