This Little Piggy had Sauerkraut?

At the start of the week I asked both The Hub and Son3 for a little help planning the menus for the week. I really don't mind the actual cooking but I don't like the planning phase. This week the hub is recovering from 2 different bouts of illness and wanted something that had a strong taste but was not too spicy. He requested "something" and kraut. As usual, a google search " something and kraut recipes" gave me quite a few options, but the one I went with tonight was pork chops and sauerkraut. I have browned chops and baked them on a bed of kraut before but this time was looking for something a little more complex. The following recipe found at allrecipes.com sounded like it would be perfect.




Pork Chops and Sauerkraut

4 (3/4 inch thick) center cut pork chops
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 (16 ounce) can sauerkraut, drained
1 red apple, cored and chopped
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Directions

In a skillet, brown pork chops in oil; drain. Stir in onion, pepper, broth, caraway seed and celery seed. Cover and cook over medium heat for 45-50 minutes. Add sauerkraut and apple. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Before serving, sprinkle with bacon if desired.

This is the recipe as it was written but as usual it was not followed exactly. This afternoon The Pig had bone in pork sirloin steaks for $1.99 per pound vs. $4.99 for the center cut chops, so the sirloin won. They were a tad under 1/2 inch thick which shortened the total cooking time about 10 minutes. I had no red apples but did have a Granny Smith which I used. The red would've been much prettier. I also did not use the bacon, the tiny bit of bacon flavor was not worth the additional calories.

This will definitely become a staple in our fall/winter food rotation. ( Maybe it's just me but it felt like a cool weather food) Next time I will use the bagged kraut instead of canned (and use the entire bag). I will add a little more onion because of the additional kraut and will cut the apple into fourths and fish it out before serving. The apple gave the sauerkraut a tiny bit of sweetness, which was delicious but I did not like the chunks of apple mixed in it. Not surprising since I do not like cooked fruit at all. I also thought there was a little too much chicken broth. I would have preferred the kraut and onion mixture to be a little drier. And oh my, the flavor the onions, chicken broth and kraut were spectacular. Next time I will julienne the onions just for the mouth and eye appeal. The caraway and celery seeds were the bonus that tipped this from being just good to being really good.

I think this needs to be served with a bright side dish. The colors were very bland and uniform, and since we eat with our eyes first it needed a punch of color on the plate. I served cucumber rounds and half cherry tomatoes. I should have had a couple of broccoli stems also for some deep green color.

Live and learn!