Stuffed Pork Chops

As soon as the theme of food stuffed in food was suggested, I knew that I had to try and make my grandmother's stuffed pork chops. I loved them as a kid, and I have been craving them since I started eating meat again. I emailed my grandmother for the recipe, and although my first attempt did her version no justice, they were still pretty good.

I started by making the stuffing--sauteing 1/2 cup onions and 1/4 cup celery, along with a dash of chopped fresh sage, in butter until they were translucent. Then I tossed in 1/2 cup of bread cubes and sauteed for a few minutes more. I mixed it all with the key ingredient: a small can of creamed corn. None of these measurements were exact as I guessed the proportions, but they seemed about right. Next time I might try adding an egg to bind it a bit more, but it could go either way.

Then things got sort of graphic. Of course for my first meat Poff Coff I would pick a recipe where I really have to get in there. I bought two center cut, bone-in pork chops, each about 1 1/2 inches thick. I cut a slit in each pork chop, and used the knife and my fingers to hollow out a pocket in the chop. Like so:


Then I salted and peppered the chops, stuffed each pork chop with the stuffing and closed the opening with a toothpick. Tada!


I browned the pork chops for a few minutes on each side in my cast iron skillet.

My oven, which has never been reliable, picked yesterday to break down completely. But that's what toaster ovens are for! I put the chops in a baking pan and cooked them for 25 minutes on one side at 350 degrees, turned them, and cooked for another 25. Because I had so much stuffing left over, I threw the extra in the pan for the second 25 minutes. If I had been cooking in a real oven with more space, I probably would have put the extra stuffing right on top of the chops.

As a side, I made brussels sprouts my favorite way (and also a Phyllis Croxton recipe) - sauteed with balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese. Mmmm.

I served the chops with the extra stuffing and the extra juices from the pan poured on top.


The stuffing on the inside kept the pork chops really juicy and the sweet of the creamed corn balances well with the flavor of the meat. Really, it's all about the creamed corn.

If I were to do it again, I would add more sage to the stuffing and would salt and pepper the chop more than I did. This is definitely a recipe that I will make again and want play around with a bit. But considering how dumb I still am about cooking meat, and given the fact that I had to do it in a toaster oven, it was really easy and good. Yay, Poff Coff!