Grilled Stuffed Pork Chops

Grilled Stuffed Pork Chops Recipe

We have established my love of all things pork in past blog posts – I love me some bacon – and I love a good pork chop.  Last week the kidlings and I were at Whole Foods and I saw some thick cut pork chops that were screaming “STUFF ME!!”  (That might have been my stomach, same diff.)

I bought four and set out to find a Grilled Stuffed Pork Chops recipe.  I found some things – but nothing that really excited me, so I married a bunch of thoughts together and made my own.  Keep in mind – I grilled these because it was a gajillion degrees in the house and I was NOT going to turn the oven on.  This will dry out your chop, so the stuffing has to be pretty juicy.

I think you’ll like this recipe, it’s pretty flexible and easy to throw together, and it’s tasty – just the right blend of salt and sweet to compliment the chops.  I served mine with simple applesauce, but I bet a sauce made from some warmed up apple butter would be EXCELLENT if you heated it and whisked in a little butter to make it glossy – you wont need a ton, but just a tad to bring it all together would be tasty!

Grilled Stuffed Pork Chops

Author Carrie Hill

Ingredients

  • 4 thick cut pork chops
  • 3 slices thick-cut bacon cut into lardon
  • 1/4 C Onion minced
  • 1/4 C Apple i used gala, minced
  • 1/4 C Celery chopped
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 2 C Sourdough or Italian bread I bought a loaf and tore slices apart and chopped them up fairly small in my food processor - a dry-ish loaf works well - day old is perfect!
  • 1/2 C Chicken Stock - add more if your stuffing is dry
  • 1/4 C Butter
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

  1. With a sharp knife, slice pockets horizontally into your thick cut chops - go all the way to the bone, but don't make your opening too large - salt and pepper your chops inside and out - set aside.
  2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and toss in the bacon, stir and heat fairly slowly to render out the fat. When the bacon is done, remove from the pan and drain - remove remaining fat from your skillet
  3. In the same hot skillet, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and saute onion, celery and apple over medium heat until the onion is transluscent. Add in the garlic and saute for a few more minutes.
  4. When onion and garlic are golden, add 1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup) and melt into the vegetables.
  5. Add the bacon into the skillet and mix in the processed fresh bread crumbs.
  6. Moisten with the remaining Tbsp. of Olive Oil
  7. Add chicken stock until your stuffing is very wet and can be pushed into a ball in your hands - dry stuffing means dry chops.
  8. Season with the 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and taste. Add more seasoning if needed
  9. Stuff each chop with 1/4 of the stuffing and use a toothpick to "sew" the pocket shut
  10. Let rest after stuffing for about 10 minutes, long enough to heat up the grill
  11. Grill on each side about 10 minutes - use a meat thermometer to determine "doneness" - pork should be to about 160 - but measure in the MEAT not in the stuffing.
  12. Enjoy!