Gourmet Stuffed Pork Chops Recipe

Looking for a way to flex your "gourmet" muscles in the kitchen this weekend? This recipe for pork chops stuffed with smoky prosciutto, tart apples, smoked cheese, and a fresh rosemary-infused sauce made with Marsala wine (an Italian fortified wine), will make it seem as though you worked over a hot stove for hours. Of course, in reality, it's going to take you a mere 15 minutes of prep time before you're ready to pop this dish into the oven — and for less than an hour. Plus, since pork chops tend to be reasonably priced, this recipe won't cost you a fortune at the supermarket.

"Pork chops are often a cut of meat that I ignore, but I came across a recipe suggestion one day saying that they could be stuffed, and I thought it was brilliant," recipe developer Jennine Bryant says regarding how she came up with the idea. "It really transformed pork chops for me, and while it seems fancy, it's so simple to do. It's a great way to elevate what can sometimes be seen as a rather mundane cut of pork, into something spectacular."

Now, go ahead, and get your kitchen workout going. These gourmet stuffed pork chops will impress your guests or family, so it's time to get excited!

To make this gourmet stuffed pork chops recipe, you'll need, for starters, two pork chops. Note that this recipe assumes 1-inch-thick pork chops, taking into consideration how long the chops will take to cook to a safe temperature.

You'll also need 2 tablespoons of butter — one to cook the stuffing, and one to start the sauce, two slices of thinly sliced prosciutto, half of a finely cubed Granny Smith apple (which were selected for their tartness), one finely chopped shallot (half of which will be incorporated into the stuffing, and half of which will be used in making the sauce), ⅓ cup of finely cubed smoked cheese of your choice (similar in size as the apple cubes), a sprig of fresh rosemary, ⅓ cup of Marsala wine, ⅓ cup of chicken stock, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and 3 cups of heavy cream.

You can optionally garnish this dish with chopped parsley, or to take your gourmet up a level, Bryant has another garnish idea that we'll get to at the end of this explainer, and for which you'll need to save the other half of the apple and a couple slices of prosciutto.

Before you do anything else, take a moment to preheat your oven to 350 F. Then, heat a frying pan or griddle over medium-high heat on the stove, and add 1 tablespoon of butter and half of the chopped shallot. Cook for a few minutes until the shallot has begun to appear translucent. Immediately add the cubed apples, and cook for four minutes, at which time the apples should have softened. If not, add another minute or two. 

To complete the stuffing, transfer the shallot and apple mixture into a medium-sized bowl, and add the chopped smoked cheese. Stir everything together until it's well-mixed, and all of the ingredients until they are distributed evenly throughout.

Using a medium-sized sharpened chef's knife, slice a deep pocket into each of the pork chops. To stuff the pork chops, flip the top open like a book, and lay a slice of prosciutto in the center. Then, spoon about ½ cup of the prepared apple, shallot, and smoked cheese mixture on top of it, and replace the top half of the pork. Place the stuffed pork chops into a baking dish, and drizzle them with olive oil, season them with salt and pepper, and put them into your preheated oven to bake for 30 to 35 minutes. You may want to set a timer so you will not forget the pork chops are in the oven while moving onto the next step.

Now it's time to whip up the amazing wine sauce. In a different frying pan or skillet from the one you used for the shallots and apples, heat the remaining butter. Then, just as you did before, cook the remaining shallot until it starts to become translucent. Add the sprig of rosemary and the Marsala wine, and allow the mixture to cook until the wine has reduced by half. You'll then add the chicken stock. Cook for another three minutes, then stir in the Dijon mustard and cream. If the timer hasn't gone off yet, turn off the heat source, and cover while you wait.

When the timer goes off for the pork chops, use an instant read thermometer to make sure they've reached 145 F (via Pork.org). When they have, remove them from the oven, and allow them to rest for five minutes. While they are resting, if your sauce has cooled down, reheat it on low heat, and then spoon some onto two dinner plates. At the end of five minutes, transfer one pork chop to each plate. If you'd like, serve with the remaining sauce on the side, or drizzle the chops with it.

As an option for your serving presentation, plate your gourmet stuffed pork chops as Bryant has. To do this, you'll need a scoop of mashed potatoes for each plate and some sautéed leafy greens. If you stop there, your dish will already be very impressive-looking. But to take it over-the-top, you can garnish the plate as shown by mashing or pureeing the other half of the apple that you used for the stuffing, and scattering dollops around the outer edge of the plate, topped with small bits of baked prosciutto. For the small bits, simply bake the slices of prosciutto in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 F, and crumble. Scatter with chopped parsley, if desired, and you are done!

Your dinner will look so professional. This recipe is a keeper for a special night in, and it will surely be enjoyed and appreciated by everyone you serve it to.