photo credit Will Ringo, who made these last weekend

Last week a friend wrote us:

“Grilling out at a friends farm Saturday night. Looking for a stuffed pork chop or other good stuffed recipe. Any suggestions?”

I love getting notes like these because they make me think. They make me dig back through old notebooks full of recipes and rediscover old favorites that I’ve almost forgotten. This time, I found a favorite from my days in Birmingham, Alabama-  pork chops stuffed with bacon, breadcrumbs, herbs and garlic. It’s a big, delicious crowd-pleaser. Enjoy!

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Stuffed Pork Chops
Author: 
Recipe type: entree
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 4 pork chops
  • 1 tablespoon rosemary
  • 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
  • cup onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
  • pound bacon slices, chopped
Instructions
  1. To prepare the stuffing, add the bacon to a large sauté pan render the fat. Add the chopped onions to the sizzling bacon fat and cook until tender and translucent. Stir in the garlic and rosemary and cook 1 minute more. Season with lots of cracked black pepper. Fold in the breadcrumbs and remove from the pan to cool.
  2. While the stuffing is cooling, cut a pocket in the pork chops for the stuffing. Insert the tip of a small, sharp knife into the side of the chop, just above the bone. Push the knife toward the meat of the chop and wiggle it back and forth t o open as large a pocket as possible.
  3. When the stuffing has cooled, stir in the parsley. Fill each pork chop with the stuffing- each chop should bulge slightly- don’t over fill! Season the stuffed chops with salt and pepper and grill or brown well on each side in a skillet and finish cooking in the oven. The chops should require 12-16 minutes total cooking time.