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Slow Cooked Pork Chops

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time7 hours 30 minutes
Total Time8 hours
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon cut into ¼ inch pieces - good for added flavor and fat
  • 3 medium yellow onions halved and sliced thin
  • 4 teaspoons light brown sugar
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves minced (substitute 1 teaspoon dried)
  • salt to taste
  • 3 cups chicken broth homemade is best - low salt is ok
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Minute Tapioca used for thickening and usually can be found next to the Jello in your supermarket
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 bone-in BLADE-CUT pork chops ¾ inches thick
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves minced, for decorating dish at end

Instructions

  • Start by cooking the bacon pieces in your favorite large frying pan (skillet, sauté pan). Cook the bacon until crisp, about 8 minutes, and transfer the bacon to a plate covered with paper towels.
  • Save in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. The bacon bits will be served on top with the parsley at the end.
  • Pour out all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the pan. I have a dog food can on the counter that I pour all my fats into, and when it's full, I refrigerate to harden up and throw out in a zip-lock bag. Don't pour your fat down the drain. Plumbers delight.
  • Heat the pan over medium-high heat, and when the bacon fat shimmers, add the onions, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, thyme, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
  • Cook, being sure to stir often until the onions start to caramelize. This will take as long as 15 minutes but don't walk away and watch a basketball game on TV. You need to keep stirring so the onions don't burn.
  • When the onions are soft and light brown, add 1 cup of the chicken broth and give a stir.
  • Transfer all this good stuff to the crock pot, and add the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth plus the other tablespoon of brown sugar, soy sauce, instant tapioca, and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
  • Wipe out the frying pan with a paper towel, add a tablespoon of olive oil, and bring to medium heat. Season the pork chops with salt & pepper and brown on both sides when hot. This should only take a minute on each side.
  • Once browned, transfer the chops to the crock-pot.
  • Cover the crock pot and cook on the low setting for 7½ hours until the meat is tender. (That is if you use the right cut of pork!) You can also cook on high for 4 to 5 hours until tender.
  • When all is cooked, transfer the meat to a large serving plate if you are not serving individual plates and tent with some aluminum foil. The meat needs to rest while you finish the sauce.
  • You want to eliminate as much fat as possible from the cooking liquids. Let the liquid cool for 5 minutes, and then spoon off as much as you can from the surface. It may be my least favorite job when cooking but worth doing.
  • You can remove the bay leaves; add the vinegar, stir, and season with salt and pepper to taste. You are now almost ready to serve family style.
  • Reheat the bacon pieces in the microwave oven for about 30 seconds until heated.
  • Pour 1 cup of the defatted sauce with all those lovely caramelized onions over the pork chops, sprinkle with some bacon bits and fresh parsley, and serve with the rest of the sauce on the side.

Notes

Let me know if you have better results than I did with the wrong cuts of pork.