Sauteed Pork Chops with Sweet-and-Sour Red Cabbage
Juicy bone-in pork chops served over tender braised red cabbage with crispy bacon. The cabbage is cooked with red wine vinegar, caraway seeds, and sugar for a perfect balance of sweet and sour flavors.
Ingredients
- •6 slices bacon slices, chopped
- •2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- •1 medium onion
- •1 small red cabbage
- •¼ cup red-wine vinegar
- •¾ cup water
- •2 tablespoons sugar
- •½ teaspoon caraway seeds
- •1¼ teaspoons salt
- •¾ teaspoon black pepper
- •4 pieces bone-in rib pork chops
- •1 piece instant-read thermometer
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
10 min
- 2.
Cook bacon in a 4- to 5-quart wide heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, and transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Measure fat and, if less than 2 tablespoons, add enough vegetable oil to bring total to 2 tablespoons. Heat fat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion, stirring occasionally, until it begins to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Add cabbage and turn with tongs until coated with fat. Stir in red-wine vinegar, water, sugar, caraway seeds, 3/4teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and braise cabbage over moderately low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 25 to 35 minutes.
35 min
- 3.
Meanwhile, pat 2 pork chops dry and sprinkle both sides with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (total). Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown seasoned chops, turning over once, 5 minutes total, and transfer to a shallow baking pan (1 inch deep). Season remaining 2 chops and brown in oil remaining in skillet in same manner, transferring to baking pan. Roast chops in oven until thermometer inserted horizontally 2 inches into center of a chop (do not touch bone) registers 145°F, 5 to 8 minutes.
13 min
- 4.
Meanwhile, stir half of bacon into cabbage, then finely chop remaining bacon for sprinkling.
2 min
- 5.
Let chops stand in pan, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes. Serve chops over cabbage, with any pan juices spooned over and sprinkled with bacon.
5 min