Who doesn’t love some good bacon pork chops? This is like the ultimate comfort food with the savory pork, sweetness of the apples, and that bacon flavor! All wrapped up nicely in a juicy, tender dish the family will love!
These bacon pork chops seriously has so much flavor! I remember having this at a restaurant and thinking, for sure I have to learn how to cook this so I can make it for myself!
Pork can actually be kind of difficult to cook, so in this post I will go over my tricks on how to keep it moist on the inside and get that nice, caramelized flavor on the outside. Do not worry!
Bacon pork chops can be great in the fall as a main dish, or no judgement, any other time of the year if you want to whip this up for yourself!
This post will go over everything you need to know to create these juicy bacon pork chops with apples.
Recipe difficulty: Moderate (Don’t let that scare you! Read my tricks below and you’ll be totally fine!)
While this dish is only made in one pan and uses familiar ingredients, pork can be tricky to cook if it’s your first time. This meat can get overcooked pretty easy, so chefs need to pay close attention so that the meat doesn’t dry out and turn hard like a rock.
Sam’s Pro Tips for these Juicy Bacon Pork Chops with Apples
- Do not overcook your pork! This will be the biggest issue in this dish as it can happen so fast without you realizing! What’s more is that it’s like the first step in the recipe, so it can be a disaster in the beginning. Ok so all that negative points aside, there are two concepts you need to focus on when cooking these bacon pork chops. First, the meat should be browned on the outside. Secondly, it needs to be moist on the inside. This all will depend on the thickness of your pork chops! See next two bullets.
- Brown your pork on the outside just enough, that it’s not fully cooked on the inside. When cooking your pork in the oil and butter, you want to cook just until browned on both sides. It will continue cooking when you close the lid, but if you cook the outside until fully browned on both sides, your pork will at this point be overcooked and harden.
- After browning your pork, close the lid and add some water. This is my trick for getting the inside of the pork nice and juicy! Once I finish browning both sides of the pork, I add a little bit of water and close the lid. I reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer. For how long will depend on the thickness of the pork, but I usually start with 10 minutes at the minimum and eye it.
- Lastly, keep all the flavor in the pan! What I mean by this is I don’t cook other parts of this recipe separately or rinse the pan between each step. I like it simple and easy, with limited washing to keep all the flavors together. Therefore, I even cook the bacon in the same pan after cooking the pork so I get some of that nice meaty flavor. Next, I use the grease of the bacon to cook the apples, onion, and garlic. You get the best pork with apples and bacon that way!
Key Ingredients – Juicy Bacon Pork Chops with Apples
Below are some key and optional ingredients for this recipe:
Pork and Apples
- Pork Chops: So you can either use bone-in or boneless pork chops. Usually with bone-in, you can help your chances of making juicy, moist pork chops. Yay! However, I prefer eating boneless so I can just dig in there and not worry about eating around the bone! For this recipe I used the Trader Joe’s Boneless, Center-Cut Pork Loin Chops, where the pork was nice and thick with optimal fat.
- Bacon: Thick-cut bacon works the best with this dish! Don’t skimp out on this! We totally love the Trader Joe’s Uncured Apple Smoked Bacon with this dish! It doesn’t have to be this brand, but it crisps beautifully with the onion and garlic while having that nice smoked flavor.
- Apples: What I personally love about this dish is the use of 2 different kinds of apples! I used to make this dish with the same 2 apples, and I think I would just get whatever was on sale. Oh, how this has changed! Now I love the combination of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples. The Granny Smith apples has more of a tart taste and holds up well in cooking, while the Honeycrisp apples adds some sweetness to these bacon pork chops. The use of both really adds some variety to this dish! I saw this article for the Best Apples for Cooking by Jessica Gavin, and I found it really helpful for future recipes!
Herbs and Spices
- Garlic and Onion: Cooking the garlic and onion with the bacon grease is how I get both so flavorful without adding any seasoning! The garlic and onion tastes so good in this dish, with an almost caramelized flavor!
- Spices: In this skillet pork chops with apples, I used garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper to season my pork. This pork is definitely not bland!
- Optional: When plating this dish, I like to drizzle some honey on top for extra sweetness! It’s not needed as you most likely will get all the sweetness from the apples, but I think it ultimately adds to the flavor. This makes this dish look extra fancy!
More Variations to this Recipe
There are a few ways you can variate these juicy bacon pork chops with apples. Here’s how:
- Experiment with more sweetness or spices: There are so many ways you can variate this recipe! I like to keep it simple, but you can add brown sugar or cinnamon in with the apples or season the pork with a different spice like sage. Comment below if you have tried this!
- What can I pair with this dish? For this pork chops bacon and apples recipe, some herbed potatoes sound good on the side or spiced vegetables. Both will definitely compliment this main dish and add some variety. See our Spiced Honey Glazed Carrots Recipe with Pecans or our Simple Herb Roasted Potatoes Recipe!
- Spiced Honey Glazed Carrots Recipe with Pecans
- Simple Herb Roasted Potatoes Recipe
- 5-Step Easy Garlic Baked French Fries Recipe
- Nutritious Honey Baked Salmon with Dijon Mustard
Frequently Asked Questions
What tastes good with pork chops?
Pork chops with apples and bacon are a great combination. Conversely, paired with a side dish, spiced vegetables or herbed potatoes are good choices.
What are good flavors for pork?
Common seasonings for pork is thyme, rosemary, and garlic powder. In addition, cumin, paprika, and chili powder are also other seasonings that can be used. For added sweetness, try using honey.
Why are my pork chops always tough?
This means you are overcooking your pork chops! Pork chops can be easily overcooked and will be hard like a rock. Make sure you are browning the pork chop on each side. If cooking stovetop, closing the lid with a little bit of water will help keep the pork moist.
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