Pork Chop with New England Apple Sauce

Fresh Apples, Walden Pork, and a Perfect Fall Meal

It's October in New England. That means one thing: apple picking at Connor's Farm.

We loaded up the kids and drove out to Danvers. Connor's Farm isn't one of those corporate farms with hayride tickets and Instagram walls. It's REAL. You park in a dirt lot. Walk through actual orchards. Pick apples straight from the tree.

My kids ran between the rows. My daughter climbed on the giant apple photo cutout. My son tried to eat an apple before we even paid for it. This is what fall should be.

We came home with a bag full of fresh, crisp apples. And I knew exactly what I was going to cook.

Walden Meat: The Best Pork in Massachusetts

After we went to Connor's, I stopped at Walden Local Meat Co. If you're in the Boston area and you're not buying from Walden, you're missing out.

They work with small New England farms. Grass-fed beef. Pasture-raised pork. No antibiotics. No hormones. Just GOOD meat from animals raised properly.

I grabbed organic pork chops and pork sausages. Then I went home and started cooking.

The Dish: Braised Pork Sausages with Apples and Sauerkraut

Here's what I made: braised pork sausages with apples, onions, and sauerkraut.

This is classic fall cooking. German-style. The sweetness of apples balancing the tang of sauerkraut. The richness of pork tying it all together.

I started by browning the sausages in my Dutch oven. Got them nice and caramelized on all sides. Pulled them out, then added sliced onions to the same pot. Let them cook down in all that rendered pork fat.

Once the onions were soft and golden, I added the homemade sauerkraut. Then I sliced up those fresh Connor's Farm apples - didn't even peel them, just quartered and cored. Threw them right in.

The sausages went back into the pot. I added a splash of apple cider (also from Connor's), some fresh thyme, and a bay leaf. Then I covered it and let it braise low and slow for about 45 minutes.

The result? The sausages were juicy and tender. The apples had softened but still held their shape. The sauerkraut mellowed out from the sweetness of the apples. Everything came together in this rich, savory-sweet braise.

The Pork Chops

I also pan-seared those Walden pork chops. Just salt, pepper, and a hot cast-iron skillet. Seared them hard on both sides, then finished with butter, garlic, and thyme.

Sauce is simple. I just mixed with pan juice and apple in a blender. And then cooked with butter. Plated them with apple sauce and sautéed greens. Simple. Perfect.

The quality of the pork made all the difference. You can taste when an animal was raised well. The meat is tender, flavorful, not tough or bland like supermarket pork.

My kids saw where apples come from. They picked them themselves. Then they watched me cook with them at home.

That's the lesson. Food doesn't come from a store. It comes from farms. From orchards. From animals raised by farmers who care.

And when you cook with ingredients like that? You can taste the difference.