Simple Pastured Pork Chop Recipes Are Leaner and Healthier

Why put pastured pork chops on your plate? Common sense. Simple pastured pork chop recipes are lower in fat than meat from conventionally raised pork. How much lower? Substantially lower, but probably no one will know for sure how much lower. That's because every farm and every pig is slightly different from others.

The USDA evaluates commercially grown hogs and and analyzes each cut. They publish this data on a Nutrient Database. The database lists everything from ash to zinc content. It includes amount of fat, calories, calories from fat, cholesterol content,etc. Given the fact that each pig, even in a tightly controlled confinement operation, is different from another, you can realize the minute database calculations are only approximate.

Now, how much less fat and cholesterol will be in a simple pastured pork chop recipe than in a conventionally grown pork chop? That depends chiefly on how much grain was fed to the hog as opposed to the amount of grass and other forage the animal was allowed to eat.

The USDA Nutrient Database for "Pork, fresh, loin, sirloin (chops), bone-in, separable lean only, cooked, broiled (100 grams)" lists "213 calories total and 89 calories from fat" for a conventionally raised hog. FOR A PASTURED PORK CHOP THIS AMOUNT WILL BE LESS. In general, the more grass and the less corn, the leaner the hog. (All hogs must eat some grain in order to grow.) The amount of nutrients in the soil on each individual farm and the genetic make-up of each hog also affects the nutrient content of a pork chop.

Sound simple? Pastured pork chop recipes should also be chosen just because they taste good. Here are some simple recipes for pastured pork chop recipes.

Ingredients:

6 pastured pork chops
1/2 pound cooked wild rice>BR>1 can mushroom soup
2 tsp grated onions
1 small can mushrooms
Dash of salt and pepper

Procedure:

Place chops in pan. Mix mushrooms, rice, soup, onions, and seasoning together. Spoon mixture over each chop. Cover and bake in 325° F oven for about 50 minutes. Remove cover and bake about 20 more minutes or until pink in center of chops disappears. Do not overcook.

Ingredients:

4 pastured pork chops
1 can mushroom (or cream of chicken) soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
4 cups thinly sliced potatoes
Salt, pepper and onions to taste

Procedure:

Brown chops in skillet. Blend soup, sour cream, water and parsley. In a 2 quart casserole alternate layers of potatoes and the blended salt, sour cream, pepper and soup mixture. Top with chops. Cover and bake at 350° F for about 45 minutes or until chops have no pink remaining in the center.

Simple Pastured Pork Chop Recipe with Sauerkraut

Ingredients:

8 strips bacon
1 jar sauerkraut
1 large onion
6 medium potatoes
6 pastured pork chops
1 can tomatoes,BR>

Procedure:

Brown chops. Lay bacon strips in bottom of 9X13" pan Cover with kraut, sliced onions, sliced potatoes, browned chops and cover with tomatoes. Bake until chops have no pink remaining.


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