AIP pork chops with cabbage and apples - cast iron skillet supper

This is the kind of dinner that earns its keep on a night you have almost nothing left: 1 skillet, under 30 minutes, and only 1 pan to wash after. You sear the chops, build the cabbage and apple around them in the same pan, then finish everything together in a hot oven. There is real technique in a good sear and a properly rested chop, the kind of small skill that makes an ordinary weeknight plate taste looked-after.

Pork is one of the better everyday sources of thiamine, vitamin B1, which the body needs to turn what you eat into usable energy, and that is worth tracking on the days fatigue talks the loudest. Zinc is in here too, which helps keep the gut lining intact and supports steady immune signaling. A dish built around a real cut of meat, cooked simply on a single pan, gives you more than the short ingredient list suggests.

The apple goes soft and sweet against the cabbage, the vinegar keeps it from turning heavy, and that contrast on the fork is worth pausing for, even on a night you are eating fast.

Ingredients

• 2 bone-in pork chops
• Salt
• 1 small yellow onion, sliced thinly
• 1 apple, cut into thin slices
• 1 small green cabbage, cut into 1 to 2 inch strips or wedges
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, lard, or other cooking fat
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 cup bone broth
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Method

Salt the pork chops on both sides and let them sit while you heat the skillet. Warm the cooking fat in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.

Sear the chops until browned on both sides. They do not need to cook through here, just take on color. Move them to a plate.

In the same skillet, add the sliced onion, apple slices and cabbage. Cook, stirring, until they begin to soften and the cabbage wilts down. Sprinkle in the dried sage.

Pour in the bone broth and the apple cider vinegar. Stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and let it come to a simmer so the cabbage continues to soften.

Nestle the chops back on top of the cabbage, then move the whole skillet into a hot oven, around 375 to 400 F, to finish. Cook until the pork reaches a safe internal temperature, checking with a thermometer rather than guessing. Time depends on thickness and is estimated.

Let the chops rest a minute before serving, spooned over the cabbage and apples with the pan juices.

Instant Pot variation

Use the saute setting to sear the chops in the fat, then set them aside. Soften the onion, apple and cabbage on saute, add the sage, broth and vinegar, return the chops, seal, and cook on low or high pressure briefly with a quick release (time estimated and untested, and easy to overcook - watch it). The texture will be braised and soft rather than browned.

*Adapted from gutsybynature.com*