Savory Apple Sage Crock Pot Pork Chops

Why This Savory Apple Sage Crock Pot Pork Chops Works

Browning the pork chops in the skillet starts everything off. The outside firms up and gets a little crust, so the meat holds together during the long time in the crock pot. That quick sear also keeps more juices inside the chops while they slowly cook in the liquid.

As the hours go by in the crock pot, the apples and onions soften and almost melt into the broth. Their juices mix with the chicken broth, vinegar, and sage, so the pork is sitting in a flavorful bath the whole time. Slow, gentle heat keeps the pork chops from tightening up too much, so they stay tender instead of tough and chewy.

By the end, the cooking liquid is full of starch from the apples and bits from the pork. Once the strained liquid goes into a saucepan and the flour slurry is stirred in, the heat makes it thicken into a smooth gravy. That thicker gravy clings to the pork chops and the soft apples and onions, instead of running off on the plate.

Mistakes To Avoid

Letting the pork chops skip the browning step leaves them pale and flat-tasting, and the outside never gets that slight crust. In the slow cooker, they then sit in liquid and turn soft and a bit mushy instead of having a firmer outside with tender meat inside.

Cooking on high heat instead of low makes the pork tighten up too fast. The chops can end up cooked through but tough and dry, while the apples and onions start to break down into a stringy, overcooked layer.

Crowding thick apple and onion slices only on the bottom and not spreading them out means some parts stay too firm. Those thicker pieces don’t soften properly in the slow cooker and stay a bit crunchy instead of melting into the sauce.

Adding the flour straight into the hot strained liquid without making a slurry causes clumps. The gravy then has little gummy lumps and doesn’t thicken evenly, so some parts stay thin while other bites feel pasty.