Blackened Pork Chops with Rave Apple Salsa

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The recipe and photography for this post were provided by Carolyn Hodges of The Dinner Shift.

Rave Apples are a sweet and zippy fruit from Stemilt that crosses into stores weeks before many varieties. Although these apples aren’t ideal for pies or other baked goods, they are ideal for any kind of snacking or meal topping. In this recipe, the apples are used to make a deliciously sweet garnish for pork chops. The heat of the chops combined with the sweetness of the apple salsa makes this a balanced treat worth raving about.

Blackened Pork Chops with Rave Apple Salsa

Prep time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

For the Spice Rub

• 1 Tbsp. Heinen’s brown sugar
• 2 tsp. Heinen’s garlic powder
• 1 tsp. Heinen’s ground mustard
• 1 tsp. Heinen’s paprika
• 1 tsp. Heinen’s chili powder
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. Heinen’s cayenne pepper (optional)
• 4 Heinen’s CARE Certified bone-in pork chops (2 ½ – 3 lbs. total)
• 2 Tbsp. Heinen’s olive oil

For the Rave Apple Salsa

• 2 large Rave apples, cored and diced
• ½ cup red onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno, finely diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp. Heinen’s olive oil
• ¼ tsp. sea salt (or to taste)
• 1/8 tsp. Heinen’s ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

Instructions:

1. Combine the spice rub ingredients together in a small dish. Place pork chops in a shallow dish and sprinkle with spice rub on all sides. Allow chops to sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. You can also refrigerate the seasoned pork chops for up to 24 hours. Just be sure to let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.
2. Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet (cast iron works great) over medium heat. Add pork chops, 2 at a time if necessary, and cook for 8-10 minutes, flipping every 2 minutes, or until pork chops reach an internal cooking temperature of 145 degrees. Set pork aside and allow to rest 5 minutes.
3. While the pork cooks, prepare the salsa by combining all salsa ingredients (apples through cilantro) together in a medium bowl.
4. Slice pork chops and serve topped with salsa.