Center Cut Pork Chops... With BACON!!!

“Pork chops and bacon, my two favorite animals.” - Homer Simpson

OK. So These are HUGE slabs of  pork. Two of these steaks come in a package. Cut in half it's enough to feed a family of four, but in our case it means pork steak again tomorrow. YAY! We don't eat pork a lot, but when we do I go all out. 

 

You might also notice that there is fruit on the plate. Yes, that's pineapple, which just so happens to go great with pork. Because I don't have or use powdered meat tenderizer I had to find an alternative. I've found that lemon or pineapple juice works best. Besides, sometimes it's fun to have fruit instead. 

 

If you have kids that just plain refuse to eat their veggies, fruit can be a good alternative. You can sneak in veggies by pureeing them with a little fruit juice and leaving chunks of fruit visible. Later on when your child says "I don't like that" let them in on the fact that they've been eating it for months. Sneaky, huh?

 

So this is center cut pork chops wrapped in bacon. with apple couscous and pineapple on the side.

 

Bacon Wrapped Center Cut Pork Chops

 

2 center cut pork chops

2 slices of bacon

1 jazz apple

1 onion

1 Tbs white wine vinegar

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp salt

1 small can pineapple (in juice)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp sage

1/4 tsp celery seed (ground)

4 sprig fresh thyme (or 1 Tbs dry)

1 garlic clove (sliced very thin)

1: Wrap your center cut pork chops with bacon and fix into place. Line a loaf pan with aluminum foil and grease the bottom with a tiny bit of oil or cooking spray. Place your chops into the center of the pan, neither touching the sides, nor one another.

 

2: Directly onto each chop, pour 1/4 can pineapple juice, flip chop and repeat. Both sides are now tenderized and oiled. Add thyme, salt, pepper, sage, ground celery seed, and garlic. Set pineapple aside.

 

3: Using a medium grater, grate small onion equally right onto each chop, repeat with 1/2 small apple. Split white wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce evenly, pouring over onion and apple. (I hate grating so I just used large apple and onion slices. to each his own)

4: Cover and let marinade in refrigerator overnight if possible. 4 hours should do the trick, if you don't have the time.

 

5: Preheat oven to 350°F and bake, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. When done, the apple and onion should still be on top of the pork chop. Leave them as garnish and remove to serving plate.

 

Sides

1: I poured a little low sodium soy sauce on the pineapple right before serving.

2: I diced the other half of the jazz apple and added to the couscous.

I used Near East Mediterranean Curry Couscous 

It only takes 5 minutes to make. I added the apples in to the boiling water and spices for extra flavor and crunch.