Pork Chops with Herbs; Induction Cooking

I have a new toy.

To be more specific, I have a new induction plate.

I have been intrigued by induction cooking for a long time. I really wanted one when we did this kitchen, but, after checking my cookware (stainless steel, cast aluminum) and finding that none of it would work, I went with ceramic.

A few weeks ago I got an email asking if I would like to try one.

Absolutly!

It arrived a few days later.

To my surprise some of my newer non-stick skillets worked. I like a heavier skillet and when I checked mine, right there on the bottom of the skillets, it said ‘Induction’.

Review to follow recipe….

Click here to Pin Pork Chops with Tomatoes & Herbs

Pork Chops with Tomatoes & Herbs

Print Recipe

I did these using my induction plate. The recipe is for an electric cooktop with the induction instructions in the review.

• Author: Kate
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings 1x
• Category: Pork
• Method: Skillet

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 pork chops, (12oz, 350gr total weight)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 8 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
• 1/3 cup (3oz, 90ml) chicken broth
• 1/3 cup (3oz, 90ml) white wine
• 2 tbs garlic chives, chopped
• 2 tbs chopped fresh sage leaves

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Instructions

• In medium skillet heat oil over medium-high heat.
• Sauté pork chops until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side.
• Remove and set aside.
• Add herbs, tomatoes to pan and sauté 1 minute.
• Add wine, broth and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to low and simmer about 5 minutes until mixture starts to thicken. Return pork chops to pan, turning once to coat with sauce, and cover.
• Let simmer 5 – 10 minutes until done.
• Arrange chops on small platter or plate, spoon sauce over and serve.

Notes

Substitute regular chives for garlic chives. Use 1 tbs dried herbs in place of the fresh.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
• Calories: 336
• Sugar: 1.4 g
• Sodium: 263.3 mg
• Fat: 14.4 g
• Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Carbohydrates: 4.1 g
• Fiber: 1.5 g
• Protein: 39.4 g
• Cholesterol: 107.9 mg

If you like capers: Pork Chops with Ginger Caper Sauce

There are only 2 negatives to induction cooking so I’ll do those first:

1. Induction cookers should be used with care by people with a pacemaker as it could cause interference.
2. I could only find 1 cookbook for induction cooking and it wasn’t one I would (or did) buy. I really couldn’t find many recipes on the internet. I was looking for timing – and didn’t find anything. So I winged it… which was surprisingly easy.

Now for the positives…. I’ll do those by explaining how I used it.

This is the induction plate I tested.

The first thing I made were hamburgers. I just made simple beef patties. I learned (on the internet – there was some info) to add any cooking oil and the meat / veg before you turn the cooker on. So I did. Being a bit scared of it I set it at about medium power. The burgers were beautifully browned on one side in less than 2 minutes of hitting the power button. I turned them, browned the other side and we were eating in around 5 minutes total time.

The second thing were fried potato slices. These normally take about 30 minutes. The potatoes are sliced 1/4″ (1cm) thick. I had a problem with these. Again, I had them in the skillet, with the oil. I turned it on medium power and in less than 2 minutes they were very brown. I turned them, and browned the other side. The problem was that they were still raw. I turned the power down to 25% and put a lid on them. It took another 10 minutes for them to finish. My timing / temp settings need work on this one. Still, they were done in half the usual time.

This is the induction plate / plaque, on my counter

Third I made an easy pasta sauce, cooking it all at about 1/3 power and it worked well, finishing in about half the normal time.

I’m getting used to it.

Next I did these pork chops – this was my best effort. I browned them on medium power 2 minutes per side, then added the tomatoes and herbs and cooked about 1 minute. I added the broth and wine, turned the chops and cooked another 4 minutes, turning the chops one more time. The sauce was reduced and the chops a perfect medium. I checked them with my instant-read thermometer to make sure. So, start to finish the chops took 9 minutes.

The 2nd best was last night. I made pasta. It took less than 5 minutes for the pasta water to reach a full rolling boil.

I admit I found the speed a little unnerving to start with. One must have everything ready before turning it on as opposed to my usual cutting and chopping as stuff cooks.

I need to figure out how the lower temps work but I’m not sure I would use it for something that required long simmering.

For sautéing it’s fantastic. I haven’t tried a stir-fry yet but I would expect that will be better than my old electric wok (that got very hot very fast). It’s the only way I’ll cook pasta in the future.

In short – I love it and it has a permanent place on my kitchen counter.