Dinner, in most families now a days, is the most important meal of the day. At dinners the whole family gets to come together and share all their day’s events over a lovely meal. Pork happens to be one the most loved hearty foods preferred at dinner. Some of the styles in which it’s cooked include stuffed, seared, crusted, roasted and barbequed. But it can’t be served alone it needs to be accompanied by one or more side dishes.
Luckily, for a lean meat there is an assortment of delicacies, but we need to look for patterns. A stuffed pork needs some light rice to go along. A seared or crusted one will do with roasted root veggies, sautéed or fresh green veggies. A deep, rich brown gravy or roast should be accompanied by something colorful and colors matter a lot because we see before we taste. For a rich fatty piece some tart on the side is great.
Let me just give some ideas to help you paint a picture of befitting dinner sides for pork chop.
Creative Pairing: Dinner Sides For Pork Chops
The “Must Have Side” For Any Pork Chops
Apple has been besides pork since the middle ages it was used to balance the savory flavor. As we use honey or brown sugar in our cooking these days to add sweetness to our dish but back in those days, sugar was not very common, and honey was too expensive so people would use apples or an apple sauce. Pork is a very rich ingredient, so the sweetness and tartness help cut through it and satisfies the palate. They also add new dimensions of flavor to it.
Some ways to use apples as dinner sides for pork chops are mushy honey roasted apple, classic apple sauce and grilled apples.
What To Serve With Pork Chops And Apples?
Pork chops and apples dishes are sweet savory and to balance that we are going to add a subtle flavor by serving it on a bed of chili infused rice. It can also be served with vegetable stir fried rice. A spicy braised kale is a nice green side for this. Apple and hot peppers sautéed together for a heat and sweetness combo is perfect.
But we must not forget that variety of texture is also a technique when pairing a main entre with it most suitable side dish. Oven-roasted veggies should be added here as we have the firm meaty texture of the pork, the mushy softness of the apples and only the crispiness is missing.
What To Cook With Pork Chops That Are Bread/Crusted?
Breaded pork already has starch so to give a little diversity we can combine it with a non-starch vegetables like broccoli, beans, asparagus, Brussels spout or oven-roasted dish of root vegetables, generally carrots, sweet potatoes, and purple yams just keep it simple, coat with a drizzle of olive oil, crushed garlic cloves, salt and pepper.
If you are not adding apple sides on your dinner table then maybe you can try having maple roasted vegetables. They will help to add a distinctive sweetness to the pork chop.
Mushrooms with a creamy sauce is one of the most delicious dinner sides for pork chops in general. But add it here for the texture element. The smoothness of that gravy will be great for the crunchy pork.
Rice Or Potato Side Dishes For Pork Chops On The Grill
Now let’s say your dinner is a pork chop barbeque party or maybe it’s just pan grilled and you are wondering what to serve with pork chops cooking on the grill?
Mashed potatoes or roasted and baked potatoes are going to compliment the slightly charred flavor of the grill. Potato work as a smooth but a little bland base for a grill.
Bok choy brown rice or simple green onion and butter rice. Such recipes just like the potatoes help by adding a touch of flavor by not overpowering the star of the menu.
What To Serve With Pork Chops For Dinner? Something New
If you want an elaborate menu and a fancy one, then start off by deciding on two sides together: soup and salad. Butternut pumpkin soup or French onion soup with any choice of salad.
If your dinner star is a seared steak style pork chops, then sauté sweet and sour pepper and onion as a side.
For a light pork recipe adding creamed corn or creamy spinach won’t make it too heavy and will add balance.
Now you know what to serve with pork chops for dinner.
A Bowl Of Salad To Go With Pork Chops
Salads just manage to make their way on every dinner table. But here are some special salads to go with pork chops only.
Apple and fig salad will make up for a missing apple sauce and will give a light freshness. To perfectly serve a spicy or chili pork chop it needs to be paired with a fresh green leaves’ salad with a bit feta or ricotta and olives. The cheese for making the spicy flavor mild and the olive is to add tartness. Kale, Quinoa and Pecan Salad is a combination of many textures and hence will work for many recipes.
These tips and tricks for pairing can help you decide for many menus in the future. No matter how you want to cook pork chops you can always use the examples that are given; these just a few limited ideas. You can work around with these, experiment and create so many new combinations for numerous dinners. Around the year we have so many occasions and reasons to celebrate and with so many memories made on these days are also many that are about food that was enjoyed. These delicious dinner side for pork chops would help in making a long lasting and memorable impression on any guest or even family member. That is the point of every meal, to make people come closer and be happy.
