STUFFED PORK CHOPS
Prep/Chopping Time 5-10 Min / Cook Time 20 Min
Approximate nutrition Info for each 6-6.5oz portion with 1 serving of stuffing in each: 380 Calories, 40g Protein, 8g Fat, and 21g Carbs
STUFFED PORK CHOP INGREDIENTS
1 Box of Pork Flavored Stuffing (Brand of your Choice)
½ Cup Butter
2-2.5lbs of Pork Tenderloin or 6 Thick Cut Pork Chops
Mango Habanero Rub by Fiesta Brands (Or Seasoned Salt and Cayenne)
Preparation:
1. Prepare your stuffing mix according to package directions—most of these boxed stuffing mixes just need water and butter.
2. Allow your stuffing to set covered while you work on your pork.
3. If you purchased thick cut pork chops, the next step will be a little easier as you just need to slice a pocket in the side of the pork chop being careful to not cut all the way through the chop and fillet it open. You will want a pocket/crevice large enough to place the stuffing into.
4. I used a pork tenderloin and cut it up into 6 roughly equal pieces that were around 6-6.5oz each since the boxed stuffing makes 6 servings.
5. Slice each pork tenderloin piece in half but be careful to not cut completely through as you will be pounding these out with a meat tenderizer mallet next.
6. Once you have each piece filleted open, you will want to grab a kitchen towel, a cutting board, a meat tenderizer mallet, and some plastic wrap.
7. I place a kitchen towel under my cutting board, so it doesn’t move around on my counter when I am smacking the meat.
8. I also sandwich the piece of meat in the plastic wrap as it helps prevent juices from flying everywhere when you are pounding the meat.
9. You will want to mallet the meat, so you hit all areas on one side of the filleted open tenderloin and then turn it over and repeat on the other side until you have successfully tenderized and flattened out your piece of meat.
10. Repeat this step with each piece of meat and change out your plastic wrap with a new piece as needed.
11. Now that you have taken out your daily stress on the meat in the tenderizing process, you can begin assembling the stuffed pork tenderloin.
12. I place an equal amount of stuffing on each piece of meat, and I try and keep it on one half of the piece of meat.
13. Then you will want to fold over the other half of the meat to be a blanket on top of the stuffing.
14. I utilize 2-3 toothpicks to secure everything together and then I set these on a platter to the side until all pieces are complete.
15. Then season the top side of these with the Mango Habanero Rub you will season the other side when you place them in your air fryer or pan for the oven.
16. I cooked these on 375 Degrees for 20 minutes in my air fryer and they came out perfect.
17. If you are utilizing a conventional oven, the cook time will likely be similar 20-30 min.
18. Check the stuffing with a meat/food thermometer to make sure the stuffing is up to temperature enough to be pork cooked safe to eat.
19. Now, serve these bad boys up on a plate because it is dinner time!
20. I served mine up with a serving of the country style green beans from a previous post and I drizzled a little of the roasted poblano and jalapeno crema that I had made earlier that same day.
This is a quick and easy meal that you can utilize not only pork but also chicken. It will give you that comfort food vibe and it won’t kill your calorie intake for the day either! This may even make you think of Thanksgiving as stuffing always makes my mind go there. Another great side dish with this would mashed potatoes and gravy or green bean casserole if you are serving a larger group. Since I am cooking for 1, I utilize my air fryer a lot. However, you can easily make this in a regular oven. It’s summer and I am also trying to not heat up the house more than I need to at the moment!
These are so tasty and pack a ton of flavor in each bite and it all comes together in less than 30 minutes. I hope you enjoy this quick and easy weeknight meal.
