Slow Cooked Pork Chops

Since our October visit to upstate NY we've had a bottle of Fly Creek Apple-Raspberry Hard Cider sitting in our basement fridge.

Rather than just drink it I had always planned to cook with it, preferably in some kind of slow cooked pork dish. I just needed the right occasion.

Well, as we watched the snow fall this past Saturday I knew it was time. I don't know what it is about snowy days but they just are made for slow-cooked goodness.

At Christmas we'd ordered some pork from a family friend's farm (Silver Lake Farm) in New Hampshire. These pigs run around in the woods so we're talking about some lean meat here. It seemed perfect to use in the slow cooker.

So, I had the meat and I had the hard cider. But, what else to add to the pot? I figured a few classic pork companions would do the trick: an onion and a couple of sweet potatoes.

And what goes better with pork than apples? Thus, with minimal effort dinner would be ready by 7pm. Now that's a nice snowy day situation.

Photos by Renato Ghio

Slow Cooked Pork Chops

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 pork chops
• 4 apples, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 cup hard cider
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cut the onion in half and then slice into thin half moons. Place the onions in the slow cooker insert.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut in half length-wise and slice into thin half moons. Place the sweet potato slices on top of the onions in the slow cooker insert.
3. Lay the pork chops on top of the vegetables.
4. Core and thinly slice the apples. Place the apple slices on top of the chops.
5. Season with dried thyme, salt and black pepper.
6. Pour the hard apple cider over the top.
7. Put on the lid and cook on low for 8 hours.
8. Serve each chop on a bed of apples and vegetables. Be sure to spoon some of cooking liquid over the top too.

What's been cooking in your slow cooker?