Easy Sweet and Sour Pork Chops
Tasty sweet and sour pork chops made with simple ingredients and pan-fried to perfection a delicious pork chop dinner the entire family will love. It's easy to make and is sure to make dinner a win-win!
Servings: 4
Calories: 401kcal
Ingredients
- 4 pork chops loin, rib or center cut, bone or boneless, 1 inch thick
- ⅓ cup cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup sugar -
- ⅓ cup pineapple juice -
- 1 can (5.5-6 oz) tomato paste -
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes more or less to taste
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive or another vegetable oil
- ½ - 1 cup pineapple chunks or crushed, if desired
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl combine pineapple juice, vinegar, red pepper flakes, tomato paste,and sugar. Make sure your sugar is totally dissolved. Set aside.
- Wash and cut slices into the side of each pork chop with the fat and silver skin along the edge. This stops the pork chops from curling. Make cuts every 1 ½ to 2 inches along that edge. The cuts should be no more than ½ an inch deep.
- Dry pork chops with paper towels and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering or a drop of water flicked in it dances.
- Add pork chops and cook until well browned and cooked, between 5 and 8 minutes per side. Your pork chops should be 145 degrees.
- If pork chops are thinner than 1 inch reduce your cooking time.
- Remove pork chops from your skillet and place on a plate and cover or tent loosely with tinfoil.
- Add tomato mixture to pan and simmer, until thickened or reduced, about 5 minutes.
- Return pork chops to your skillet to coat in tomato mixture. Use extra sauce for serving. Serve with rice. Enjoy!
Notes
- Cutting slits in the fat side of the pork chops is the key for even cooking because it keeps them from curling up as they cook.
- Add the chops when the skillet is hot. You know your skillet is ready for frying the pork chops when a drop of water "dances" across the surface.
- Choose pork chops that are evenly-sized so they cook the same amount of time.
- The sauce is a bit spicy so be sure to adjust for kids or those with sensitivity to spicy foods.
Nutrition
Calories: 401kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 77mg | Potassium: 663mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 203IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg